We are a start-up focused on sustainability and improving the quality of life for community members and low-income residents of central Ohio. We are acutely aware of the challenges individuals in low-income areas are faced with. We want to be part of the solution and change for the lack of quality food and the education available to these communities.
Desco Collective was founded with simple, core values; Everyone deserves access to equitable and affordable goods and services, no matter what those goods or services are, to design your life with products you can trust. Both my partner and I have always held strong to this belief.
We want to help people gain the knowledge for growing and preparing their own food. We currently produce affordable eco-friendly products aimed at reducing paper and plastic waste that we sell online from our website descocollective.com and at local farmers’ markets. More often than not eco-friendly products are prohibitively priced and we are changing that one sale at a time. Our plans include creating a 6000+ sq ft garden and educational space where we can grow these foods and allow students to be hands-on. We decided at the end of 2019 to embark on our entrepreneurial journey and wanted to create a positive impact on the environment and in 2020 we officially formed our LLC. I wanted to start this business because I grew up often going hungry and at one time becoming homeless when I was only 9 and 10 years old. I know that many youth and families are still experiencing these same kinds of effects of poverty and I am determined to be a part of changing that for the better.
Muriel’s story
I was born and raised in a small Amish community in rural Tennessee. I gained a wealth of knowledge and skills during this time. I still use and cherish the skills I learned such as gardening, animal husbandry, and sewing. I have experienced many things in my life including homelessness, food insecurity, and poverty all before the age of 16. All of which were key factors in inspiring me to start this business. Despite learning disabilities, no generational wealth, and imposter syndrome I would go on to graduate high school and become an entrepreneur.
My partner Kevin was born in Brooklyn and spent his early childhood in Everette, Washington. Surrounded by the wild nature of the Pacific Northwest. He had a background in business and management and no experience with gardening or farming. Despite that, his love of working with his hands fueled his passion for creating his own career path. We knew in early 2019 that we wanted to make a big change from our office jobs and we set out to gain the time, knowledge, and experience to start this business.
We spent much of 2020 working on an organic family farm for the first summer of the pandemic. Honing our skills, knowledge, and business plan. Preparing for our next big step and in December 2020, our LLC, Desco Collective was formed. We started this business out of a family member’s garage, the same garage we have lived in for the past year while getting our business off the ground. In our first year in business, we were able to triple our original investment of $2,000, ending our first year at just over the $6000 mark. In 2021 we built a community around our brand at farmers’ markets and we are looking forward to continuing to grow.