Updates - Our Jaipur Manufacturing Center

May 12, 2021

As many of you know, India is in another covid-19 crisis.  This wave  is bigger and more threatening that the last on all levels.  After a year of struggle and quarantines, people are tired, scared, worried.  Supply chains are disrupted in every sector: food, manufacturing, medicines.  India’s economic base has been severely affected with domestic orders  disappearing, export orders cancelled and a labor force that has largely returned to their native villages, afraid for their survival and knowing there is no work for them in the cities.  Yes, it is a bleak picture.

What I also know is that we survived this past year. Our manufacturing team became more resourceful, more resilient. We became more organised in handling manufacturing orders, in planning ahead, buying in bulk whenever possible, improving our communication systems, focusing our energies on priority work.  We pulled together as a team to benefit everyone.  This teamwork has had incredibly positive effects.  The shared trust and solidarity amongst our staff is higher.  We have been able to help members in the greatest need with micro loans.  By March 2021, we were able to pay full bonuses to all our staff—a huge accomplishment after recovering from nearly two months of supporting our staff in April and May of 2020 with no income. 

Now Jaipur are in full lockdown again until the end of May.  It is a strict lockdown which means access to food and medicine is limited to a few hours per day.  No other shops are open or supplies available.  There is no public transportation.  Our company has received an exemption which allows our manufacturing to remain partially open with very restricted staff and working hours.  We are staying open for many reasons.  We have not had any issues with covid-19 infections amongst our manufacturing staff. Staying open provides meaningful, dignified work to our employees.  It is a way to focus their mental energy into something constructive—assurance that they are working to support their families and their futures.  It gives everyone hope, and it ensures our sources of income will be less disrupted.  Our staff is actively working to take care of their families and ensure our long term survival.  Yet again, we have found ways to be more resourceful, more resilient. 

We are also deeply grateful that we work with like minded clients who are equally as committed to the principles of fair trade. What I mean by this is that our clients recognise this is a global situation that requires empathy, adjustments, hand in hand solutions which can only be found through equitable working relationships.  Our clients normally pay advances which help us maintain on time salary payments.  They are understanding of delays and work with us to find alternatives in fabric sourcing, packaging, timings of shipments.  We in turn, offer as much practical information as possible to help them meet demands as well. We update them about the situation to the best of our ability and reassure everyone of our commitment to completing orders as we are able to.  They in turn are able to update their end customers.  In a world where we like to think everything is available for overnight delivery, the struggle we and all other manufacturers in India are facing is a humanising moment for us all.  Everyone in the fair trade supply chain is ideally working together, to find long term solutions which will sustain us all. We believe wholeheartedly we will not only get through this if we work together, but we will have improved our supply chains, our product, and created more equitable working relationships in the process.

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