Sari is the traditional attire of most Indian women and has great cultural significance in India. Every Indian woman takes great care of her saris and tries to use them in all possible ways even after wearing them out. Each sari has a fabric length of 5-6 metres and so its uses can be numerous. Even today, women can trade old, worn out saris to barter steel utensils for their household.

SETU promotes upcycling of worn out sari fabrics to create eco-chic home & fashion accessories, at the same time empowering women artisans to build sustainable livelihoods and communities. This is one of our most powerful women empowerment initiative!

We help create small Self Help groups of under privileged women from urban slums. There are total 5 such groups in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, involving more than 100 women. These women are then trained in simple techniques to create fashion accessories and home décor with upcycled saris and other recycled materials. Because of the male dominated culture in illiterate society, most of the women are confined to their homes with family responsibilities. A lot of community mobilization efforts go behind creating & stabilizing every such group. Once a group is ready, more and more women join these groups. The training and income provided by this craft empowers them financially and strengthens their confidence and support for their families and community. The women not only become self-sustainable, but they get a voice to participate in family decisions and dream about the promising future of their children.

SETU continually conducts various social development projects for these women, such as.. literacy classes, vocational trainings, women & child right advocacy, counseling, distribution of sanitary napkins, training centres, financial aid, sponsoring of machinery etc.

Pl scroll below to check the products made by these artisans.