Ekatra was started by Minakshi & Aishwarya Jhawar, a mother-daughter duo, looking for mediums to express themselves. They work with the form & functions of basic natural materials and embed them in day-to-day lives. They are looking to tell & capture stories through handcrafted stationery & accessories.
Purpose
They organically started with this work and saw that freedom could start with self-employment and everything else could be figured out along the way. They knew so many women who were in search of the same, slowly they are trying to bring all such like-minded females together. In all this chaos, They have been able to build a team of 13 headstrong homemakers. This is a small effort in helping them become more confident and independent.They are firm believers in sustainability and creativity, all the products are crafted with utmost attention to the details along with ensuring zero waste.
People
At Ekatra they try to be a harbinger of change in the life of the artisans. It is a female-led brand where they try to ensure that artisans gain new skills and financial independence With women empowerment at the core of everything they do, Ekatra engages women from underprivileged communities who are homemakers to become the artisans of designs and their futures. These women come from different backgrounds and families – having often received little education. These women join Ekatra for a variety of reasons – each unique to their own set of circumstances. However, they all end up united by a passion for their work, skills, and the realization that their involvement matters and that the initiative’s success is contingent on their dedication hard work & creativity.
Planet
They source the cloth directly from the artisans in Sanganer - the cloth is 100% organic cotton. Whatever residues are left out of cloth and paper are upcycled into making smaller products and their business cards. Segregation of paper takes place on site, small shreds of white papers are then recycled into making handmade paper, which is again turned into a Journal or notepad. Tiny residues of cloth that can’t be turned into any product further are sent to New Leaf store as their raw material in making cloth ball lightings.