WEEK 11 2026-03-15 

Diamonds feel timeless in a jewelry case, but their story is anything but simple. We’re packing bags for Africa with a question that won’t let go: how does a diamond actually travel from the ground to a ring on someone’s hand, and what does that journey cost or create for the people along the way?

We start with the mindset behind our work at David Douglas Diamonds, the daily learning curve of the diamond trade, and the bigger forces shaping the market, from De Beers history to the rise of lab-grown diamonds. Then we get specific about the route ahead: Atlanta to Johannesburg, on to Lusaka, Zambia, a place that’s become personal over years of relationships and hands-on projects. Zambia’s resources are legendary, from emeralds and amethyst to copper and gold, but the real focus is value creation through skills. We talk about teaching jewelry-making, leaving tools behind, and why “adding value” locally can matter as much as any export.

From there, the conversation turns to entrepreneurship and ethical help. We share why we resist quick fixes, what we’ve learned from business coaching, and how a pandemic-era connection with a safari driver turned into launching a taxi business with real coaching around service, profitability, and growth. We also check in on projects like a small egg business built around chickens, trade training for girls in Lusaka, and a vocational school in Uganda teaching sewing, carpentry, welding, and more.

The trip ends in Sierra Leone, where we’ll visit artisanal diamond mines and meet with officials to see how the system works after a stone is unearthed. We also address the shadow of “blood diamonds” and why ethical diamond sourcing, transparency, and oversight matter to anyone buying jewelry today. Subscribe, share this with someone who loves jewelry, and leave a review if you want more honest conversations about diamonds and impact. What would you ask if you could stand at the edge of a diamond mine?