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Relax in a Hammock and Make a Global Difference

November 23, 2011 by

[HTML1] From Commercial Real Estate to selling hammocks that support a people who are listed as one of the most endangered in the world, Joe Demin founded Yellow Leaf Hammocks to help the Malabri tribe in Thailand.  From a vacation to “get away” before embarking on a concentrated path of traditional business, Joe’s life was changed forever.
A serendipitous experience of visiting a hammock shop in Thailand inspired Joe to visit the Malabri and begin a business to support their culture, language and way of life.  With only 300 tribe members still alive, Joe has taken a small weaving enterprise and expanded it internationally.

As a result, instead of relying on slash and burn agriculture that destroys the land and poisons the water shed with chemicals that physically endanger the people, and instead of their children having to work in urban sweat shops to help the family, the Malabri can now focus on their beautiful weaving skill to survive and maintain their family focused-culture.

Yellow Leaf Hammocks is one of the first “B” Corporations in California.  Benefit (B) corporations require structures and certification that the business integrates social impact into their by-laws and places priority on the corporation’s socially conscious governance, impact on the community and on employees for all corporate decisions.

The true beauty of the hammocks aside from their softness and colorful features as a piece of functional art, the restful nature of the product encourages people to relax and enjoy each day.  Testimonials from customers reinforce how people’s lives have changed from simply having a hammock to escape the stress of daily life.

YellowLeaf Hammocks is introducing a new product for the holidays to facilitate people enjoying the holidays in front of their fireplaces.  Visit the Yellow Leaf Hammocks website and Yellow Leaf Facebook page to see the exciting new indoor product that only takes the same footprint as an easy chair.

Also, in time for the holidays, Yellow Leaf is providing everyone the opportunity to support the Malabri tribe, even if you choose not to purchase a hammock.  Visit this link to learn more about the Yellow Leaf Hammock Kickstart project.  Watch the video below.

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About Robin Eschler

Robin L. Eschler, the founder of Social Impact Marketing, started her career in developing foundational marketing strategies for companies of all sizes, from Fortune 500 to individual entrepreneurs and local businesses. She has developed and implemented international campaigns to launch high tech products and services and guided new business owners to successfully navigate the difficulties of growing a business.

Her life-long passion for helping others led her into nonprofit work for over a decade. Early on, she recognized the need for nonprofits to adapt to a rapidly changing world in which technology dominates and for-profit business practices are central to success. Her determination to help social causes in a sustainable way led to her creation of the Women's Radio show Socially Conscious Investing.

Impact investing in for-profits with a mission of social change such as the fight against extreme poverty is a blossoming business sector around the world. With the economic decline, it's clear that Wall Street requires change. Social impact investing addresses that need in a way that provides financial and social ROI.

As the Host of Socially Conscious Investing on WomensRadio, Robin's goal is to educate people about the growth of social impact investing and social venture. Interviews are conducted with socially conscious business experts including foundations and nonprofits, social venture investment firms, micro-loan organizations, investors, educators, authors and social entrepreneurs.

This show's mission is to help change the world through sustainable business practices that contribute to the economy, combat poverty, end hunger and provide better lives to all.

Twice, Robin has been recognized and received the highest honorary award that Rotary International gives, the Paul Harris Award, for service above self. Her community work has included developing local programs for disadvantaged populations such as foster children, troubled teens, and people with disabilities.

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