Social Enterprise and Fair Trade

Excitement, we had our mate Gillian Travis and her son Luke pop in to visit.
We always keep in contact but it has been a few years since we could hang out together. [Anne, we know you will we see this and we wished you were here xxx]  next time :)

Anyway- Gillian is such a ball of energy, chin wagging was at warp speed, news exchanges, ideas swirling around, stories of this that and the other.... where have you been, what do you see, where are you planning to go next. 
Our boys eyes were popping over dinner, listening to Luke- he is an avid traveller and been to so many places, well informed too, so lots to tell us. He has been to far east Russia, you know where it almost touches Alaska!! First person I have met who has done that, and he hung out with guys that were surfing!!!

Beware icebergs not good for your health, lets hit the waves type surfing. Who would have thought it?

 Neither of us are good at standing still for photos, so here are some action shots as we muddle around.
She got to check out the new block rooms and have a fiddle, raid fabric stashes.... all the things a textile-a-holic does when you have a workshop like ours

I did start out wanting to talk about Fair Trade and Social Enterprise, 
we just had a short break in Hyderabad, any excuse to check out a new place.... the first draw card was our mate Lena was going to be the as part of the International Basic Income Conference. This was a think tank type event- working to lobby governments and concerned bodies on the benefits to people and hence their home country if governments work to ensure everyone gets a reasonable bite of the apple.
If people have a basic income assured, they will have better health, kids will go to school, families generally more stable. As a citizen there is more chance of them engaging in the community positively, ...food, education, stability more chance of better job and paying taxes which helps a country progress.

No brainer really but poverty is on the increase and the gap between HAVE and HAVE NOT wider 
Praveen is a Delhi boy, India has a lot of poverty, he was ssssooooo shocked on our first visit to Paris to see street people, and then in Sydney as well. Understandable in India, maybe but in affluent countries WHY?

That got me onto thinking.... I remember when my friend Anita of Conserve India, a project to help reduce waste and create jobs for urban poor first heard the label social enterprise applied to her work. It was a new term, yes it did apply to her work although she started out simply trying to do the right thing and letting her conscience guide her.

Why are not all enterprises social enterprises, why are they not Fair Trade?

Why if I work in Australia as a teacher for example-  I am worth enough to have a house and car, feed my kids, electricity, running water, health care but if I worked here in India in a government school [and by and large they pay more than the millions of small private schools] my 'house' would be one large room, water might come for an hour once a day or I have to go to the pump for it, electricity may or may not run and is super expensive, car forget it,.... just a rough example.

In 2004 I heard about Barefoot College and I was onto Praveen, I want to go there and meet these people.
He asked me to explain what they were all about, then he said categorically NOTHING like that existed in India, it was only a story to swindle money from foreigners. He worked in travel and had seen lots of scams.
I was insistent, so we went to visit. He was just the driver and I was the giddy tourist. 
Well, did his eyes OPEN
he sat under the tree and had a cup of tea, asked the kitchen guy, how does it all work, where does he get a cut for bringing a client? and the guy explained to him what they do and how they work, really
When I came back, he was transformed. They look after people, they train the poor, they help people with advocacy. Wow it is true, it is real.
It was a turning point for him.
We were already working on the idea of tours..... we wanted it to be real. Meet people, meet good organizations, connect up truthfully.
It took a lot of work.... there are so many less than wonderful scams running [less now I think, as India is not so much downtrodden in poverty as it was. Still a long, long way to go but small in roads happening]

So from that day, that is what we wanted to offer our guests. We did not understand exactly what it was, not a lot mentioned about Fair Trade or Social Enterprise in those days ... but we have lived and learned and love what is does for people.

This is on our website 
We support Fair Trade and Self-Help organizations where we can and so the only ‘shops’ listed on our itinerary come under this category.
Don't worry there are also lots of other markets and bazaars we can visit too!
The same for our hotels- we try to find family run ventures rather than large chain groups that meet our standards of comfort and local character- some places are rather flash, some simple home-stays; all are the best locally for food and friendly service.

Home base is just outside Pushkar, where we pursue a Fair Trade
Textile Social Enterprise- take a look
http://www.the-sitching-project.com/

This is a long time ago with one of our Vietnam Groups.

I am sure this is the day

"Helping the local economy"

spouted for the first time, one of the girls said it and it became a catch phrase of the group.

I know it struck a note with me

and many of that group have travelled with us many times....

some how that phrase has joined our travels and many people say it.... I don't think I bring it up every time.

BUT

we do make choices with where we take our guests

we try very hard to have person to person/artisan/maker/ co-operative type contacts and workshops.

We try and find family run hotels where possible, not big chains.

So as much of the money we spend as possible goes into local communities not siphoned out as profit for those far away

training, training and more training...

Just wrote on FB
We make so many lovely things.... even if I do say so myself and training up my team to help me get them onto the internet... things like a wholesale catalogue, shop..... currently trying to move inventory onto tablets not by hand.... big learning curve for the gang, as being comfortable writing lists was a new thing just recently. Proud my guys are getting into it.

If we can crack this it will take such a load off my shoulders and will lead to us being super organized....well I will settle for fairly organized. I am quite pragmatic.

Praveen and I had a very satisfying Sunday- Dyeing all day...he has cracked even colour... was a bit splotchy to start.... we now have a good range of offerings we can repeat easily....
So pleased.
We have an exhibition come sale coming up in May, so a bit crazy working out a few new things to add to the 'Planted' range and getting stock done.

