Our Goal to have a Women’s Center In New Delhi

We want to open a center to train women to make garments using heirloom textiles and provide empowering community to women who are contemplating or running from gender related violence.

During the years she lived in New Delhi, India; our founder Caity Miller worked for a women’s crisis center and did masters research on gender-violence in multiple slums in the area. Most of the women she encountered struggled with numerous aspects of poverty and gender roles that prevented them, and their families from thriving. Issues relating to caste, gender-violence, alcoholism, dowry and other cultural complexities are very difficult to address. However, several major areas which contribute to systemic poverty and dis-empowerment of women.

• Fair Wages and Job Training– We believe in the power of women and fair wages and opportunities to apprentice master craftsmen in various trades such as hand loom weaving, wood blocking, mirrored and beaded embroidery and idigo/shibori and ikat dyeing. Basic training on bank accounts, labor laws, and workplace culture will also be available.
• Hindi Education– Illiteracy and lack of employment skills are prominent in slum communities due to dropping out of school at drastically young ages for marriage. Teaching people to read and write will give them the power to understand their rights and the government schemes and opportunities available to them.
• Healthcare Access– Limited healthcare access and knowledge discrepancies lead to the escalation of minor issues into disease and untreated chronic and terminal illnesses which impact and burden large multi generational families. Family planning options are non existent for families who cannot feed their 9 children or for women who were sold into or work as sew workers. Health insurance packages are not included with most employment offered in India, but we understand that this is a necessity for communities to change their circumstances.
• Safety Training– Changing hundreds of years of complicated forms of violence towards women in India is not what we are looking to chip at. We want to give women the tools to deal with their safety on their own terms. We aim to offer self defense classes, marriage law workshops, female Indian lawyers on staff to offer legal guidance to our community members and safety planning as well as a safe place to go 24/7 if needed.