CISCO VISION

CISCO VISION was established in 1998.

I had written the script to my first book about Afghanistan and was looking for a publisher. Afghanistan was in the so called media shadow,  my script was returned with nice notes like “good writing but commercially impossible”. I was determined to publish my book, eager for people to get a better understanding of something that seemed distance and strange. There was no doubt in my mind that what was happening in Afghanistan concerned all of us.

I did not have the money to publish the book. ALMI had state funds to encourage businesses, one of their program was giving loans to new businesses run by women. I was at the time running a company together with my male partner Claes Andreasson and needed to start a new one.Filling out the forms, I looked at my dog Cisco and decided that the name of my new company would be CISCO VISION.

Cisco was born in California, right before Dances with Wolves became a box office and Oscar success. I interviewed Kevin Costner and the author of the book, Michael Blake.

Remember the opening scene? When Kevin Costner’s character Lieutenant Dunbar is deserting on the horse, holding out his hands in the air, galloping away out into the desert. Well, the name of the horse was Cisco, named after a horse Michael Blake rode as a child, which in turn was named after the Mexican TV-hero from the 1950’s, Cisco the Kid.

Great name for my puppy, I thought, Michael Blake agreed.
Great name for my company, I thought. ALMI agreed. I was granted the loan and my first book was published in 1999.