After the lockdown was announced, life came to a standstill not only in cities but also in the slow-paced towns, leaving people in the lurch with no source of income. At this time, Delhi-based textile designer Sunita Bali – who runs brand Roshni, stood up for 25 artisan families in Himachal Pradesh – whose only source of income are the products they sell through Roshni, to help them meet their daily expenses.
“It’s been a month since we started fundraising under Amazon Wings – a programme started by Amazon in partnership with crowdfunding platform Ketto, to help small and medium businesses to raise funds via crowd funding. Since I fit in that category, they offered to support the brand and its team of weavers and craftsmen. And it is gratifying to know that funds came in from people I didn’t even know. Over `1.4 lakh has reached us and we have distributed it among 100 people in HP. As we reach out to more people, we will bring in more weavers in the fold,” says Bali, a graduate from Sir JJ School of Arts.
These artisans are those, who she met while working on the textile ministry’s projects. They now work with her as part of Roshni.“At that time, we used to go to people’s homes to teach them and give them designs to improve their craft. And then, I realised that the weavers worked hard on their looms, but they did not have a good platform to sell their products. So, I started Roshni, three years ago. I named it after one of the first weavers I worked with,” adds Bali, who contributed to family’s textile export business for 15 years and worked with the textile ministry for 10 years.
One year ago, Amazon launched her brand under the Amazon’s Karigar Programme. “Amazon got us huge sales, but Covid happened and the sales dipped. But it’s a wonderful feeling that in such times, I could support the people who I work with.”
About Roshni
Inspired by the hard work that the Himachal Pradesh’s weavers put in their work, design consultant-turned-entrepreneur Sunita Bali founded the brand in 2018.