Weaving Traditions, Folklores and History to Instill Self-Confidence and Financial Independence

There are meetings where you discuss strategies and forecast the growth & trends that will help your company grow by leaps and bounds. Then there are meetings that stimulate your mind and make you realise that there is more to business than just numbers. Recently, when I met with my Corporate Social Value team (the team that thrives on compassion and zeal to do better for larger society), we discussed how every small step taken towards the right direction can lead to a larger outcome. SPUN, is one such small initiative that was started in 2014 with an idea to provide livelihood to the little known women of The Great Rann of Kutch, Gujarat-India. These women had lost all that they had to the most heart wrenching natural calamity- the Bhuj 2001 earthquake. Today, SPUN, a case-study by itself, is a small programme that was designed to support women while instilling self-confidence and financial independence in them; it has actually elevated to become a social economic business.  

SPUN is a tale of two stories: one that speaks of tradition & art, and the other that invests in welfare of a community. Interwoven with Welspun India Ltd.’s plant in Anjar, Spun products are developed from factory fabric scraps. Innovative use of little shreds of material resulted in a collection of contemporary and sustainable furnishings. Also, since women could not travel the distance to the plant, we decided to take the SPUN centre to them in the comfort of their own village. Women at these centres have the flexibility & convenience of no rigid working hours and are not time bound in any way.

What is also interesting is the work of art that they create! Inspired by traditional songs and epics intrinsic to Indian folklore and history, SPUN has managed to renew the lost art and age old traditions through block printing, traditional dyes, hand-stitched embroidery and hand painting to name a few.

 If you ask me, SPUN is much more than fashion bedding available in varied hues. It is in fact, a reflection of the rich heritage of Indian art and not just any thread that is weaved to provide comfort. It is the thread with a soul that provides warmth to the MAKERS of the beautiful hand-crafted products.