Deghri Messengers

Dear friends of Deghri,

The winter is almost over in Lebanon, and Deghri is looking forward to 2014, with some very promising developments to look forward to, as well as some challenges to overcome.

The political and economic situation in the country has a considerable impact on Deghri's work - January has witnessed a dramatic slow down in economic activity, and we notice this in the relatively empty streets in the usually bustling district of Hamra, where our office is based. Luckily, a lot of our customers are in the NGO sector, whose work never slows. Nevertheless, on the days when a new explosion hits the southern suburbs, the orders dry up completely as the city comes to a standstill.

Despite the difficult circumstances, Deghri is growing - revenue from the first two weeks of January was double the average from last autumn, and we are receiving around 8 orders every day. Our team has settled into a core of 4 messengers (myself included) working between 3 and 5 days a week and a further 4 complementing their work with a shift here and there when needed.

A fantastic boost came at the beginning of January in the form of a Bullitt cargo bike, donated by the Danish embassy - it fits perfectly into their mandate to promote Danish industry and Denmark's vibrant bicycle culture. The picture shows some of the team putting the bike together. This machine carries up to 60kg of cargo, and opens up many possibilities: we have started a collaboration with Souk el Tayeb, the upmarket farmer's market, to encourage market-goers to leave their car at home, come by bike or on foot, and send their groceries home with us.

Finally, Deghri is organising, along with the Danish embassy and a local design bureau, Lebanon's first bike festival. This will take place between the 21st and 27th of April, and entails plenty of work for an event that promises to be a milestone in the evolution of bicycle culture in the country. If anyone is thinking about a trip to Lebanon this year, make it during this week - the weather should be glorious.

Thanks for reading!

Matt

Dear Deghri fans,

It is a pleasure to finally be able to show you our short promo film. It was directed and filmed by two young Lebanese filmmakers, Farah Naboulsi and Arek Dakessian. Now it even has English subtitles. I hope you enjoy watching it!

Just follow the link: youtu.be

Der Countdown unserer Crowdfunding-Aktion ist abgelaufen und wir haben mehr Geld zusammen bekommen als wir erhofft haben!
Dank Eurer Grosszügigkeit und unermüdlichen Aktivierung von Freunden und Familien haben wir nun einen Teil des Startkapitals zusammen. Darauf werden wir ein starkes Kurierteam und eine zuverlässige Dienstleistung aufzubauen.

In unerschütterlicher Zuversicht, dass wir auf Euch zählen können, haben wir einen kleinen Teil des Geldes bereits investiert: Die tollen und, wie es sich für einen Kurierdienst gehört, auffälligen Deghri-Trickots sind endlich eingetroffen (auf dem Bild vorgeführt von Matt und Karim)!

Jetzt nehmen wir voller Enthusiasmus die letzte Vorbereitungsphase in Angriff. Es bleiben noch vier Wochen bis zur Lancierung in denen viel passieren wird. Folgt uns – am Besten auf Facebook – um nichts zu verpassen!

Ein riesiges Dankeschön für Eure Unterstützung.

Matt

Dear all,

Time's up, and we've raised more than we hoped for! The money you have collectively pledged to this exciting project is the base on which we will build a strong bike messenger team and a reliable service. Thanks to your generosity, as well as energetic spreading of the word among friends and family, reaching our target was never really in doubt.

And look, we've already been able to make some investment, safe in the knowledge that solid start-up funding is on its way: the beautiful Deghri uniforms have arrived (here modelled by Matt and Karim)!

We have started the final stage of preperation in earnest, with less than four weeks to go, so watch this space (or, even better, our facebook page) for some exciting updates.

Again, huge thanks for your support!

Matt

Strengthened by your help in securing the seed funds we need to launch, we have made some great progress in recent weeks and are almost ready to go.

We've begun a training programme in which messengers are learning how to keep their bikes in good working order and fix punctures on the road (see picture). The training will also cover issues of customer relations, road safety, and coordination between the messengers and the office in our day-to-day operations.

Final preparations are under way for the filming of our promotional film, starring the messengers themselves and with a leading role for Beirut's striking city scenery. There are still 12 days left to contribute to the project, and any money donated will go towards making the best possible promo, so go and nag your friends!

On another positive note, I attended an exciting weekend of workshops at the arcenciel centre in Beirut (www.nabad-arcenciel.org). I got the chance to meet 59 other social entrepreneurs from all over Lebanon and witness the belief and ambition of a wide range of young people from different regions and backgrounds, who are determined to do business for the good of society. Deghri Messengers are not alone in believing we can have a positive impact by recognising our passion, building a business on it, and prioritising social profit over financial profit.

As always, thanks for all your support!

Matt

Hi all,

It is a great feeling to be nearing our fundraising goal. Thanks so much for your support. The good news is that at the same time preparations for the launch are progressing really well:
- Our advertising material has been printed and looks amazing. Those who are set to receive stickers and posters won't be disappointed!
- We have good coverage lined up in the Media, with some big newspapers ready to run interviews with us.
- Our uniforms have arrived and look fantastic. Can't wait to wow the streets of Beirut with our style.
- I have been able to find a team of 8 talented cyclists who I now have to get ready for the challenging realities of messengering by the middle of September. The picture with this update is of Siwar, the newest recruit.

So now the crowdfunding needs just one last push. Thanks for all your support so far, of course if you can encourage just one more person to support us, it would make my day!

Thanks

Matt

Dear Deghri fans: after two months of experimentation, and a great deal of creative energy, it's a pleasure to unveil our logo. Big thanks to Samah at kook creative studio for the visionary design and to Sébastian Dahl for the cool teaser that gives a taste of things to come. Good work guys!

www.kook-lb.com
www.sebastiandahl.com

Deghri is a strong team of people in Lebanon and in Switzerland working to their strengths for the benefit of the project. They believe in the viability of Deghri Messengers and are always ready to give feedback. As project manager I'd like to thank:

Karim Sokhn, outdoor enthusiast and founder of CyclingCircle. Karim provides a secure legal basis for Deghri as well as invaluable support in communication and logistics.

Lukas Zürcher, Natalie Stocker, Roman Vonwil and Anouk Hüssy, the Deghri Support Team Switzerland - all passionate cyclists and advocates of sustainable transport, they are counselling and fundraising for the project as well as helping spread the word in Switzerland.

Saleem Salha is our first messenger-in-training. As well as taking a leading role in our promotional films, he is passing on his intimate knowledge of the hidden short-cuts of his home turf, Hamra.

The clever folk at kook creative studios are handling all the branding & communication material development while being an eco-friendly and biking-supporter studio.

Lela Shehade, campaigning and marketing expert, is our leading strategist for the Beirut marketing effort.

Shukran kteer, bila nashatkun ma fina ninja7, without your efforts we could not succeed!

The first ten days of crowdfunding have been heart-warming and super-motivating. The speed and size of the support has given an emotional as well as a financial boost.
I have also been lucky in the last couple of weeks to learn more about the cycling scene in Beirut and witness its strength and vibrancy. The velo-rando organised by PolyLiban was a great event with loads of positive feelings, and the first ever Ride of Silence in Beirut (a global solidarity ride with cyclists injured or killed on the streets) proved to be a great opportunity to raise awareness among cyclists and motorists alike about how to share the road. During the course of the ride we got talking to drivers who were curious about what this big group of cyclists were doing.
All in all good signs that Deghri Messengers's seeds are being planted in fertile soil.
Again thanks a lot to all our generous boosters, and remember to keep spreading the word. We're not there yet!