The tribal communities in India are one of the poorest communities of the nation. They make up nearly 4.8% of the Indian population, with an astonishing 56.4 million tribal women. Most of these women maintain the lowest of low socioeconomic profiles, facing unhealthy living conditions and extreme poverty. They receive little to no access to education, adequate nutrition, employment opportunities, the chance to acquire new skills and/or training, etc., and do not receive equal opportunity to improve their standard of living. In fact, they constantly face discrimination in many areas of their lives, due to the latter. Along with maintaining their households, these women labor tirelessly in agricultural fields, stone quarries, and forests for long hours only to make meager earnings (less than 1000 rupees per month), and lack a permanent source of income.

Here at Inbaya, we had to make a choice. From a purely cost-efficient perspective, we could have easily had our bags manufactured at a low cost from some small business in China (and trust me, there were tons on AliBaba). However, humanity comes first. Our mission was always twofold: to protect the environment AND to aid families in need. We therefore chose the more expensive route in terms of cost, but the more humane route in terms of empowering these tribal women to make a living and feed their families. By partnering with local NGOs that provide them with handloom training, we have involved these women in our sustainability mission, utilizing their weaving skills to manufacture our bags. In fact, all the money we garner through sponsorships is utilized to pay the tribal women for their work on our bags, which provides them with a more secure source of income.

Now, you have to make a choice. Every bag you sponsor, every dollar you chip in, will not only go towards saving the environment, but will save a family. Our goal for 2023 is to provide at least 100 families with a means to proudly and independently make their own lives – and we need your help.