A trip to Uganda changed the course of Vanguard University student Kallie Dovel’s life – and the lives of a group of Ugandan women. Seeing the needs of these women and their ability to make unique jewelry started the wheels turning for this young entrepreneur. Today, Dovel is the visionary behind 31 Bits, a socially pro-active business that seeks to empower women beyond poverty through fashion and jewelry design. With staff in both Newport Beach, Calif., and Uganda, 31 Bits is hands-on in meeting the needs of these women. Halogen TV recently sat down with Dovel to talk about the mission of 31 Bits, the ways her organization is helping those in need and the chic designs that she creates.

Can you share the story of 31 Bits and how it all began?

Kallie Dovel: The dream of 31 Bits began when I traveled to Uganda in the summer of 2007 and saw first-hand what life looked like in Northern Uganda. While I was there, I met women who made paper beads but lacked a plan to market and sell them. After spending time in their homes and hearing their stories, I wanted to help them find avenues to make a sustainable livelihood. I brought a box of the paper bead jewelry back to the US and spent the next year finishing my degree and dreaming up the concept of a development organization that became 31 Bits. Several of my friends joined the organization, and we traveled back to Uganda in August 2008. We selected six women to buy jewelry from on a monthly basis. Since then, we have grown to employing 108 women, each with a unique story of suffering that has been overcome with joy and liberation.

What needs is 31 Bits meeting for the women of Uganda?

31 Bits believes in a holistic development approach. We provide bi-weekly English lessons, financial training to teach the women how to save and budget their new income, community groups to provide encouragement on a personal level, health education that covers everything from water sanitation to hygiene practices, one-on-one counseling, AIDS medication, and vocational training to enable women to start their own businesses after graduating [from] the program.

What is your business model?

By providing our beneficiaries with access to the international market, we are able to generate capital allowing us to fund both the US operations as well as the development programming in Uganda. A successful business starts with a great product. We believe in providing a product that identifies with our target market, consisting of high quality materials, detailed construction and fashion-forward design.

Everything from your website design to the actual jewelry itself is trendy and stylish. Was this intentional? Why do you feel it’s important to create a brand and products that are modern, chic and socially conscious?

We choose to make our brand trendy and stylish to attract consumers so that it can be used as a tool to share the women’s stories. 31 Bits strives for the highest standards of fashion trends, product quality and international development. Our jewelry is designed for women who want to be fashion forward and still socially conscious.

What is the single most important thing you hope 31 Bits communicates?

There are so many different ideas we want to stress. One of them that I hope our customers start to grasp is that every product is made by someone. Do you know if the products you buy are helping its maker or putting its maker into distress? We can all start making a change just by choosing to purchase through socially proactive businesses.

Are there plans to grow the lines in the future?

Our dream is to grow 31 Bits into a multi-national, development-focused business. We are exploring new products and new communities that we may be able to work with.

What advice would you give someone who sees a need and wants to make a difference (like you), but who doesn’t know where to start?

Explore options that are available and get involved with organizations around you.

To check out the jewelry, host a house party or learn more about what 31 Bits is doing to help women in Uganda, visit www.31Bits.com.

More on Fair Trade Fashion from HalogenTV.com:

1. Fair Trade Heroes: Fashion Unbound
2. Emma Watson’s Fair Trade Fashion
3. Fashion Gets a Conscience