PIONEER | SEEMA
AS THEY
SEW...
With unique, handcrafted products, the workers of MarketPlace India have reaped reward for future generations ABHIJIT MASIH
T
he inception of MarketPlace: Handwork of India was a result of a desire to help three lowincome women in Mumbai, India. Sisters Pushpika Freitas and Lalita Monteiro founded the nonprofit to teach women to sew patchwork quilts by hand, work they could do at home without having to pay for childcare or equipment. This small experiment attracted other women in the neighborhood who needed to support their families but faced obstacles like poverty, lack of education, or cultural and religious restrictions. What began with three women in 1980 spread to 75 by 1983 and the organization
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was incorporated as a not-for-profit in Illinois by the end of 1986. Market Place put out their first printed catalog for women’s apparel and home décor in 1990, by which time they worked with more than a few hundred artisans in India. Currently, MarketPlace works with over 400 artisans organized into 11 cooperatives. This helps these artisans to achieve meaningful and sustainable self-sufficiency and empowerment by owning and running their own cooperatives. Pushpika Freitas was motivated early in her childhood, growing up in a family of six girls. Regardless of the situation at home, her parents firmly believed in educating women.
