31 Bits: The Power in a Bead

About two years ago, I traveled to Gulu, Uganda, a trip that captivated my heart and forever transformed the way in which I saw the world and understood the lives of the people that filled its many corners and crevices. As my team and I traveled from village to village, I became acquainted with a pastor of one of the churches there. As we talked more each day, I began to learn of his story. Just barely a teenager, this man was being heavily pursued by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group led by Joseph Kony, in a period when the LRA was ruthlessly and tirelessly carrying out raids on local villages in Northern Uganda. Chased on foot by night and hiding in bushes by day, this man literally outran efforts by the LRA to capture him into their band of child-soldiers. As he told me of accounts in which he barely broke free of a rebel soldier’s grip on him, I could not help but be amazed at his demeanor of acceptance, grace, and hope. Later that week, we went to visit the 31 Bits compound in Gulu. As we met with the local women who were working at the compound, one woman captivated the attention of our entire group; that woman was the mother of the pastor, and of the man who shared his story with me over the course of a few bus rides. Again, and perhaps more vividly, I saw that same message of acceptance, grace, and hope not only in the eyes of the pastor, but in those of his mother as well.For 31 Bits, a socially conscious company that sells jewelry made out of recycled paper by employing women artisans in Gulu, Uganda, empowerment is the catalyst for change. This dream to use fashion and design to empower people to rise above poverty came about after one of the founders, Kallie, had been exposed to a resilient nature in the women in Gulu. As she learned more about the lives of these women, who had lived through war, terror, and tragedy, she learned that they were making jewelry out of recycled paper. Continuing to learn more about the stories these women had to tell and about the products they were making from this paper, Kallie came to find that these women had no way or means to make a living from their bead-making ventures. Compelled to do more for these women, Kallie brought back a box of this beaded jewelry to her friends in Southern California where they would begin to sell the jewelry on their campus at Vanguard University, and, in return, send money back to the women artisans in Gulu. As the beads grew to be more and more popular, the dream of creating a company around these beads, and the women making the beads, seemed less of a distant fantasy and more of plausible business plan.Today, 31 Bits is a highly acclaimed company that finds its products in 450 boutiques around the world. I had the chance of sitting down with Alli Talley, one of the co-founders and the Director of Public Relations for 31 Bits, to learn more about the impact 31 Bits is imparting on the lives of people in Uganda. With her father involved in international real-estate, Alli grew up traveling the world with her family and, at a young age, was exposed to both the immense beauty and extreme poverty of the world. Offering her talents and passions to other give-back spaces, like Toms Shoes, before launching her career with 31 Bits, Alli found herself constantly drawn to work that curated a purpose and that had a social impact. “I always knew I wanted to do something with a give-back element, I think that’s so many people’s dreams is to have a job that has a purpose and so that definitely had always been a huge priority for me,” she elaborated. But, for Alli and the other co-founders, what they started in launching 31 Bits has since surpassed every dream and expectation they could have imagined both for themselves, and for the lives that would be changed through the work of their company.When their co-founder and friend, Kallie, met a couple of women who were making beaded jewelry, the instantaneous connection she formed with those women, and with the six original women who started with the company, has carried through with the nearly 170 women who have been employed by 31 Bits. In fact, its development programs are what make the work of 31 Bits so influential and so tangibly affective in the lives of the people of Northern Uganda. Alli relays that there are a lot of programs and socially conscious companies that give individuals an income, but it is the work of 31 Bits that goes beyond providing employment to incorporate programs that allow the change through receiving an income to be sustainable for these women. Alli adds that 31 Bits “really value[s] caring for them holistically so [that] when a woman enters our program, she’s immediately cared for,” whether that means giving a woman a bike, matching her with a business mentor, providing her with health education, or giving her math and English lessons. Alli believes in this uniqueness of 31 Bits: “I don’t think any other organization that I know of yet cares for individuals to such an extreme. They’re in