As we grow, so do the number of women we work with

As demands for our Fair Trade notecards increases (the greeting cards are now in about 150 stores in 40 states) we have the opportunity to provide more employment to economically disadvantaged women – thus meeting a major goal of why we are doing this work. While in India I was able to attend a training in Gairsain (pictured at right and below), a remote area of Uttaranchal nestled in the Himalayas. There are very limited employment opportunities in this region and we are excited to partner with women in this area

Some of our current artisans led the training – it was great seeing them take on the leadership role of trainer. Vidhya (see “Our Team” posting below) did a wonderful job taking the women through the process of making a card and showing them the basics. Then the trainees used their imagination to create new designs from the flowers in front of them – an incredible process to watch unfold.

The women are excited to begin producing greeting cards, and I enjoyed sitting with them at a computer showing them some of the retail stores where their artwork would connect with people here in the States (yes – we had an internet connection! More on technology advances in India in a later post).

Meena (middle woman in photo) said, “I always thought I would have to leave this area to find meaningful work and a job that provides enough income. This is my home and I love this place. I am happy that I can stay and work here and be with my family and community.”

Hope For Women India - Our Team

Currently we work with 23 women that create our greeting cards. They are located in four different regions. But Hope For Women's operations in India extend beyond our partnerships with our women artisans - we also have a great management staff . Our central office is in Dehra Dun (see posting below) and it is there that we have our crack team who is in charge of managing all of our operations. This includes purchasing all of our paper and supplies, overseeing our flower inventory and storage facility, researching and developing new products, sourcing and managing all of our product printing requirements, and overseeing quality control on every greeting card that is produced. They do much more too! So let's meet the team:

SAJI - Saji is one of my oldest and dearest friends - our relationship goes back over 14 years. He was my roommate during the time I lived in India and I consider him "my brother from another mother"! Saji oversees all aspects of Hope For Women India and is amazing at what he does. He is originally from the state of Kerela in south India, and while staying at his home with his wonderful wife Malini and two great kids I was treated to fabulous south Indian home cooked meals - another benefit of working in India!

VIDHYA (on left)- Vidhya joined us 6 months ago and is in charge of leading trainings for women interested in working with Hope For Women, as well as supervising greeting card production in Dehra Dun. She is an excellent designer who has flourished in her role as manager.

ROOPA (on right) - After seeing her sister Poonam support herself as a Hope For Women artisan, Roopa joined us 3 months ago as quality control supervisor. Known by the women as "Eagle Eye", all cards and packaging must pass Roopa's approval before leaving India.

Increased demand for our product has allowed us to offer Vidhya and Roopa full-time jobs and we are thrilled at how they are responding to the opportunity. We are lucky to have such a great team!

"The Office"

We recently (in the last 6 months) aquired our own office space and flower garden (known as "The Office") in Dehra Dun, the capital of the Indian state of Uttaranchal. The Office serves as a logistics headquarters for managing product production, as well as a meeting place and workspace for some of our women artisans (photo above was taken following a meeting at "The Office").

I was lucky to arrive with a crop of flowers in full bloom. Yellow calendula, blue larkspur, orange
dhalias and purple pansies all shown brilliantly. These flowers serve as the base stock for our notecard production, and are supplimented by other gardens located in more remote areas of the Himalayas. After picking fresh flowers (above and below) for making future cards we went back into The Office, and over cups of steaming chai the women proudly showed me new designs they created. "I love thinking up new ways to arrange our beautiful flowers!" said Poonam.

Big Changes for Maya

After meeting with one of the groups of women we work with in Dehra Dun I was very excited to see Maya (pictured below) come towards me with some obviously good news. The soft spoken woman had a big smile and announced that she would be leaving her other jobs as a domestic helper, where each day she would spend a total of 4 to 5 hours cleaning and cooking in two different homes. "I am so thankful to leave that work and spend my time creating art."

Due to the increase in demand for Hope For Women's greeting cards we are able to offer Maya and other women stability - something that wasn't in their lives beforehand. We are able to offer them a monthly wage as well as payment for each card they produce - money they can count on each month, and money that allows them to leave less-fulfilling and lower paying work that previously served as their base income.

"I'll see you in the office tomorrow!" Maya said as she headed out to pick some flowers in our garden. "I am so excited to come to work!".