Photos on dolly coming this week of our newest designs.... just making our listings up now.
No rest for the wicked springs to mind but i must say we have both been to tired to be very wicked... satisfied with our progress though

Here is a nice little top I

forgot about but our wonderful volunteers this week have unearthed many things and now we are getting them all documented .

BIG, BIG thanks to Nicole and Heloise for all their help

as usual life goes by in a blur.... but what else would you do with yourself?

patch this, patch that

patch this,

patch that

patch me happy.

yep a silly mood....workshop will be closed for 2 days due to Pushkar Camel Fair traffic, so I can't be asked to come in and do something.

I will be home in my garden with dye pots and veggies.... making like a vegetable myself as the mood takes me.

yippee!!

This last week or so, I have seen some of the things my mates have been using my offcuts for, yes I am that type of friend who likes to share an addiction around- haha or pose a challenge.

Patched bags this is what I came up with...
my mate Anne made this cute, petite organizers

My staff drool over a pin case Anne made, me, the stitches are tiny and perfect, everytime we sit together and stitch they always comment on my lovely friend making me such a treasure. I know she will read this and turn a little pink at the compliment, it is genuine awe at her work on the girl's part .
and Dijanne has set off on an Indigo version of her travellers blanket. Her Traveller's Blankets are divine, to run your hand over one is such a treat....all that stitching adds a whole new dimension to them.

want to grab your own offcuts and have a go? Click

 

I know they are only offcuts, but they have too much life in them to be thrown away and I think these pieces do pose a question- how to use up leftovers creatively, they are not waste just opportunities to think in a new way.
Big question all around in the current state our world is in.
I saw Dijanne's pictures of the beach on the remote island she has a residency ...littered with trash, last time I was in Halong Bay I was gob smacked at the island to island rubbish.
We must start re-thinking things. start close to home and broaden your picture day by day.
We're going through the workshop and trying to cut the usage of plastic bags- hard when we live in a world of dirt and are trying to produce a clean product, but we have a few improvements coming along. Even our new storeroom will be better protected to keep dust out to.
What small change can you instigate today?
It gathers momentum and you might add a few tomorrow.
Compost, say no to plastic, solar power....walk not drive-oops a big one!
be creative :)
oh and I have made a vest our of dhoti patches- Well Mrs Rameshwari did a lot of the stitch for me...

We have done scarves and are now working on a jacket...it will be so cosy.

 

It has been a while, as you can see from the little snippets on the blog, life is a blur.
It was wonderful to have the week away, a real change a pace and lots of time to talk and dream as well as the stimulation of the workshop and Avani as well.

 We get a bee in our bonnet and boil stuff at home, we lurk around indigo vats a lot getting our work done up in Bagru.
After last years winter season and huge orders and even more huge headaches with timeliness and quality control we have been itching to find a solution.
Earlier this year I went up to Delhi to the AIACA Greenmark launch and after a number on conversations, invitations and arriving home to pass the stories onto to Praveen, he said "Right that's it- we'll make a colour unit"
Only to need to say to once and we are off and running.
we're converting all our mucking around, our research and our new education into a workable system to use natural dye on a production scale for our workshop.
Rather exciting.

 Going to need a bigger tree to hang it all out in,
working on a reed bed water recycling unit for home, been itching to make one of these since Zac was born...28 years or so. In those days illegal I Gresford, now times are different and I live in India it will be the bees' knees!
Next will be working on solar for hot water, and solutions to cut heating costs for our dye pots.
Fun part is samples and experiments.
Why?
Are we nuts? so much effort, and expense getting it up and going...
We have avoided chemical dyes for a long time, the filth we see here just with their dispasal would put anyone off, let alone all you don't see with their manufacture.
we have tried to limit our colours to traditional dyes and block print.
Blockprint uses a synthetic binder, the one we buy is water based and solvent free, but really on the dodgy side if you think about it for too long.
Blockprinting water is minimal for clear up, and residue is little....  it is not good enough but as good as we can do at the moment.
we do have a lead on a binder produced by a GOTS certified group and a few ideas to experiment with for mordents, and resists and over dyeing printing.
Also going to trial a table doing batik....
tricky, want to do better, working on it.

Waste? you've seen my compulsion to stitch waste into things, cotton that is too small to use is going into the compost heap.
Just starting one to see if silk offcuts can be composted as well- they are brightly coloured and I hate to think about the dyes used to do that but good compost is a small miracle and can clean and lock up a lot of nasties and it could go onto shade trees etc.
kitchen scarps go home to the chooks....

We are making all types of cloth bags and trying to get staff to remember them when they go shopping so the can say no to plastic!!
A bit of nagging on my part helps.

A bit of thinking and planning all these things are possible, an effort in your world just working on what is in front of you and think of the major changes it would bring to our world.
Got to give it a go!

This is a random picture from the Alhambra, so looking forward to next year's "Moorish Delights of Andalusia and Morocco" the tiling always makes me gasp and I have been reading a little on how spectacular the maths is that goes with it- patterns and repeating and permutations- nerd stuff but I just want to see if I can spot the myriad of variations.

good excuse to walk around and drool.

 

I am settling down again, old lady insomnia some nights and I can be quite rabid, thinking about how and what to do next.

It is exciting but exhausting...practicing sleeping through the night.

So much to do

such fun to be in that situation.