Insha-e-Noor
Insha-e-Noor began as a skill training program in 2008. It identifies itself as a production centre that will gradually take shape into an all-women independent enterprise.
The program aims to empower women through skills and provide them with a livelihood. They believe that women having an income of their own helps them financially but supports their dreams, making them confident and independent. Insha-e-Noor works with 80 women of the Basti of Hazrat Nizamuddin working at the crafts centre and indirectly with homemakers who acquire the centre’s skills. They are given skills training like hand embroidery, tailoring, crochet, papercrafts, etc., with life skills and self-help groups training for their holistic personality development. The women of Insha-e-Noor produce beautiful products. Most of them are inspired by Mughal architecture. They create and sell various handmade products like children's clothes, pouches, embroidered dupattas, soft toys, and many more. The products of Insha-e-Noor are sold through various platforms like a permanent kiosk of the brand in the grand Humayun's tomb, various retail shops, and exhibitions. They also take custom orders for design houses and retail chains like Fab India.
Revive
Ms. Anu Dogra is the founder of Revive Counselling & Consulting Services - Empower. Heal. Thrive.
She is a Counselling Psychologist, and an RCI licensed Rehabilitation Counsellor. She has been actively working with children & adults of varied age groups across different setups, including hospitals, NGOs, and schools. Anu uses a holistic approach to partner with clients to proactively strengthen their relationships and personal well-being.
About Revive Counselling:
Revive was established to provide a safe & nurturing space to individuals without distinguishing gender, ethnicity, social standing, or intellectual ability. It is a space where they feel empowered and can heal from their past to thrive in society with dignity.
Digital Wellbeing Limitless Stree's session taken: Ms. Anu Dogra
The session focused on the pros and cons of digital space. It gave new insights into how we can efficiently use our time on the internet and make us aware of our social media usage. It also talked about the need for empathy in the present times.
Unwavering Kala
The inspiration for Unwavering Kala:
Ritu mentions that she was always fascinated by creative arts, and it gave her the satisfaction that she was missing in her job. This pushed her to go for an art and craft diploma. She also mentions her friend’s support, who made her believe in herself and motivate her to start her own brand. She joined an NGO as an art teacher and has been teaching for 5 years. Meanwhile, she did an internship with Peopletree and has a beautiful team of 7 members under her own crafts brand. She was employed as a part-timer for 3 years by Decathlon Sports India and was a strong team member. This job gave her professionalism and knowledge of how a business model works.
Be the Sindbad, the sailor of your life!
Ritu saw many challenges in her way. She was totally opposed by her close ones for choosing the art line. She wanted to give a shot for her passion, but she became directionless when thoughts of settlement, family, and job would come. However, she says, “Challenges will be there in doing what you love and what you do not love. The only thing is that you will be tested. Just hold on to what you want to do. And you will sail your boat. Be the Sindbad, the sailor of your life!”She believes she has a lot to work upon and with her team, and this struggle will never end. The initiative is growing and shaping with every project and every craft.
Buta Axom
Ms. Angashikha is from Sivasagar, Assam. She is a TISS Guwahati pass out and did her masters in livelihood and social entrepreneurship. She founded Buta Axom with Wazbeer Hussain, a Delhi University Graduate to give local weavers a working space and livelihood source.
Buta Axom started in the year 2018. It is a social enterprise providing sustainable livelihood to the traditional weavers of Assam. They follow a village model. Most of the weavers are women, and they utilize the local resources available to them. They specialize in cushion covers, sarees, stoles, and traditional looms. They are newly using “sley” haal handloom.
Vintage Monkey
Paavani Khanna is the founder of Vintage Monkey. She feels she always had a creative spark and would love to innovate and develop new ideas. Vintage Monkey started by designing phone covers for herself. Her family and friends were highly impressed by her creativity and suggested presenting her work on a commercial platform. She entered the fashion accessory domain and started to design some of her jewelry products. Her venture then moved towards selling mostly jewelry, along with bags, clothes, and scarves. The pandemic was the time that gave her a fresh perspective for her brand.
Paavani is slowly delving into the clothing brand named “Tezeta”, under Vintage Monkey. Tezeta clothing aspires to be the time machine, born out of the amalgamation of her love for traveling the world alongside her admiration for India’s craftsmanship. In these times, Tezeta prefers to daydream and romanticize. A sense of nostalgia inspires the clothing. With a series of capsule collections, Tezeta aims to stand as a material witness to something lost in the past. Whether in the interiors of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh. Or nestled in the sunny aura of South America and the chicness of European cities.
Maikai
Maikai’ a Hawaiian word that means goodness. A new brand, Maikai within a short span of time has built a reputation for itself and is becoming consumer’s favorite just by virtue of word-of-mouth publicity. But what’s unique is that the brand is selling hand-block sports bras. Vidya Sethi, the founder of Maikai, wanted to make something for women, which is entirely custom-made for their bust. That’s how she made the first product. In 2019 Vidya decided not to buy fast fashion anymore because of its large carbon footprint, and that’s how Maikai came about. She wanted it to be good for the environment and wanted women to enjoy their bodies. She wanted to be size inclusive and make clothes that are comfortable while still keeping the process zero waste and making fashion sustainable.
Vidya admits that her journey was challenging because she launched Maikai in 2019, and 2020 was the year of pandemic. She reopened just at the beginning of August, and the response was excellent. The most promising thing for Vidya is that women can embrace their uniqueness, no matter what the number. Maikai doesn't follow fashion trends, it is creating its own, though it takes a lot of time, Vidya is happy in doing the hard work. Maikai now has expanded its collection and sells dresses, jumpsuits, sports bras, zero waste scrunchies, headbands, and the recently launched Maikai lounge set.
These stories are featured weekly on our social media. We run a series Womanly Wednesday to support women leading their own initiatives. This is our small effort to support such women and bring their positive stories to the world and help other women find inspiration.
If you are a woman leading your own initiative, or you know any such woman, we would love to cover their story as well. You can contact us or share your story directly here.
Also read