Stella Romana Airoldi | Making an Impact in the World: Creating a Social Business. Stella is one of those people who seem to have been everywhere already. And it’s probably true! In 2008 she decided to travel around the world by herself for about eight months. Wherever she went, she felt like she was confronted with poverty and injustice. Long story short: she got her Master’s in Public International Law and became a board member of SIFE Leiden, where she learned that the best way to help people out of poverty is by making sure that they can provide for themselves. Soon after she founded 22STARS in Uganda, a business based in Kampala, in which women make jewelry from recycled paper. With the project, she enables children to attend school. In her talk, Stella will tell you just how difficult it can be working in different cultures and especially with war victims without academic education, how to deal with obstacles at the start, how finding the right community will help you forward.

"Stella is a Dutch and German born social nomad, constantly on the move, who makes with her business an impact in the world. With a captivating enthusiasm in her manner of speaking she managed to give me an insight of her journey, adventures in Africa and upcoming inspiring projects. With 22STARS she empowers families in Uganda to rise above poverty by helping them to design and sell jewellery. She also has a foundation which sends more then 98 children long term to school and gives them weekly meals, medicine and clothes. In addition, she host workations in Uganda to bring Digital and Social nomads over here to co-work together with locals to make a change."

" Dieses Mal mit der lieben Stella von 22Stars. 22Stars ist ein Online-Shop, der Schmuck von Frauen aus Uganda verkauft und Stella habe ich in Tarifa kennengelernt, was auch ein Digitaler Nomaden und Kitesurfing Hotspot ist. Wir sind ja jetzt bekanntlich total passioniert dem Kitesurfing verfallen. Stella habe ich dann auch wieder auf der Nomade Cruise getroffen und in Jericocoara hier in Brasilien. Also die Szene wächst irgendwie immer mehr zusammen, was richtig cool ist. Man trifft immer mehr Gleichgesinnte unterwegs, die man dann kennt und kann sich dann mit denen über businessrelevante Sachen austauschen."

Sign up and listen to a 30 minutes video interview with Stella. Freedom Summit is An online platform where inspiring change-makers and leaders teach new emerging formulas on how to travel, work and live a fulfilling life around the world. Stella will explain in the video how to start a social business and how she is making 100% impact by empowering women in Uganda. "Bridging cultures through fashion and design. Our jewellery is designed by Stella Romana Airoldi in cooperation with the Ugandan designers. Each piece is hand-crafted by one of twenty-five 22STARS empowered women, and 100% of product sales are reinvested in the social mission to empower women and their families in Uganda."

“Everyone has an hour in their day to go and do something for somebody else; I don’t care how busy they are.”- Gisele Bündchen. By all means take a moment to digest the model mogul’s truth bomb. Without striving to make an impact, to make any form of change, a business might as well cease to exist. Chiming for change with her sustainable jewellery brand 22STARS – a fashion enterprise that fosters talent and empowers women in need in Uganda’s Acholi quarter –founder Stella Airoldi is bringing a whole new meaning to paying it forward. MC, editor

Stella talked at Nomad City Las Palmas about how to make a difference as a Digital Nomad. The Nomad City events are a fantastic opportunity to network, learn and experience the beautiful town of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with other location independent entrepreneurs and digital nomads from around the globe. Join us for amazing talks with speakers who share their best tips and tools about location independent life AND get to explore Gran Canaria and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, while taking part in different activities around the island.

"Making a change in poverty and injustice - just with your own work? This seems impossible for most people as they feel they can't change anything in the world with their own power. For them it's a task for governments. But Stella Romana Airoldi, born in Germany and grew up in the Netherlands, wanted to make a change on her own and she did. After her travels to Uganda, where people are still traumatized from war, are HIV positive and have little education, Stella decided to help by empowering people to provide for themselves. So in 2012 she started 22STARS. In the online shop of 22STARS and in stores like YAY in Amsterdam she sells jewellery, which is handmade from recycled paper by women from the Acholi Quarters in Uganda. In this interview Stella shares her story about her world wide travels, her business and digital nomad lifestyle."

"Since she was little, Stella’s lucky number has always been 22 and she loves sleeping under the stars, hence her company’s name. Stars symbolize the interconnectedness of the world because we can all see them from wherever we are. For the artisans in Uganda, stars mean hope, guidance, protection, and balance. And Stella’s hope is that this jewelry, and the stories behind it, will inspire people to reach for the stars, too. Stella, this week’s Woman Crush Wednesday, is the founder of 22STARS, a sustainable jewelry brand that sells exclusive handmade jewelry created from recycled paper by women in Uganda. She is a huge advocate for “fashion that gives back,” and empowers people through her company’s mission. “Our mission is to design and sell high quality jewelry made with respect for the environment and the people that make them.”

"Van toga naar teenslipper-lifestyle met een online fashionbedrijf en daarmee iets teruggeven aan de wereld: social entrepreneur Stella Romana Airoldi (31) doet het met haar 22Stars. Business meets goodwill, wat een inspiratie! Met een rechtenstudie leek een advocatenjob een vanzelfsprekendheid. Voor haar scriptie reisde Stella eerst nog even af naar Oeganda, waar ze de vrouwen van Kampala in haar hart sloot. Tegen alle verwachtingen in werd het niet de advocatuur, maar de fashionindustrie, om zo de Oegandese vrouwen een beter bestaan te geven."

"When Stella Romana Airoldi first set foot in Uganda, she had no idea she was about to embark on an even greater journey to help bring education and jobs to the women she met there. Building off of an existing product she saw being made by the women in northern Uganda, Stella founded 22STARS, a brand that stretches far beyond the jewelry it creates. Each piece is handmade from 100% recycled materials, and the proceeds help women support their families, while making education accessible to their children. In addition, the women who work for the brand receive financial training, social support, health training, and a variety of other classes."

