Claflin students bridge cultures for 2026 CALA-Bash

Leviticus Long Jr., a senior marketing major, and Dr. Emily Crawford, Claflin marketing professor.

When students browse the vendor stalls at this year's CALA-Bash festival, many will walk away wearing hand-strung stone bead bracelets and clutching bags made from traditional African mud cloth.

What they might not realize is that these items traveled thousands of miles from a Claflin classroom to Ghana and back again.

Leviticus Long Jr., a senior marketing major, is helping bring this international collaboration to life. Through a unique partnership between Claflin's marketing department and Ghanaian manufacturers, students are designing and importing authentic African merchandise specifically tailored to campus tastes.

The collaboration began with Dr. Emily Crawford, a marketing professor who maintains connections with factories in Ghana. For Long and his classmates, the project offers real-world experience.

"She gives us some rural practices, some hands-on learning," Long said. "We either do this for CALA-Bash or homecoming, depending on the time of year."

The process starts with data. Students survey the campus community to gauge interest in potential products then use that feedback to finalize their designs.

 "We try to get a good population sample of the campus," Long said. "We make a Google Form or Microsoft Form and send it out to group chats, like the Big CU, GroupMe, or just get fellow classmates or people you know to fill out the survey."

The target audience includes both students and faculty, and anyone who might attend the festival.

Planning began immediately.

"We started literally the first week of class," Long said. "The designs have actually already been sent off."

The compressed schedule demands efficiency. The sooner students collect survey responses, the sooner designs reach Ghana, and the sooner finished products return to campus.

"That's why we push the surveys heavily throughout those first couple weeks of school," Long said. "The quicker we get a sense of what people want, the quicker they get back to us."

This year marks a significant evolution: For the first time, the project has an e-commerce presence.

"There have been a few times in the past where people come and they may not necessarily have money on them that day, or the items might not be in their budget at that time," Long said. Previously, when customers asked about online ordering, the answer was always no.

Crawford took the initiative to establish a website, ensuring future projects maintain a digital storefront.

The products themselves blend Claflin pride with African heritage. While Long kept some items under wraps for promotional purposes, he confirmed stone bead bracelets, hats and bags made from authentic mudcloth will be available.

The quality, he emphasized, justifies the price point.

"When I say bead bracelets, it's like stone beads," Long said. "It's not just like plastic beads that chip away. It's really good quality, handcrafted, hands-on, put together."

Prices range from approximately $15-30 for smaller items like bracelets, with mud cloth bags commanding around $45.

Past performance suggests strong sales ahead.