Textile Shopping: Helping Rural Rajastani Women

The textiles of Rajastan State catch my attention every time I walk by a shop displaying them... which is about every 20 feet. And while we usually have to fend off the shop owners from kidnapping us into their shop, this woman got my attention right away.

Bobby runs Bellisima with her brother - an organization set up in the villages of Rajastan to help women in need. There are over 250 women who work sewing textiles. The textiles are sold in this shop in Jaisalmer and the money sent back to the women.



Bobby and I with some beautiful wall hangings

Girls in Rajastani villages are often married off by age 15, and while child brides are technically illegal in India, there are so many things that fly under the radar in the name of religion and tradition. Often, these girls are married to older men and in India tradition, they leave their home/village and move into the home of the husband's family. Depending on how large his family is and how many of his brothers' children live in the home, these chaotic homes can have like, 30 people living in them. If their husband dies, the woman is then kicked out of the home with her children and finds herself young, uneducated, poor and left on the street. They are not allowed to re-marry.

These are the women that sew these tapestries.

They are paid by the inch and the quality of work. In the photo above of Bobby and I, she is holding a piece done by a Muslim woman, where the entire wall hanging is done stitch by stitch. It would have taken one woman 9 months to complete. Mine is done by a Hindu woman and would have taken 1 month. Still an incredible amount of time to invest in one product. The one I am holding sells for approx $10 while the Muslim one is approx. $50.

They use their earnings to provide housing for themselves and the children, food and education for their children. Bellisima holds them accountable on educating their children.



Some women working on textiles (taken from website)

 They have a little website with more photos: http://bellissimafort.blogspot.in/2011_11_01_archive.html

We spent about 45 minutes in that shop with Bobby talking and looking at wall hangings. I may have done a little Christmas shopping there too! I love finding gems like this shop and supporting the work!