From remote villages in India far away from city life, I had an opportunity to meet young women artists belonging to a lineage of families who dedicated their generations to producing world-class hand-embroidery work. With meagre resources, and almost no access to mobile phones, the internet and modern equipment, these happy and dedicated faces are forced to work for low wages.
'With no access to even primary-level education, they have no idea how bypassing the middleman could help them earn what they deserve. I offered them to pay five times their current earnings, to which they said and I quote, "We won't hesitate to say 'no' to our current contractor and would be happy to work for you provided we get proper training to be able to deliver our best". We are in the process of collaboration and are planning to provide them with the essential training they need to work on ASTEM t-shirts and possibly other related products. Finally, we aim to empower these women artists not only with good-paying jobs but also by aiding them in getting primary-level education.
