What's New!

In February, the ladies said, "We want to learn something new." They had some ideas of some new things, all of which included a new product, like a gift bag or a picture frame.

I had been thinking about some of those same things, but felt like I wanted to increase their artistry in the products we are making.

So, I asked them, "How about we learn to block print?"

This went over hugely.  So for months now, I have been learning how to do it myself, gathering supplies, figuring out how to tackle this mountain of a new thing.

Today, we started.

It was just incredible to see their creativity seeping out.  I had gathered about a dozen different used blocks at random wood shops.  They all wanted to try every one.  I thought it would take us weeks to get them to the point of being able to print well enough to start making cards and journals.  But they picked it up really quickly, and had a fantastic time.  They all said, "Bohout acha laga!" (I really like it!)

I had to pry the blocks out of their hands to show them how to wash them and care for them when the work is finished.

I can't wait to get some of these back to the states for you all to enjoy!

Grief

It is a very sad day at the Ergon center today.  I arrived about 10:30 this morning to find only our manager there.  No work going on.  In talking with her, we came to find out that Zareena, one of our ladies, had a granddaughter pass away just a few hours before.  Everyone was sitting with the family and would not work today.

We quickly went to sit with Zareena and her family as well.  This little girl was only just over a year old.  The monsoon started on Tuesday.  The family told us that the girl had played in the 'nala' or drain during the rain on Tuesday and later come down with a fever.  None of them seemed too concerned about the fever, but they took her to the doctor yesterday.  The local doctor gave some medicine, which they gave to the girl.  They all went to bed.  During the night, she must have gotten much worse, and when they woke up, the family decided they needed to take her to a hospital.  When they arrived at the hospital, the doctor said she was already dead, and he could not do anything for her.

This was their first and only child.  The mother of the little girl is barely 19 years old.  Her grief is intense.  It was so sudden an unexpected.  We have no idea what really killed her, but it must have been some violent infection to have taken her so quickly.  Please, please pray for Zareena, her daughter-in-law and son, and the whole family.  Things like this shouldn't happen.  This death was probably  preventable if they had access to better medical care.  I can't imagine what they are going through....

Mother is in the left, with the red pants.  Sister-in-law is fanning the baby's body while they wait for the supplies to prepare her for burial.  

WorldCrafts

We were so blessed and honored to welcome a delegation from WorldCrafts to our center in March.  It was a wonderful group  of people with big hearts for our ladies and what they are doing.  The ladies were all very encouraged by seeing how much the group loved their products and work, and were able to share some of their successes with the group.  It was a sweet time of sharing across cultures!  

One of the members of the group noticed the disarray in our center.  We have never had the financing to buy shelving and storage boxes for our supplies.  Our paper has always sat in cardboard boxes stacked on top of each other.  It was always difficult to know what we had, and would have to pull boxes apart to find anything.  This sweet lady generously offered to  provide the finances to help us get organized.  We very gladly accepted her offer!  We are so pleased with the result, and hope the donor is as well! 

Girl Power!

Presently, we are an all-female endeavour.  We've had a lot of orders recently, and this month we shipped about ten boxes back to the U.S.  It took a lot of muscle power, and we were all really proud of ourselves!  Meet one of our consultants, Angie, on the right, and our center manager, Brijesh, on the left.  We couldn't survive without these two!

noonday!

We are busy busy with the production of these noonday journals!  Find them here!

About Ergon!

Welcome to Ergon Handicrafts!

Ergon, meaning "empowerment", is a fair trade based company that seeks to empower women in poverty through employment.  Ergon has been operating in North India since 2006, with production centers in Delhi and in Jaipur.

Our line of stationery products are made from handmade cotton papers, made from recycled cotton. This type of paper has been made in north India for centuries!  Our ladies take raw paper materials and form them into the beautiful note card sets and journals you find here. 

In India and across the world, some women receive very little education and often never have the opportunity to provide income to their family.  All of our women have never had a job before, but through their work with Ergon, they are gaining skills, and are finding a broader purpose to their life, all while earning valuable income that is directly improving the lives of everyone in their house hold.  

Take a look around, get to know our ladies, and we hope you enjoy the Ergon stationery!