Creative Handicrafts - Holistically Empowering Disadvantaged Women

Wandering into the Creative Handicrafts store you might just find yourself slowly morphing into a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory scenario... find yourself distracted by the colourful chaos and the vivid display of prints and designs displayed on the shelves. Sections that are solely dedicated to handcrafted kurtis and hand dyed bags, jholas (Indian shoulder bags), banana bags, totes as well as soft toys. What truly epitomises that this store is mismatched with the other stores by virtue of the fact that it thrives on being dedicated towards creating opportunities for women from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Women who lack moral support due to the intense patriarchy that they are often subjected to either by their husbands, their husband’s family or by their own families. These women are continually subjected to violent and brutal treatment in the hands of their callous households.

Patriarchy has often been extremely ravening and barbaric. It permeates through all stratas. Either through subtle exchanges of condescending dialogues with regard to women’s empowerment, financial independence and other such complexities involved. Creative Handicrafts is breaking barriers by supplying and plotting stable jobs, with a steady source of income for women located in Mumbai from weaker economic backgrounds. Therefore with every item that you purchase from Creative Handicrafts, you help empower a woman, who’s working towards her future, a woman who lacks basic educational qualification and yearns to provide her kin with a safe and a better future, you help a woman in need. Registered as a fair trade organisation, it’s primary goal is to grant all of their employees holistic development by rewarding their families with educational sponsorships, preschool programs, childcare and healthcare.

From its period of inception in the year 1984, Sister Isabel Martin who alongside two women began their humble journey by sewing soft toys and traditional form of handicrafts, they gradually grew into a larger but a close knit team establishing the Women’s Self Employment Cooperative. They then delved into cooperative groups who not only supported and empowered women but also fostered loyalty through sponsoring childcare and educational schemes. They have since been committed and strive towards enhancing the quality and the holistic developments of women’s lives. Taking vulnerable women and their households under their trusted wing, ensures that through training and empowering women with the right set of skills assures growth and makes for their own distinguished sets of individualism. These women are then taught the art and are then morphed into self sufficient entrepreneurs.

Their services revolve around creating all types of apparel using organic cotton, they also take in custom offers without comprising on quality. Creating unique blends that make for high quality garments. Together these women work in coordination with skilled professional designers to create alluring patterns of clothing from abstract to embroidered embellishments. Through these craft entrepreneurship programs they also manufacture hand crafted bags for all occasions. These women are trained in sewing as well as hand crafting textile based products like summer dresses, kurtas, blouses and linen pants. Also part of their working agenda they have Asli Food - a kitchen service provided by women who lack specific skill aligned tasks with regard to sewing. They are then employed into the kitchen business, providing homemade meals that are affordable by supplying homestyle cooking at healthy and affordable prices. Their main aim now is to reach out and acquire as many women on board and broaden their horizons beyond the city of Mumbai. Fair trade then has to move yonder the handicraft and food sector.

The repercussions of buying these handcrafted items? No longer do these women seek for shelter within their broken homes nor do they go home to an alcoholic who often sought to beating her up barbarically, instead he seeks counselling at a rehabilitation centre. As for her family, she can now provide the fruit of her womb, her kin, with a proper education and support her family fiscally as they no longer have to be subjected towards such dire consequences. So if you do happen to purchase any item from Creative Handicraft, do bear in mind that you’ve done something for the greater good.

Picture Credits - Coco’s Tea Party.

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