For a month, Onoo and his team have been filling orders for names written in the sand of Bamburi Beach. The names are then documented with a digital camera and sent by e-mail to the Netherlands. Each photo is then printed there and attractively framed. The gift card is then sent to its final destination by mail or e-mail.
“You can have a Kenyan beach name card made as a nice alternative for a birth announcement, or use it for an original greeting or Christmas card,” Bottenberg says. The Internet entrpreneur and his family have been going on holiday to Kenya for years and became friends with Onoo the night watchman. “He earns 25 euros (about 35 US dollars) a month, lives in a hut village and has to support a large family. We were touched by his life story and daily battle to survive. I have a few on-line businesses and started looking for a web businesses with which he and his family could earn a living. That ended up being www.beachname.com. He had never held a camera before. His own village doesn’t have electricity, so he wasn't familiar with Internet and e-mail. I taught him in an Internet cafe, and then we went to the beach to practice with the digital camera."
On his own feet
“It is not simple to write a name well in the sand. There is a lot of stuff on the beach that has to be cleared away first. You have to make sure that there are shadows around the letters to make it legible. Every high-relief letter is ‘sculpted’
Bottenberg compares his project with the micro-lending programmes that are offered in more and more developing nations to the disadvantaged so they can start their own businesses. “The nice thing is that Moses is now completely comfortable with the new on-line world of e-mailing and uploading photos. He also has other families from his village help him make the beach names. There are now eight families being supported by www.beachname.com. Terrific, isn’t it?"
The use of the Internet and digital photography means it does not matter where the recipient of the beach name card lives. The website is being translated into six languages and expanded. In just a few clicks of the mouse, people can order a card on-line. The price is 12,50 euro / US$ 17.50 per card and the card is sent worldwide, both digitally and by mail, at no additional charge. “It’s an original, global gift that makes a name for Moses’ village in more than one respect,” says Bottenberg.
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Note for the editors:
For more information and photos free of copyright, contact:
Beachname
Ramsbeekweg 6
7152 JT Eibergen
Netherlands
+31 545 477142
+31 545 477153 (fax)
info@beachname.com
info@beachname.com
