Jhoole is an eco fashion “social enterprise”, a non-profit business designed to benefit (rather than exploit) people living in poverty. Those stuck at the bottom of the textile supply chain often live in conditions akin to modern day slavery. Jhoole believes in the power of social enterprise to battle these injustices in direct, tangible ways. Our goal is to alleviate poverty as much as possible by giving good living wages and profit shares to the artisans and field laborers who create our products as well as investing in social initiatives that benefit their entire community.
It would not be untrue to say that Jhoole and other similar organizations “teach people how to fish”, but Bill Drayton’s quote better reflects the complexity of our ultimate aim: “Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry."
Fair trade and environmentally conscious production are the future of the fashion industry and Jhoole is one of the organizations that is seeing to it!
Jhoole respects the resourcefulness of women who work hard to support their families while dealing with the instability of the unorganized sector. We provide weavers and seamstresses with training to increase and diversify their traditional skills. We help them to gain market access, offer them a good living wage, steady employment, health insurance and crèche facilities. We help them to develop eco-friendly products that incorporate natural, organic and recycled materials.
We also support female field workers (mazdur) who come from scheduled caste and tribal communities by providing them with alternative work opportunities. Fair trade cotton initiatives tend to focus on fair deals for farmers; however, the most vulnerable individuals involved in cotton harvesting are not the land-owning farmers, but the field workers who regularly deal with dangerous pesticides and the toll of hard, physical labor in return for minimal seasonal wages. Women reliant on these meager earnings to support their families throughout the year are forced to live hand-to mouth; they are so vulnerable that they often continue to work even while in the last months of pregnancy. By providing these women with alternative work in textile production (sewing, embroidery, weaving, block-printing, etc.) we can help them to more than double their income. We also invest in their children’s’ education and their families’ health care. Ultimately, this type of permanent and stable work contributes to the eradication of child labor. Field laborers find it almost impossible to stick to the no child labor laws, because they simply cannot afford to lose the extra income their children’s work generates.
There are currently over 1 million child laborers in the State of Madhya Pradesh where Jhoole is based. Our aim is to break the cycle of chronic poverty by employing mothers so that they can send their children to school generating a chain reaction that can ultimately transform entire communities.
Jhoole Fights Poverty with Eco Fashion http://www.rrstar.com/carousel/x211928563/Rockford-native-fights-poverty-with-eco-fashion
Jhoole Exhibit at Womanspace http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWg2jrftgQY&feature=player_embedded
Jhoole’s Beginnings http://blogs.e-rockford.com/arts4all/2010/06/29/a-local-artists-overseas-journey-and-social-entrepreneurship/
Mata Visits Jhoole http://www.matatraders.com/blog/?p=1162
India on my Heart http://dignityregained.blogspot.com/2010/01/jhoole-india-on-my-heart.html
We are a vertically integrated social enterprise based in Madhya Pradesh, India. Many fair trade businesses are for profit. We are a non-profit social enterprise: in other words, we are for profit for society. 80% of our profits are reinvested in Jhoole so that we can grow and employ the maximum number of women and 20% of our operating profit is donated to social initiatives in the community executed in partnership with the grassroots NGO, Chetanya Sewa Sansthan.
We are producers as well as a brand; we do ethical production for various eco fashion and fair trade brands while also creating our own distinct collections.
For Jhoole, ethical production is not an accessory to our image: we believe that the conditions in which our products are created become an inherent, integral part of them. The beauty in our products is amplified when it is produced and consumed beautifully, with dignity and care.
Chetanya Sewa works with elderly women who have been abandoned by their families, or have otherwise become isolated from the community. These women are extremely vulnerable: they often suffer health issues, usually have no source of income and are almost always homeless or live in substandard, makeshift housing. At the moment they are able to provide food and clothing, but they envision one day building a home for these women on the edge of the Narmada River. Profits from Jhoole are helping to fund the construction of this home for Chetanya Sewa. Chetanya Sewa’s programs also include:
- monthly medical services for the citizens of four secluded villages
- working towards the eradication of child labor through economic outreach programs that uplift impoverished families
- women’s development and education initiatives
- land-rights education for illiterate land owners
It is not surprising that Jhoole has been supported by Rotary, the world’s largest international service club organization, because we share the belief that it is not only what we do today, but also the impact these actions will have tomorrow, that matters. Sustainability is a necessity. Jhoole is dedicated to creating long-term, measurable results in the Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh. By empowering women to gain economic stability and upward mobility we can create sustainable growth within this community. Economic and community development is one of the six areas of focus adopted by Rotary International to encourage sustainable development with measureable outcomes.
Rotary has supported Jhoole in a number of ways. Jhoole’s founder, Hannah Warren, was first exposed to other cultures through the Rotary Youth Exchange Program and the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, which sent her to India for the first time. Had it not been for these experiences, she most likely never would have founded Jhoole in the first place! Jhoole was also supported by a grant from district 6420’s District Designated Fund during the early stages of its development.
Many individual Rotarians and Rotary Clubs have contributed to Jhoole in numerous ways and we are grateful for their support in promoting sustainable economic and community development in the Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh through Jhoole.
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