lagahandbags, social enterprise

Laga Handbags: A Social Enterprise from the Beginning

Posted on by Roy
April blogpost
05
Apr

When Laga Handbags started in 2004 after the tsunami brought destruction to Indonesia it was a passion, a response for help and a renewed commitment to bringing some good into the world.

A core premise of Laga Handbags was to provide a fair wage, sustainability to the artists and crafts people creating the handbags while bringing the high quality of a hand crafted handbag with Indonesian designs built into the construction of the handbag to the North American market. So, fair trade and a fair wage was built into the company from the beginning.

What has also developed since that time is the notion of social enterprises. Social Enterprises are part of the new wave of social entrepreneurship  led by business leaders whose search for meaning extending beyond the bottom line into bringing change and genuine improvement into peoples’ lives.

Social Enterprises are companies whose goals include more than just a Return on Investment (ROI). The Social Return on Investment (SROI) expands on traditional ROI and includes more benchmark performance indicators than traditional ROI indicators. While measuring the amount of  ‘goodness’ a company generates is not something that has been firmly established, performance indicators of social enterprises vary widely and some of those indicators include;

  • A fair wage for fair trade
  • Socially and ecologically responsible business practices as a part of operations
  • How employees lives are positively impacted
  • Able to address social issues of economic equity, education within a community through enterprise
  • Organizational efficiencies for profitability

Social Enterprises may also have their own performance indicators which are relevant to the organization (in this case Laga Handbags), the employees and the communities they live and work in (in this case Indonesia and the Aceh province) as well as the processes built into operations for the creation and sales of handbags.

While socially driven enterprises are a growing trend, Laga Handbags began as a social enterprise.  The support given through sales and the amazing customer loyalty we are blessed with is what will allow us to continue bringing high quality, beautiful handbags to North America.


Roy

This is a remarkable family story of altruism, survival and faith based values. From immigrant to international entrepreneur, meet Roy van Broekhuizen, Chairman and CEO of Laga Designs International, Inc. Born in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1948, he left with his family November 1957 at the age of 9 to the Netherlands. Four years later (1961) the van Broekhuizen family immigrated to the USA via Dutch ship "Maasdam" from Rotterdam and landed in New York in November of 1961. Initially the family lived in the Portland, Oregon area. Roy went on a soccer scholarship to Lewis & Clark College 1970-1972. Roy kept his Dutch citizenship for all the international travel that he does. “I have always wanted to serve in Indonesia and since January 2005 I have been working in the tsunami area of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, I have been back and forth LA to Indonesia 33 times since January 2005." His company, which was founded with his wife Louise in August 2006, manufactures and distributes handmade handbags and accessories handcrafted by tsunami survivors of Aceh province in Sumatra. It provides a wonderful place and secure future for the victims of the tsunami disaster. Their lives are being rebuilt as they craft the handbags for the international markets. The factory and training center started with 12 tsunami survivors, all women, and today Laga supports over 400. Laga Handbags were also featured on the Oprah Show April 13, 2010, as one of the companies that give back. His Dutch and Indonesian background has influenced his life decisions in many ways. He said he comes from a very high-energy, fast moving family always on the go and contributes it to his Chinese grandmother on his mother’s side. His 3 brothers and 2 remaining sisters (2 passed away from cancer) have successful careers and have done well in various fields. Combining that element with Dutch determination makes for a powerful drive to accomplish things. He has two platforms in Indonesia: 1) Help your own people and 2) Christianity. He maintains connection to his Dutch Indonesian heritage by being in Southern California, hub of large network of Indos. The AVIO club and other social gatherings keeps the flow of connection constant. His wife Louise is also of Dutch Indonesian descent. His favorite Indonesian food is gado-gado and satay, but with so many choices, it varies. He said he learned from experience and tasting that the quality of the nasi goreng (fried rice) in a restaurant sets the standard for the rest of the cooking. Take it from a savvy world traveler. The three most important things in his life are faith in God, family, and friends. It was clear that Roy is a man of great passion and energy as the interview went at a rapid speed full of information and splatters of laughter. His energy shows through everything he does and it was a pleasure to get to know him.

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