Avani works with the rural community of Kumaon, part of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The primary objective is the creation of sustainable livelihoods through conservation of natural resources. This led to establishing Earthcraft, which is a producer-owned cooperative, that generates contemporary, eco-friendly, fair trade, high quality, and low carbon footprint products for a conscious and caring client.
Purpose
Avani means Earth. Their core values rise from a desire to be in service of the Earth and her people. The challenges of the tough terrain and harsh weather were overcome by the warmth and resilience of the community they work with. The empowerment of socially vulnerable women, school dropout girls to lead a life of dignity is just one of the pillars of this organization. Natural resource management, respect, and revival of traditional knowledge as well as dissemination of appropriate technology for sustainable and
circular socio-economic growth drive their work.
People
Avani majorly works with the rural Kumaon communities that are disadvantaged due to lack of access to appropriate technology and intervention. Socially vulnerable women whose partners have migrated or passed away need to find alternate means of livelihoods to support their families. This is where Avani came in. Economic opportunities as artisans, farmers, managers, and more give rise to social changes. The work with natural fibers and natural dyes provides a high degree of technical competence and an enhanced sense of confidence to the rural Kumaoni women. They invest in their children’s education, open savings accounts, and make home improvements. They also engage farmers to collect and cultivate plants for signature natural dye production
Planet
This entire working concept is farm and forest-driven. Water usage is a closed-loop and since they use natural dyes to color fabrics, the water can be reused to irrigate fields. They have solar panels set up for energy requirements and the rainwater harvesting system is in place for years. They are quite proud of the pine needle gasifier that generates energy and the charcoal that is used for cooking. Pine needle is otherwise a great threat to the forest system as they are easy kindling for forest fires. Similarly,
eupatorium, a plant that destroys the ecosystem has lovely dyeing properties and yields pastel yellows and olive greens. The focus is on learning from the environment and incorporating those traditions that respect mother nature.
