It started with a sewing machine.

Just before the holidays, I completed the first of many projects that I shot in Sudan.

I was commissioned by Seed Effect, a microfinance initiative, to tell their story & articulate their mission. It seemed like a daunting task, to be honest. How do you get to the heart of what prompted Missy & David to start Seed Effect in an intimate way and wade through the minutia of microfinance, for those unfamiliar with the idea? The answer, it turns out, started with a sewing machine.

In one of our initial creative meetings, Missy offhandedly told the story of how a few women called her aside & asked for a sewing machine so they could make & sell clothes in the local market. With that request on her heart, Missy came home & she and her husband launched Seed Effect. It was a powerful story and, to me, the sewing machine became an icon of hope and the story is such a clear picture of how microfinance works – small loans for practical items that have a tremendous impact on lives, families and communities.

That is the Seed Effect.