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Episode 083. Smart Philanthropy, Social Entrepreneurship, & Motherhood with Obakki Creator Treana Peake

Episode 083

I’ve known Treana Peake for many years and have always admired her incredible vision and generous heart. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’m a big fan of her foundation—The Obakki Foundation—and their scarves for water program. It’s been amazing watching her business and philanthropic partnerships transform over the years and I’m super stoked to share more of Treana and her growth with you. She is a true thought leader in the philanthropic and social entrepreneurship space and today’s conversation really opened my heart to the changes that are needed and new ways we can show up in small but also generous and smart ways.

Today Treana shares about the power of believing in people and the creative ways she is helping open doors for communities around the world. We talk about the transformative influence of connection and compassion. We also chat about the pragmatics of being a working mom and what the balance of all of that looks like. Treana brings dignity and joy to every topic in this conversation. I appreciate her international perspective and all the ways she is updating philanthropic philosophy and contributing to purpose-led movements.

I learned about how I can show up differently as a consumer and as a mom. This conversation is absolutely about how we show in the greater world as women and moms…but also how we show up inside our home, too. Treana’s got some great insights into what engaged parenting looks like and how it can help us dump some of the mom guilt.

Treana’s Bio: Treana Peake’s passion for travel and eye for design, combined with her lifelong dedication to making a difference in the world, inspired her to launch Obakki in 2005. The Obakki Foundation, its philanthropic counterpart, followed shortly thereafter. For decades she has traveled the globe, always on the lookout for opportunities to wander off the beaten path to connect with people and their stories. Recognized as an influential speaker in the field of social entrepreneurship, Treana has spoken about modern philanthropic solutions in front of the U.S. Congress and the United Nations, and has been featured as a TED Talk presenter speaking on the power of selfless giving. In addition, her hands-on work in the field has been recognized and endorsed by the UN, UNICEF and The Carter Center. Treana has traveled to Africa over 70 times, often with the Obakki Foundation (our philanthropic counterpart), where she’s formed partnerships with people and communities that have lasted decades.

Thanks for being here for this empowering conversation that encourages trust, service, passion, responsibility, connection, and motherhood.

In this episode, Treana & I talked about:

  • The start of Obakki and how it’s changed over the years
  • The Obakki Foundation & their incredible work
  • Morphing the brand and the foundation
  • What buying from Obakki and the Obakki Foundation does for
  • Their incredible work of establishing a local market
  • Treana’s recent trip to South Sedan
  • Consuming less and getting to know
  • Opening our world, connecting with artists, and helping makers create change them
  • Empowering people around the world
  • Insights from her 70+ trips to Africa
  • How Treana is helping communities and people who are “ready now”
  • How we can help as consumers
  • How their artisans are part of their family
  • Treana’s motivation for taking on more projects
  • Treana’s chimpanzee work with Annie and combating animal trafficking
  • Balancing motherhood & work
  • Modeling positive messages for our children
  • Keeping true to yourself as a person
  • Tuning into our intuition as a way to find balance
  • Being an engaged parent…and how that is what our kids will remember
  • Awareness > Guilt
  • Advice for those thinking about starting a business or cause
  • Changing the way we think as a way of moving forward
  • Say yes…and surround yourself with grounding people
  • Finding credible philanthropic organizations
  • Practicing smart philanthropy
  • Encouraging our kids to participate in philanthropy
  • Creating a family fund/family foundation
  • Encouraging open-mindedness
  • Expanding partnerships within the Obakki Foundation
  • Water wells, agriculture, artisan partnerships, small business loans
  • The impact of the pandemic

Treana’s Links: Obakki, The Obakki Foundation, and on Instagram: @obakki. @obakkifoundation, @treanapeake

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SPONSORS

Naupaka: Thanks to Naupaka for supporting today’s episode of Elevating Motherhood! Naupaka is an ethical online boutique based on Maui that is committed to ethical and fair trading practices. All of their products are either Fair Trade Federation certified, WRAP certified, and/or made or printed in the USA. This beautiful, philanthropic boutique carries gifts & products for you and your whole family—they sell women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing, jewelry, decals, phone stones, and home décor. Go check them out at www.naupakastore.com Be sure to use the code LORIBETH10 for 10% OFF your purchase. (I’ll link to that in the show notes!) Feel good about your holiday purchases this year (and save a little money with the discount code). Head over to www.naupakastore.com after the show. You’re in for a treat!

Blossom & Root: Today’s episode of Elevating Motherhood is sponsored by Blossom & Root a nature-based, Charlotte Mason inspired homeschool curriculum company that has been gently guiding and supporting families for years! This thoughtful, age appropriate curriculum begins at the preschool level with options all the way up to 4th grade with more grade levels being released each year.

Blossom & Root is the homeschool curriculum my family uses and loves! The information and ideas are easy to follow, fun, and engaging. If you’re new to homeschool or looking for an inspired homeschool curriculum to help you lovingly teach and guide your children, I highly recommend Blossom & Root. Using this curriculum has brought so much connection and joy to our homeschool days—I love it! Blossom & Root has generously offered a discount for listeners of Elevating Motherhood: use the code LORIBETH10 at checkout for 10% OFF your order.

For more information about Blossom & Root, head over to www.elevatingmotherhood.com/homeschool

LINKS

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