What is WHC ?
WHC is in the core a social organisation committed to supporting marginalised women earn a livelihood through decent/respectable means and also by nurturing their artistic skills. The women are socially & economically disadvantaged. Their formal education has hardly reached the high school. All of them live either in villages or in small towns often within patriarchal dominance. The stories of the women have varied shades of pain & suffering.
Exploitation by traders
In order to find a respectable source of income these women often approach retail traders, on their own, and sell their hand-embroidered products underpriced. From the traders, the women do not get any form of assurance or a deadline for the deal. Even when their products are sold, their dues are not cleared by the traders for months. Also, in such instances quality of products-on-sale is questionable. The ladies do not have the scope/means/resources to be meticulous enough to pay attention to quality (family responsibilities, health, nutrition, interruptions in power supply are some of various hurdles). Capital investment and sales, including finding sales outlets, are very realistic difficulties.
WHC's Solution
WHC noticed all these aspects and came up with a very simple approach. Under WHC's umbrella the ladies would have to adhere to strict quality requirements ; the investment will be totally WHC's ; the marketing is WHC's ; the sourcing of material is WHC's ; the designs are mostly WHC's (the ladies also contribute designs); supervision and quality control (including tailoring/stitching) is WHC's. Often WHC assists the ladies improve their embroidery skills free of cost. Even trains them. The ladies simply earn through their service of embroidery.
What is of most relevance to the ladies is the fact, that as soon as they complete a piece of work, they are paid whether the item is sold soon after or not. Often they are given interest-free financial support through advance payments.
WHC's Productivity
Since all its products are hand produced, WHC is well aware of how much volume of business it is capable of handling per unit time. Also, WHC believes in perfection and customer satisfaction. Hence, it dedicates the optimum time required to achieve perfection and quality as well as specific requirement(s) by its customers.
Summary
Hence, WHC is definitely a business enterprise but its existence is for a social reason. WHC does not want to tread the path of appeal for charity/donations to fulfil its social commitment. It believes in self-reliance. Also, WHC has a strong creative urge. So, why not achieve the organisational focus, that is, women's welfare, through business and foster creativity as well ? Three-in-one :- Welfare, Creativity & Business.