Making an Impact: Our Artisan Education Initiative in India | International Day of the Girl | Love Is Project

Today is International Day of the Girl and we want to highlight the importance of educating girls and women and how it benefits them and their greater communities.

Almost a year ago, we wrote in our  Love In Juala, India blog post that in addition to donating essential supplies to our artisans, we were in talks with village leaders to provide the women with a tutor to teach them reading, writing, and financial literacy. Now that the lockdown in India has been lifted, we are so happy to announce that the program has started and there are currently 23 female students enrolled in the class, with many more potential enrollees! 

On the day that two team members visited the village, they donated chalk, slates, notebooks, pencils, erasers, and a blackboard. The team members and women discussed how to maintain good hygiene during menstruation, the regressive divorce system in the region, and how Muslims and Hindus were able to coexist peacefully in the village. 

These women aren’t letting anything stand in their way of providing a better life for themselves! More than half of them don’t have electricity, and the majority of them don’t have access to clean drinking water. A few of the women have achieved a 5th grade education, but most of them have never been enrolled in school. The women are proving that there is no better time than the present to learn financial literacy. We are so proud of our artisans and excited to see what they achieve!

Our newest arrival is the Taj LOVE Bracelet in the color  Saffron! Our artisans have created an eye-catching bracelet with colors reminiscent of the prized spice. Our other Taj LOVE Bracelets come in  blue and black,  black and white,  pink,  turquoise, and  black.

Our other notable arrival is our  Gia Golden Hearts collection, which features a  bracelet, a wrap  necklace, and an  anklet (our very first one!). The literal translation of Gia is LOVE and heart in Hindi, but it conveys much more than that. In Sanskrit, Gia (जीव) is a deep word that signifies the essence of life, the spirit, and the soul that imparts life with vitality.

When you purchase a bracelet from the  India Collection, you are supporting the education and livelihood of our female artisan partners.

The class has now expanded to 33 women! They've made incredible progress,  quickly learning how to write the English and Hindi alphabets and spell out short words. They are starting to learn counting and basic math as well.

Stationary and period products were distributed to help the women and girls continue their education and stay in school. Team members also discussed how to keep dengue fever from spreading in the community and encouraged the women to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Ultimately, the women love their teacher and are very enthusiastic about continuing their education!