The festival of lights, Diwali, is arguably India’s biggest religious celebration, when homes, institutions and entire neighborhoods are decorated with candles, earthen lamps and fairy lights on an auspicious moonless night.
#afairfestival@ Sasha Shop
Sasha celebrated the arrival of Diwali with fervour at the Sasha Shop. The “Festival of Lights” 14th October to 29th October had eco-friendly lighting options Shola and Bamboo String lights; Glass Tea Light holders; Diffusers and Burners, Lamps and Candleholders, Candles & Diyas in diverse designs, Delightful gift hampers; Fragrant Incenses and much more. The Sasha Shop was also part of two initiatives- the #afairfestival fortnight, partnering with Fair Trade Forum-India and a media initiative on encouraging Indian made lighting products, to motivate grassroots artisans and communities. Sasha was also invited to a plethora of ‘Diwali Bazaars’ by corporate, government and social initiatives, where Sasha could offer its wide variety of lights and gifts. A few of them are L & T financial services, Tata steel, South City School with Earth Day Network, Cognizant Vodafone, Ernst & Young, Capgemini, KPMG and at the Fort Williams. This year, there was an overwhelming response from customers and supporters on the diversity and quality of merchandise. Kudos to the retail team!
Jewellery Workshop@Sasha
SSA and Sasha organized three-day participatory workshop on jewellery making at Seva Kendra Kolkata. This workshop was initially planned for participants from Varanasi and Odisha to develop the exclusive ranges for Sasha. Along with, Anwesha Tribal Arts & Crafts, Varanasi Weaves & Crafts, participants from Amader Swapna, Prachesta, SOJP; specially abled persons from IICP, Asha Niketan also participated in this workshop. Young designer Ms Midushi Kochhar along with the in-house designers and the Crafts coordinator from Sasha facilitated this workshop. Dhokra, Beads, recycled fabric, buttons & many more interesting raw materials were used in this workshop. This workshop was well received by the participants.
Sasha@ Asia Fair Trade Summit 2016, Bangkok
Mrs. Roopa Mehta & Ms Sujata Goswami attended Asia Fair Trade Summit 2016 in Bangkok, a meeting of Fair Trade Organizations, government representatives, certifying bodies, and buyers to exchanges best practices in Fair Trade. With global experts in the field, this event presented an opportunity for like-minded institutions to work together to enhance sustainable trade that benefits the most vulnerable sectors of society. The conference focus was on developing gender equity, living wage, and business growth within and through the Fair Trade movement.
[email protected] store, UK
Sasha products were showcased at the Toa.st store in London.
SSA@ Spring Strategies graduation ceremony
SSA successfully completed the two-year programme with Spring Strategies on Financial Resilience and attended the graduation ceremony on 26th October. In addition to the ceremony, there was an inspiring day of conversation, titled: Innovations in Financing for Social Justice. Guest speakers shared their experiences of working with corporate and with crowd-sourcing.
Enterprise development assessment at SPAN
Society for People Awareness or SPAN, an NGO based in Kolkata, approached SSA to support and upscale their enterprise development activities. SSA organized a focused group discussion with young women (the major stakeholders) as part of the project to assess their needs and motivation. A preliminary assessment was conducted. It has been observed that most of the women have a basic knowledge of tailoring & embroidery. Further to the intervention, skill assessment and mapping have been planned.