Shakti of the SHA Foundation was launched in 2014 as a non-profit entity to provide income-generating opportunities to underprivileged women and girls in Sri Lanka. Shakti workshops provided training for mastering skills of hand and machine sewing to produce limited-edition handcrafted bags, pouches, and accessories. Sewing machines, raw materials, transport allowances, meals, and an incentive-based “attendance fee” were provided. These benefits continue till today. The Shakti brand identity soon evolved. Beautifully stitched creations, made with lovely combinations of interesting prints and vibrant Sri Lankan handloom colours, caught the attention of most people. The women and girls were duly paid their wages, quality checks were done, and thus began the marketing of Shakti products in Sri Lanka and thereafter in Singapore. One of Shakti’s greatest benefits to the artisans is that they are allowed to take (after each workshop at Shakti ) about a month’s work to sew from home, a system which Shakti started 6 years prior to the pandemic! This arrangement provided the much-needed flexibility to care for children/ elderly and attend to all their household responsibilities. Shakti strives to reuse, recycle, and upcycle whenever possible. When cutting, Shakti controls fabric wastage. Donated fabrics are now being repurposed to create fabric packaging pouches, replacing the use of plastic packaging, while creating more job opportunities in the process. The fabric packaging pouches are reusable and are offered free with each purchase as Shakti’s gift to the customer, a gentle reminder (and a thank you) for helping to protect the environment by avoiding plastic. As Shakti continues to empower women and girls in Sri Lanka through its job creation endeavour of a creatively designed limited-edition brand and to carry out its work as “Green” as possible, it seems clear that for SHAKTI, it is all about Making A Difference…
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