10,000 miles from the United States in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of South Africa a farmer wakes at sunrise in Madagascar to harvest the islands rare plants in the tropical sun. Women, in small, rural villages await the farmers harvest to condition and prepare the plants fibers. Peddling a rickshaw from village to village a man collects the conditioned plant fibers and delivers them to central cities where the Madagascar Beach Hat is shaped and produced. This process employs thousands on an Island where it is estimated by the World Bank that 70% of Malagasy live on less than $1.00 per day.