Thank you for extending the deadline, if not, I would not be able to tell you this story which took place two days ago. As part of our mettā muse sourcing audit, we travelled to one of the hottest regions of India. A small village in Ananthapur, where differently-abled women are given a new life in the form of work and dignity. I met Lakshmi, a shy broad-smiling round-glass wearing parapelegic women. Due to an illness since birth, she cannot move from the waist down. She uses a DIY flat board with four wheels to move around using her arms. She is an excellent jute weaver. She was not satisfied being a jute weaver and considered tailoring to be more honourable as you sit on a chair rather than on the floor. She fought her way and convinced the local coordinator to convert a regular tailoring machine, usually operated with your legs, with Youtube DIY tools to be controlled with light nudges from her knee, moving her entire body. I still fail to grasp the determination and drive needed to do this on a daily basis given her lower body is immobile. In her community, she is the best tailor as well as a role model.
With this small example, I come face to face with both the fragility and the strength of the human spirit to explore one’s own true potential thus furthering the higher order impact for its community and humanity as a whole. It is not enough for organisations and social businesses to merely solve problems, such as provide livelihood or plant trees or recycle. We are in an age where deep work holds precedence. Quality of work, emotional well-being and multiplier effect must take precedence over quantity of work, x number schooled or x number planted. At mettā muse, we are the bridge between exceptional artisans and forward-thinking companies. We choose to work in the most under-represented and under-explored regions of the world to bring about systemic change through the invisible hand of the market – beyond daily wages. Our recent collaboration with Jil Sander in Milan and the incredible women embroiderers in Kashmir prove that such stories need to be facilitated, so others can be inspired to go deeper rather than broader.
We believe in creating meaningful sustainable livelihoods that fulfil one holistically. Our artisans live in extremely challenging conditions many times, where happiness is a cup of tea and feeling seen than a materialistic perk. We must all question the idea of growth and scale in our respective impact-driven works if systemic change is the goal. In Lakshmi’s words, “My parents gave me birth but the organisation gave me life.”
