The hands behind the craft....

At Bholu, our philosophy is about creating a contemporary product which not only keeps a traditional embroidery craft alive, but also provides a sustainable income for women in traditional communities in Gujarat. The work provides women with independence and opportunity.

This beautiful handwork is done by women in their home environment, around their daily duties of housework and is often done in groups which also supports a strong network amongst the women in each community.

Bholu is proudly a Fair Trade Company and abides by the 10 Standards of Fair Trade set by the Australian & New Zealand Fair Trade Association. You can find this document in the FAQ section of our website.

Anganwadis!

What is an anganwadi?

An anganwadi is a preschool set in the heart of the slums. It is where children between the ages of 3 and 8 go for education, health and nutrition. It is their one meal of the day and here they learn, have their food and have medical check ups once a month for monitoring their health and weight.

These anganwadis are set up and run by a Non Government Organsiation called Manav Sadhna. Run by dedicated and committed individuals, these anganwadis are a great source and back up for families in these communities.

In India, there is a frightening lack of health and educational resources. The Angawadi's provide basic educational and health services for slum born children especially in Tekra (where we do our workshops the main slum area in Ahmedabad). The Anganwadi provides a value-based education, proper nutrition and support for pregnant and nursing mothers.

Beauty in small places..

Just had to throw these in, because the random things in Indian life are so beautiful.

Paper hats & Prayers

This workshops was with slightly older kids...we had a lot of fun. Lots of laughs and some great Bholu animals.

Some of the kids preferred to make newspaper party hats, which was ok, until one noisy little girl came in and stole them all! Some tears were shed over broken hats, but more were made...

Prayers at the beginning were rather noisy, more like a theatre recital than a prayer session.. it was very sweet at the end before they ate the mangoes. Quite a sight with the kids holding onto their mangoes, eyes shut and a chorus of prayers at the top of their voices...

Mango Time

It's mango season in India. I never knew there were so many kinds.

As a treat for the little Bholumites, we brought a big box of mangos to share amongst the children after the drawing session. These kids are lucky to get one meal a day, let alone something as exotic as a mango. After the drawings were handed in, and crayons returned ( although I saw a few go in some pockets) we sat in a circle, held hands and passed out the mangos.

I have never heard 50 kids so silent in all my life.
They were devoured right to the stone, skin and all.

Crayon Music

We landed in India, we knew it was going to be hot, but not this hot! 46.5 degrees daily!! Incredible. It's very hard to comprehend this kind of heat people live in everyday. But this didn't stop our gusto in heading into the slums to meet with our little friends.

Armed with crayons, given to us by our friends at Crayola and reams of paper bought in the local markets, we headed into Tekra, the main slums on Ahmedabad. The first workshop we did in a new community centre which has been built by Manav Sadhna. We rallied our troops and set up under cover.

The music of the little jabbering voices, tears from little ones thinking we were going to make them write ( and they were upset as they couldn't write) and squabbles over the red crayons...it was pure magic.

Bholu Cover Girl

We thought you should see how she has grown up. Puja with the pigtails is form our first meeting 2 years ago and then again a year later when we tracked her down with a copy of Home Beautiful to give her....we love her to bits. See below for her latest photo!!

A familiar little face...

We don't know whether you remember, but our little Bholu cover girl "Puja" is from Tekra, the main area of slums in Ahmedabad. We have been doing our workshops there for the last couple of years and each time we go, we have been seeing our little mites grow up. Each time there are some new faces and some old familiar ones, and some are gone.

We caught up with our little Puja again. We think she is quite a fine artist and has a smile and shiny eyes that makes your heart melt. We tracked her down last time we were there and again on this trip, where she joined us for workshops with some of the other kids.

She has really flourished and looks so much healthier than when we last saw her, thanks to the Anganwadi education and nutrition programs.

More on that soon.....

New Bholu blog coming soon

Stay tuned!