Crafting the character and story

Realizing that it was possible to manufacture such toy, I had to find out what it would look like and what I wanted to get from this project.

First, I published a contest on 99design to get a 3D model, and sent all the specifications to Guided Import to get a list of 5 quotes from different factories in China.

Manufacturing another toy out there just to create a viral phenomenon didn't really excited me as much, but wanted to have a positive impact with it.

I was born and raised in Morocco before moving to the US and I feel very privileged to be able to attend to a great school which allowed me to get where I am. I knew I wanted to be involved in education as it's a social lift. In some rural areas, girls aren’t able to attend school after the age of 12. This is due to a lack of money or the long, unsafe journeys to schools that are too far away.

So instead of these girls following their dreams of a better future they end up with a life spent at home. A life of domestic chores, early marriage and having children.

So I set out to create a squawking rubber toy that represents this legendary animal. One that I could sell to raise money and help these girls get a better education. Each purchase of Gabi the Goat gives a girl in Morocco 3 days of education and housing.

That’s when YouGoatMe and Gabi the Goat was born.