In September, Kristin and I visited the women’s cooperative in Nepal that makes many of our dresses, tops, and pants. It was so amazing to get to know the women and see the whole process. I hope these photos and video clips convey that.
First, the women spin the thread.
And the thread is woven on hand looms.
Then, the print is applied by hand using a screen printing technique.
The fabric is hung to dry.
In pairs, the women fold and smooth the fabric into stacks. A cardboard pattern is outlined in chalk and then cut out.
Once the fabric is cut into the pieces, the garment is stitched together. Many of the women use pedal powered sewing machines, rather than electric ones, due to frequent power outages.
The garment then goes to finishing and quality control. In finishing, the women cut excess thread and rub out chalk. Quality control makes sure the measurements are right and looks for any other problems.
Last, but not least, the garment is ironed, folded, and packaged.
And those are the hands in Mata Traders handmade garments.
Tags: empowering women, hand screen print, hand-woven cotton, handmade clothing, handmade dresses, handmade fabric, nepal, power outage, traditional handicraft, women, women's cooperatives
This entry was posted on Thursday, November 8th, 2012 at 12:21 pm and is filed under Fair Trade, Our Products, Women's Cooperatives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Dear Mata Traders,
Thanks so much for this blog post about the women’s cooperative in Nepal. How did you find them? Tell us more about how women are empowered through the coop! Has it greatly increased their income?
Looking forward to reading more about your work!
-Rebekah Junkermeier, Sustainable Preservation Initiative
So great to see the faces and techniques behind your awesome clothing, Mata Traders!!
xx
CK
Hi there Rebekah! Thanks for your interest. Our products are produced by four fair trade cooperatives that we’ve been partnering with for several years – as far back as 2006. We found them initially through research and word-of-mouth. Each season, we submit our designs and work with them to produce samples. They price each style based on their costs and labor, and then we place our order. We’re proud that each year we’ve been able to return and place bigger orders.
The co-ops work in rural and slum communities with women who have little or no education, many can’t read or write. Because of their work, they can afford to send their children to school and pay for necessities that they couldn’t before. The cooperatives are really amazing, supportive organizations that are social service programs as much as they are employers. There are social workers on staff, and members are provided resources such as on-site daycare, paid maternity leave, medical check-ups, health care, vision testing and glasses, and retirement pensions. To promote social mobility, the women are offered classes in literacy, financial literacy, and computers.
As fair trade organizations, the cooperatives pay their members a living wage in the local context and monitor working hours, with overtime being compensated accordingly. In addition, our groups ensure a safe, clean, well-lit and well-ventilated workshop environment. Our jewelry producer has been a leading advocate and organizer of marginalized and exploited artisans for decades. Under their guidance, artisan communities set up their own cooperatives and produce jewelry and handicrafts for domestic and international customers, including such big buyers as Ten Thousand Villages and SERRV International. And, in a sector in India notorious for child laborers, they ensure that no child labor is used to produce our jewelry.
As we regularly visit our producer groups, one of the most rewarding aspects is to see the changes and advancements that occur for the women and their families. One example of many is Harshali. After her parents died, she was raised, along with her siblings, by her grandmother – a roadside fish seller. She joined the co-op at age 18, and through her work, not only was she able to put herself through college, but she funded her younger siblings’ education as well. Now she oversees the tagging and packaging of every garment that leaves the cooperative, which is quite a big job.