About Us

Sonas to America is a non-profit organization founded in 2019. We work hand-in-hand with the Sonas weaving village located in Takeo, Cambodia. The social entrepreneurship village consists of 15 hardworking women who craft our woven goods from cotton that they grow, spin, dye, and weave all by hand in order to create beautiful woven products such as scarves, table runners, face masks, and most recently all natural wellness products. Our school partners with the village and hosts a trip there to learn about sustainable development. Our founders, Mia and Alysa, visited the village and after seeing the beautiful, high-quality products the women there were selling, they knew they had to share them with American markets. Rather than producing our products from a factory that mass-produces goods with unethical labor and has detrimental environmental impact, we source our products from the Sonas Village because it allows our customers to feel good about their purchases, while also supporting women, keeping the planet happy, and helping the women’s children access opportunities.

We pay for our products wholesale and donate all profits after selling the items on our e-commerce site as well as in various small boutiques. Before they learned how to weave, these women were only earning a living during the harvest season through subsistence farming and their salary equated to around a dollar a day. The money we give to the village through our wholesale orders and donations help to provide them with a steady salary of around $150 a month and the rest of the money goes towards the village’s scholarship program, which supports children in the village. Our donations have helped to send 2 additional young women to university and opened up the program to fund younger kids as well. Empowering younger kids to stay in school is especially important as many kids in Cambodia drop out around grade 9 to begin working and earning money for their families. The scholarship helps encourage them to stay in school longer and possibly pursue higher education.

The reason Sonas to America has been able to be so successful in a short amount of time is because of our sustainable business model which allows for all parties involved to benefit. The system of social entrepreneurship in the village creates jobs and a sense of community for the weavers while also empowering them, as they are able to be the breadwinners for their families, which is not common in Cambodia. It also allows them to reinvest in their community, as it ensures they are not dependent on charity from others and makes education more accessible. Our customers are able to benefit as they are receiving high quality products with short ingredient lists and the chance to support women halfway across the world.

To date, we have raised $17,000 for the village, $8,000 of which has been donations.

Each purchase makes a positive impact in these women’s lives, and for that we thank you!

Brynn Donohue is a Senior at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. Brynn joined the Sonas to America team in June 2022. She is currently the CEO.

FORMER MEMBERS

Mia founded Sonas to America in the fall of 2019 along with Alysa Akins. She graduated from Springside Chestnut Hill Academy as part of the class of 2021 and is currently a student at Clemson University. Formerly the CFO, she now serves as an advisor for Sonas to America.

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