Hola ecofashionistas from the high seas! I'm writing to you while bobbing along the coast of South America on my way to Valparaiso in Chile. Before leaving Australia I was fortunate enough to have stumbled across Poonam Rawat-Hahne from Celeste Handmade Ethical Trade while visiting a local Eco Living Fair near my home. I invite you to learn how Celeste is harnessing the positive power of fair trade.
Q. What inspired you to create Celeste
Handmade Ethical Trade and what does the name symbolise?
Our
main project is to form an employment/training centre for the underprivileged
women in the Indian Himalayas. To reach this goal I have partnered with 5
different fair trade groups who support women and the needy. I met these groups
and was amazed by the amazing work people are doing to help the poor and I
really think fair trade is the way to go!
I support these fair trade producers
by marketing their products in Australia and helping them with contemporary
designs. We will live in a better world soon if we all support fair trade! It
might take a bit of time but it will happen.
All
of the profits Celeste makes goes to the fund to start the employment/training
centre for the underprivileged women and school for the poor children. Once we
reach our goal we will start a similar project in another village.
Celeste
stands for “Heaven”so we aim to give a little piece of heaven to the makers
of the products (by practicing fair trade…for the poor to see their children
drink milk is heavenly already) and the buyers of the products by providing
them beautiful handmade goods with a beautiful story.
Q. How would you describe Celeste in 10
words or less?
Handmade
- Ethical Trade :o)
Q. Can you tell us a little bit about the positive impacts of buying fair trade
products?
- Community
development
- Safer
environmental health
- Supporting
artisans/producers to lead a better life
- Providing
employment to the poor
Q. What steps has Celeste taken to
reduce its own ecological footprint?
We
only use recycled paper bags and use natural dyes.
Q. How is Celeste working to improve the lives of underprivileged women
in the Indian Himalayas?
We opened a women
shelter in the Himalayas 5 years back and realised we couldn’t provide enough
security by just giving the ladies food and shelter. Our current project is to
open an employment/training centre for underprivileged women and a school for
the poor children in the Indian Himalayas.
We have many young
widows with 2-3 children and no way to earn a living. We want to make these
ladies self-sufficient and bring some hope and happiness into their life. These
ladies are often treated very badly and are raped by their father/brother in laws.
Because of their religion these women can never marry. We hope to bring a
purpose to their life.
Q. Do you have a favourite item in store right now?
I
like all the products as all are made beautifully! I like the baskets and
handmade paper in particular.
Q. Who or what is inspiring you right now?
Just
imagining happier and confident faces of these women give me all the
inspiration I need and more!
Q. What does the future hold for Celeste
Handmade Ethical Trade?
We
hope to open our first employment centre soon and continue to form more centres
in many villages. Celeste aims to market fair trade products in Australian and
European markets. Celeste wants the world to know the stories of these
producers. We are taking small steps but we are sure we will reach our
goal.
I
started last year and already this year we're aiming to provide employment to
3-6 women in the Indian Himalayas within the nest few months.
The
more products we sell, the closer we get to our goal of providing additional
employment opportunities for disadvantaged women!
You can also connect with Celeste Handmade Ethical Trade on Facebook.
