Aranyah Story

Aranyah cards are made in a small Himalayan village called Gajja. Women from all the neighboring villages also come to make these cards. We are a private enterprise. We are not connected with the NGOs. We do not receive any government or non-government aids/funds. Aranyah is designed to work on Fair Trade Principles – i.e. we want to provide the people of Gajja with skills and practices that will enable them to earn a sustainable livelihood.

About twenty seven women and one disabled young man did a three month apprenticeship with an artist we contracted with to provide initial training and guidance. This helped them understand the finer nuances of designing and placement as well. Currently we have twelve women and one disabled young man, who work daily for a few hours and then we have the remaining apprentices on ad hoc basis once a week. Many of them come from far off villages and are able to work for only three hours every day as they have to work in the fields and take care of children and attend to other household chores. Some of the girls are studying in colleges and come to us only in the afternoons after school hours

The living condition of the majority of the inhabitants of these Himalayan hamlets, though surrounded by beauty on all sides, is well below the poverty line. What this means is that they earn less than US$80 a year to support themselves and their family. Even this is made mostly by the women who work in the fields from morning till night, raking and hoeing, manuring and harvesting. The main crop is a type of red bean called “rajma”. They also have a little wheat and rice. Some of this is kept for themselves and the rest sold in the market for a pittance. They also keep buffaloes. They have no money to buy feed so after school most of the children roam round the hillside, climbing trees and plucking leaves and cutting grass in order to feed the cattle. The milk is mostly sold in the local market. This is their only source of income.

When living in cities of Europe and America, its hard for one to have a conception of  what it means to work with these villagers. It is an amazing and incredible experience. First thing we learn is that we take a lot of things for granted. Many of the older generation here have never attended school so a lot of these women have never held a pen or brush or even scissors in their hands. They had to be taught these skills as if they were kindergarten children. But of course it’s much easier to teach a child who has flexible fingers. Some of the women here have fingers which are gnarled and stiff through hard work in the fields. Thus we had to come up with designs and ideas that incorporated the skills that they utilize in their every day lives – you'll find our cards have lot of weaving, braiding etc. Yes, when you look at these cards and order them, please remember that these are handmade by women with hands hardened by hard work in the fields and cutting wood etc.

This village is set in the most idyllic surroundings. On bright days, when the weather gods allow, you are given an awe-inspiring view of the great, snow-clad Himalayan peaks. The moment you set foot in this place you get a feeling of great peace and calm. Unfortunately the local people are not capable of feeling it since they are so busy working hard to make ends meet. Aranyah was born from a burning desire to improve the living condition of these poor women. We know that we are only bringing a small light into the darkness of their misery but we feel sure that this might well become a spark which will give rise to a flood of lights in this area and thus make this enchanting place as much a heaven for the inhabitants as it is for the visitors.

• Giving monthly vouchers for about 50 widows and old people for their basic food requirements of rice, wheat flour, lentils, tea, sugar and milk powder.

• Supporting the schools in the villages by providing uniforms to the children and furniture for the classrooms. They used to sit on bare cement floors even in winter!

• Providing blankets to 200 people every year – giving preference to the very poor, very old and the widowed. This year we gave locally made duvets.

• Providing clothing for children on a regular basis. We also distribute old clothes which are sent to us by various friends both from India and abroad.

• Distributing multi-vitamins and calcium for the children and iron for the women who are all very anemic.

Thus Aranyah is not just another card project. It is a project with an ideal – that setting an example of providing minimum requirements to at least a few of these poor Himalayan villages which will perhaps help to set a trend and turn this whole state into a veritable paradise. We invite you to participate in this noble project and help us to provide a better standard of living for these little villages. Please take your time to browse through the photographs and watch the videos. This will give you an idea of what kind of village Gajja is and how the people there lead their lives.

If you'd like to know more about Aranyah and would like to visit our unit, please email info@aranyah.com.