"Stella unterstützt mit dem Verkauf von Schmuck auf 22stars.com Frauen in Uganda, ein besseres Leben zu führen. Die schönen Schmuckstücke werden aus recyceltem Papier hergestellt. Außerdem setzt sich Stella dafür ein, dass Kinder in die Schule gehen können anstatt im Steinbruch arbeiten zu müssen."

"About how social media can help your business. I have a socially minded business called 22STARS, that designs and sells handmade jewellery from recycled paper. The jewellery is made by women survivors of the war in Uganda. You’re probably wondering how I came to set up something like this, so let me tell you the story of how it all started. Following in the footsteps of my parents, I lead a very active life and travelled all over the world. During these travels, I was regularly confronted with poverty and injustice. For that reason, I decided to get my Master’s degree in Public International Law and become a board member of SIFE Leiden. That is where I learned that the best way to help people get out of poverty is to make sure that they can provide for themselves. I wrote my thesis about girl child soldiers within the Lord Resistance Army and visited Uganda in 2009 to volunteer at an AIDS Information Centre and do the research for my thesis. This is how my passion and interest for Uganda started."

"Recycled Paper Jewelry From Uganda - 22STARS. In this week's artisan portrait, meet Stella Romana Airoldi the founder of 22STARS. This is a socially minded business that designs, crafts and sells handmade jewelry. This unique jewelry is handmade from recycled paper, by women living in the Acholi Quarter of Kampala, Uganda. All the jewelry pieces of 22STARS are fabricated in a socially responsible manner that is friendly to the environment."

22STARS jewelry is designed by Stella Romana Airoldi and handmade together with Ugandan artisans to empower them to rise above poverty. Their artisans fled during the war with the LRA from Northern Uganda to Kampala and face many challenges; many of them are illiterate, HIV positive and traumatized. 22STARS enables them to get their self-respect back and earn a living for their families. Besides creating jewelry, they teach them small business skills to make them independent strong women and help them where necessary.

Stella Romana Airoldi heeft een Nederlands bedrijf, 22STARS opgericht. 22STARS richt zich op het creëren van duurzame sieraden. Alle producten zijn handgemaakt van 100% gerecycled papier op een sociaal verantwoorde manier. Ze worden gemaakt door vrouwen die in de Acholi Wijk van Kampala, Oeganda, wonen. Hierdoor verdienen zij geld voor o.a. voedsel, kleding, scholing, medicijnen en onderdak.

"Die niederländische Initiative 22STARS wurde von Stella Romana Airoldi gegründet. Als Stella 2009 im Rahmen einer Forschungsreise über Kindersoldaten nach Uganda fährt, entdeckt sie durch einen Zufall die Frauen aus dem Acholi Viertel von Kampala (einem Lager für Kriegsflüchtlinge, die aus Nord-Uganda geflohen sind) und ist sofort beeindruckt von den künstlerischen Fähigkeiten der Damen, schönen Schmuck aus Recycling-Papier zu machen. Nach einigen Überlegungen entschloss sich Stella, den Frauen zu helfen und eine Plattform für ihren Schmuck zu gründen."

2009 war ich in Uganda um über Kindersoldatinnen in der Lord Resistance Army zu schreiben. Ich hatte dort Frauen für meine Masterthesis interviewt, die im Acholi Quarter in Kampala, ein Internally Displaced Center für Kriegsopfer aus Nord-Uganda,leben. Die Frauen dort fertigten einfachen Schmuck aus Papier an. Um Sie zu unterstützen habe ich ihnen natürlich Schmuck abgekauft. Den Kontakt habe ich gehalten und jedes Jahr Schmuck bestellt. Irgendwann wurde der Schmuck meinen Freunden zu langweilig. Sie fragten mich, ob die Frauen nicht mal was anderes machen könnten – zum Beispiel, eine lange blau-grüne Kette mit unterschiedlich großen Perlen, eine kurze schwarz-rote Kette und so weiter. Ich habe gesagt: “ Na klar, die können alles machen was du willst.” Als der gewünschte Schmuck ankam, waren meine Freunde unglaublich begeistert davon, dass alles mit der Hand hergestellt wurde. Sie schlugen mir vor, einen Laden zu eröffnen und den Schmuck zu verkaufen.

Stella has a heart of gold, she is a wanderluster, a founder and a #GirlBoss all round. Here is her story how she started international businesses 22Stars whilst traveling the world.

In our stories of #Wonderer series, we share with you snippets from the road. These are stories from the women in our community, they are powerful, bold and free-spirited #Wonderers who love to travel. Full of Wanderlust.

JUP 033 | Stella Airoldi: Was du für dich tust, das stirbt mit dir, was du für andere tust ist unsterblich Stella lebt in den Niederlanden, in Uganda und bereist die Welt. Sie ist digitale Nomadin, Visionärin und kreative Unternehmerin. Durch ihre Arbeit mit Frauen in Uganda, die einzigartigen Schmuck aus Recycling-Papier herstellen, ermöglicht sie ihnen und ihren Familien ein besseres Leben, ganz nach dem Prinzip: Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe. Stella hilft den Frauen sich selbst aus Armut zu befreien, indem sie ihnen Businessskills vermittelt, ihnen Gehör in der digitalen Welt verschafft und sich um das Marketing der handgefertigten Einzelstücke kümmert. In alle Prozesse von der Produktion bis zum Vertrieb ist sie involviert. Außerdem ermöglicht sie Kindern in den Slums von Uganda, durch eine Stiftung, den Schulbesuch.Was diese tolle Frau noch so alles treibt, was sie überhaupt nach Uganda geführt hat und wo du ihre tollen Produkte findest, das erfährst du in Interview 33 des Jungunternehmerpodcast.