weekly counseling sessions and therapy … they each have mentors that work with them and so … it’s created this beautiful atmosphere on our compound … where women just feel safe, and they’re happy, they develop lifelong friendships from it and it’s this little, like, safe haven that I think is just so beautiful and so rare.”In fact, Alli experienced this authentic beauty and rarity in the relationships that the women have formed with each other, and in restoration and healing that each woman has experienced individually, when she returned to Gulu a few years ago. For her, this “founder’s trip”, which she shared with three of the other founders, was monumental in creating images of real accounts of restoration, healing, and transformation that is regularly occurring, not only on the 31 Bits compound, but through the entire community of Gulu and the whole region of Northern Uganda. When Alli was first living in Gulu, helping to establish 31 Bits, she came to know one of the women artisans there. As much as she tried to befriend her, though, Alli felt a hesitancy, a certain somberness, and a testy spirit that prevented the formation of a deep and close friendship. Although she never felt or received any reaction, Alli continued to sit with her, ask her questions, and ultimately try to break through the walls that were preventing her from truly knowing this woman. Upon her return to Gulu, however, she was able to meet with this woman, who had since graduated from the program and was thriving in a business of her own. In their reunion, the woman poured out her gratitude and words of thankfulness for Alli’s compassion and kindness in always giving her a smile, for her reassuring and instinctive acts of comfort in rubbing her back when she had a hard day, and, ultimately, for her offering of time and energy to ask her questions about herself in an effort to get to know her. The woman admitted that while, once, her heart was hardened, Alli’s selfless and inherent actions to treat her with love and kindness broke the bind of bitterness and sadness to soften her heart into an explosive reaction of gratefulness and a lifestyle of healing and restoration.Stories like these, of a hardened heart that has been gripped by an overwhelming act of love and compassion and of the hope of a young boy that had been chased by the LRA, only to find the hope again through the employment opportunities presented to his mother, make the work of 31 Bits a powerfully transformative revolution in an area that has seen the promise of hope amid unparalleled tragedy. “Bits came in at a time when [the women of Gulu] desperately needed hope,” Alli relays, “A lot of our women are ex-LRA slaves, several of them escaped from that and came in with a lot of trauma …. I think that’s been the coolest thing is seeing these women being empowered in a culture where women aren’t very empowered or valued …. It’s really cool to see our women realize that they’re capable of running a business, they’re capable of … saving money and really providing for their families and going back to school.” This hope that is curated in the work of these women, that is displayed in their daily conversations with each other, and that is experienced in their business ventures and personal ambitions, is the hope that will replace a history of tragedy with the inspiration of a resilient people. These women’s hopes and dreams have the capacity to rewrite history. With each purchase of a 31 Bits product, then, know that your efforts are not just sustaining a business in Northern Uganda, but they are transforming lives and revitalizing hope and healing. Your purchase does not just add to the wealth of one single individual, but it amasses to the empowerment of entire communities. This Christmas season, believe in the hope that transforms tragedies and that binds humanity across lands, seas, and international borders. Give a gift that empowers someone to realize their potential and to believe in a power in themselves that they may not have known before.For more opportunities to become involved with 31 Bits, visit their website to learn of ways to become a campus rep on your college or university’s campus, to pursue an internship, to host a house party, or to learn of various volunteer opportunities.Here are some of my favorite pieces from the 31 Bits collection:The Droplet Necklace – I have not taken mine off! Comes in three colors, here!Canopy – Comes in two colors, here!The Romantic – A classic Bits piece, comes in five colors, here!Droplet Bracelet – Comes in three colors, here!Starlight – I absolutely love my burgundy/gold one! Comes in three colors, here!The Inspirer – I wear my mint one constantly! Comes in five colors, here!Northern Lights – Comes in two colors, here!See the entire 31 Bits Refined collection, which utilizes 14 karat gold chains, here!Bitsies friendship bracelets – For the kiddos! Give a gift to your sweet and then have her share the Bits story with a friend, here!You can find a complete view of incredible gift sets from 31 Bits, here!