By Jason K Powers (Co-Founder of North East India Project)
August 8 th , 2008 | Denver , Colorado , USA

While there are many statements in the article that have been directly taken from our own website, there are many statements in the article that are wrong and/or misleading, and I should like to address them below to ensure the public that we are, in fact, operating with total integrity and honesty.

“Pieces of Naga crafts and artworks hanging in galleries in Denver, USA and posted in the internet by North East India Project (NEIP), is fetching quite an impressive amount of dollars from admirers around the globe.”
In 2007, NEIP returned to the U.S. with many arts and handicrafts that we both purchased from the people of Yimjenkimong, as well as many items donated from the villagers. Our intent was to present these items at an art exhibit held in downtown Denver in the winter of 2007. This art exhibit took place at theGallery at 910 , from November 9 th through December 11 th , 2007. While we were able to sell a few pieces of art made by the village, the sales were much lower than we anticipated which left us with most arts and crafts. With the large amount of items remaining, we sought out other art galleries that would be willing to host these items. Two more shows were held; one show was held in Denver at Beadbeautiful – The Gallery during the month of March of this year. A second show, also in Denver , was held at Provide-N-Ce Art Gallery during the month of July of this year. Unfortunately, all three shows sold much less than what we had hoped and we are still left with most arts and handicrafts. Our conclusion is that the art and handicraft presented, combined with various other factors including local economy, led to poor sales of the handicraft. I welcome you to visit me at my home to look at all of the arts and crafts that have not been sold. Please contact me if you are interested.

“…100 percent of the money generated through sale of these handicrafts and photos of Yimchenkimong village will be channeled back for the development of this village in Nagaland. However, the villagers who have so generously contributed their handicrafts, hospitality, labour, time and even money, are yet to see a single pie from this project which began with the visit of the photographers in 2004.”
There is possibly a “slight-of-hand” comment made here stating two different things. One, that the village has not received a single “pie” since 2004, is simply not true. You may contact the village to verify this information and if they wish to disclose the amount, they may. While admittedly, the amount has not been significant, as we have not had the funds needed, we are still working to raise the funds needed.
Two, all monies made through the sales of the arts and handicraft from these past three art exhibits will in fact be given to the village, however, we have not returned to the village since our last visit, which has been less than one year, to be able to give them the monies.

“…the construction of the community building is lying abandoned till date. This is because the villagers have not received the promised financial aid for the construction from the NEIP even though the council has kept their side of the bargain to contribute 25 percent of construction in the form of materials like timber, bamboo, labour etc.”
One must look at the reason why the village has not received the “promised financial aid” for the Community Center. This reason is due to the fact that we (NEIP) have not been able to raise the funds needed in order to continue building the community center. I shall speak more about this near the end of this article.

“…villagers also made generous contributions of their handicrafts and other items for free believing that it was meant to raise funds for the development of the village. But now, the locals are becoming restless as not one penny of the fund has been received till now, while their contributed handicrafts are being sold at extremely high prices in the United States .”
The people of Yimjenkimong Village have, in fact, been very generous and helpful to the best of their abilities, and its purpose is to assist in raising the funds needed. The handicrafts were being sold at a fair market art value during the art exhibits, as well as our online store, which is slated to come offline this month, due to zero online sales to date. As stated before, most of the arts and handicraft have not sold to date for various reasons. We will continue to offer the handicrafts to raise funds as long as it takes. Again, to say “not one penny has been received till now,” is misleading due to the fact that no NEIP team has been able to return to the village to give them the funds raised thus far.

There are various other misleading or false statements within this article by Bonnie Konyak , but I believe I have covered the primary points. Now, if I may speak briefly on a more personal note…
As stated on our website, Mr. Zaman and myself began this venture in 2006. Our first ever visit to the village was in 2004, and North East India Project did not exist until 2006. In the beginning, NEIP was essentially “two men and an idea.” As any person who has started their own venture, business, NGO, or non-profit would know, these types of things do not just become “financially prosperous” overnight, nor do you have the physical help you need starting out. It has been a very slow process, and we are working very hard in helping one village. Our dreams are to be able to help many, many other villages through time, but for now, as funds allow, we simply do the best we can do. I personally worked three jobs earlier this year, which include my photography business, just to pay the bills. Recently, due to the slowing economy in the U.S. , I was laid off one of those jobs, and struggle to make ends meet. All of this, and we still desire to see the people of N.E. India grow and prosper, and Mr. Zaman and I work very hard, amidst our day to day jobs to pay the bills, to get NEIP off the ground, and to get proper funding needed. I humbly tell you this not for pity, but so that you might understand that things are not always what they seem, and I encourage you to always look in to it.

With all due respect, I encourage the author of the original article, Bonnie Konyak, to ask the appropriate questions from the appropriate people when investigating a situation such as ours. I would also encourage you to be open and honest during your direct inquiries with us before publishing an article. I am happy that you, Bonnie Konyak, care enough about the people to do your best to watch out for them, and to inform the public of any injustice, but please also do your best to get the proper information before you speak.

I can assure you that myself and Mr. Zaman are operating with full integrity and honesty and openness to the people of Yimjenkimong, as well as to the public. My thanks to those of you who have read this article, and my hope is that this will resolve any questions regarding the matter of NEIP and our intent.

God bless.

Jason K Powers
Co-Founder
North East India Project

Original article can be found here.