![\"coffee](\"\/sites\/default\/files\/public\/inline-images\/processing%20coffee%20soap_0.jpg\")
Youth group members attending Lao Farmer Network’s soap\u00a0making training in Paksong, Champasak province<\/p>\n\u201cSome people joined our group just long enough to learn how to make soap, and then they started producing and selling soap directly to our customers for a lower price without telling the rest of us! That really damaged our customers\u2019 trust in us,” recalls Ms. Phonevilay, looking slightly frustrated about the recent events.<\/p>\n
So what happened, how did Ms. Phonevilay\u2019s coffee soap business get to a point where its own members began to undermine it? It all started with a trip to the Philippines. The Lao Farmer Network had selected Ms. Phonevilay as their youth representative to participate in the 7th ASEAN Cooperative Business Forum in Manila in January 2018. Ms. Phonevilay\u2019s reason for attending the conference was to get ideas of potential income-generating products that her youth group could start making. Phonevilay\u2019s interests got piqued when she saw a Thai farmer group showcasing their \u2018salt soap\u2019 product. \u201cA soap business seemed like a good fit for a youth group like ours because it has low startup costs. As youth we don\u2019t have a lot of money to pool together as startup capital,\u201d Ms. Phonevilay explains.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAfter that conference, a bunch of us got the chance to attend Lao Farmer Network\u2019s training on soap making. And after we had the basics of soap making down, we started to adapt what we had learned.\u201d She continues, \u201cMy sister works at the Jhai coffee shop and every day they are left with used coffee grounds. In the past she had made skin scrub using the grounds and that made me think, why not try using coffee grounds in soap?\u201d<\/p>\n
Youth group members attending Lao Farmer Network’s soap\u00a0making training in Paksong, Champasak province<\/p>\n
\u201cTo get started, all we needed were the raw materials and molds. The coffee grounds we got from my sister\u2019s shop, but the fragrance oil, glycerin, and soap molds we bought from Thailand because they were harder to find here in Laos,\u201d Ms. Phonevilay says. She adds, \u201cAt first, we made some soap bars to test the concept and to see whether people would be interested in our product. Our production costs, not including branding and packaging, were about 6,000 kip per bar. After a while, we developed packaging and started to advertise the product more widely. That increased our production cost to 9,000 kip.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was around this time that there started to be infighting within the group because some of the members didn\u2019t want invest their own money in the business. \u201cBut in a group like this we need to share both the costs and the benefits\u201d Ms. Phonevilay says. She continues, \u201cWe didn\u2019t communicate well within the group and the situation got inflamed and led to some of the members producing and selling soap directly to our customers for a lower price without telling the rest of us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The group had to explain the confusing situation to their customers, but more importantly they focused on improving their product. \u201cWe are working on new packaging that describes the benefits and highlights the quality of our product. Our soaps are good for health and they are environmentally friendly because we don\u2019t use any dangerous chemicals or use plastic in the packaging. We\u2019ve also developed new products such as \u2018coffee turmeric soap,\u2019 \u2018coffee yogurt soap,\u2019 and a \u2019coffee scrub powder.\u2019 And based on our customers\u2019 feedback we also plan to make smaller and cheaper soap bars because we now only have one size,\u201d Ms Phonevilay explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Currently, the group can produce 100 bars per day. They sell the bars for 15,000 kip each, while their wholesale price is 13,000 kip in a pack of 10 bars. The group sells the soap at the Jhai coffee shop in Paksong, online via Facebook, and at the Pakse market. Some retailers also go to buy the soap directly from Phonevilay\u2019s house. Some buyers distribute the soap to some shops in Vientiane. The group does not sell the product in other provinces yet because shipping fees are expensive. Figuring out the best way to ship the soap to other provinces affordably and finding ways to increase production are the group\u2019s biggest challenges at the moment. \u201cHowever, these are positive challenges; the need to produce more is a sign that our business is going well. In fact, we were just contacted by a hotel manager who wanted to buy our product for all their rooms!\u201d Ms. Phonevilay says excitedly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Phonevilay](\"\/sites\/default\/files\/public\/inline-images\/ting.JPG\")
<\/strong><\/p>\n