Students Examine Cause-based Marketing in Afghanistan

On September 19th, Nichols students gathered for dinner and conversation with former NPR correspondent Sarah Chayes (third from left seated) in a program called "Afghanistan Soap Opera," co-sponsored by Nichols Reads and the Fischer Institute. And it was all about soap...production that is.

Professor Luanne Proko introduced Chayes as an author of THE PUNISHMENT OF VIRTUE: Inside Afghanistan after the Taliban and a woman who has learned important lessons about governance and the power of thoughtful consumerism.

In May 2005, Chayes established the Arghand Cooperative in Kandahar, Afghanistan, a venture that encourages local farmers to produce flowers, fruits, and herbs (instead of opium poppies) for the production and export of soaps and other scented products. 

Chayes asked Nichols international marketing and first-year LINC business students to look for economic solutions in regions destabilized by terrorist organizations. "I don't have a Nichols College business education," she began. "I had to grope my way through understanding marketing and product development." Most importantly, Chayes was able to receive grants earmarked for war-strifed areas. This meant that it was o.k. to lose money in her first years of soap production.

Chayes stated that while the low wage structure helps make the Cooperative successful, there are major complications to running a business in an active theater of war. "There's a degree of psychological pressure on workers that impacts productivity," she noted solemnly.

Afghanistan is rich in agricultural products, such as pomergranates and apricots, ideal for natural products. "The airport where I ship my goods was actually Osama Bin Laden's base," Chayes said. "I became convinced that building a productive economic activity where people have a stake in its success could help stabilize Afghanistan."

"In terms of the environment," continued Chayes, "Afghanistan has a predatory government, one that is ‘out to rob its citizens.'" She went on to discuss customs practices that demand bribes and the fact that in much of the impoverished nations of the Middle East, there 's very little credit (cash flow is a major problem!).

In terms of branding, Chayes stated that she focuses on cause-based marketing. Arghand's independent retailers buying and distributing soap products in the United States and Canada are keeping the Cooperative's hope alive for sustained success and growth.

Chayes is the daughter of law professor and Kennedy administration member Abram Chayes and graduated from Harvard University in 1984 with a degree in history. She later served in the Peace Corps in Morocco, returning to Harvard to earn a master's degree in history and Middle Eastern studies, specializing in the medieval Islamic period.

Chayes began her reporting career free-lancing from Paris for The Christian Science Monitor. From 1996 to 2002, she served as Paris reporter for National Public Radio, earning 1999 Foreign Press Club and Sigma Delta Chi awards (together with other members of the NPR team) for her reporting on the Kosovo War.