Weaving a Social Fabric: How One Carpet Connects 100 Lives

All it takes is one action, the very first step, to set something in motion. When that step is taken towards a good cause, it gradually becomes a domino effect. Did you know that it took 7 years for the Chipko movement to get recognition in the country? In 1973, trees were being cut down for development in the Chamoli district in Uttarakhand. Local women stood for hours, hugging the trees to prevent them from the lumberjacks. Little did Ms.Sunderlal Bahuguna and Ms.Gaura Devi know that this small gesture would one day be of global relevance. Eventually, this movement spread across the country, leading to its national recognition in 1980 by the Indian government, which banned deforestation in the Himalayan region. This small action indirectly affected all of our lives today. We at Obeetee carpets follow the same ideology. 

The art of hand-making was slowly dying. Artisanal communities that made products by hand were falling out of business. Yes, this was one of the adverse effects of switching to machines. In 1920, the 3 founders, Mr. Oakley, Bowden, and Taylor, laid the foundation stone of Obeetee. It was then that they realized the beauty of handmade rugs. A profession that was started in the early 1300s was brought back to life. Carrying the torch forward for more than a century now, today we have a family of 25000+ weavers. Supporting the livelihood of all these artisanal communities, Obeetee today is one of the biggest hand manufacturers of rugs in the world.

One thing that has always been embedded in our system is tradition. The tradition of giving back to society. For the world, it might just be a rug, but for us, every thread woven affects 100 lives. A dominant amount of our sales % from every rug is given back to the weaver in more than one way.

We run an initiative for educating the children of the weaver families. In collaboration with Pratham, one of India’s largest non-governmental innovative learning organisations. We aim to improve learning in the Bhadohi district of Uttar Pradesh via instructional work in schools and by engaging the community. This has benefited over 14,446 children to date.

Following this, under Project Mala, we have helped 460 children from across 15 villages to reshape the future for many families by providing them with education. Approximately 3,528 children have enrolled over the last 30 years. During the last 5 years, 4 children have won places to study in Foremarke Hall, UK, for one year, while 1 student is pursuing M.Sc. (Math) from IIT, Kanpur.

Our women weaver initiative is also something we are proud of. Started in 2015, this programme provides vocational training for women in rural Uttar Pradesh. As an equal opportunity employer, we are reshaping the traditional role of women in villages. We have trained over 1200 individuals since the program’s inception.

Apart from education and empowerment, sanitation is of utmost importance. We not only run regular medical camps in various villages surrounding our factory, but we have also built a public toilet facility for villagers who do not have access to any/clean washrooms. In UP, power cuts have always been common. We have installed 60 solar lights across neighbouring villages. This not only assists the villagers but also reduces the carbon footprint. While above mentioned are the ways we give back to society, we have multiple sustainable initiatives that safeguard the environment too. All these actions that were once just mere ideas started with a single step and have had a major impact on many individuals today.

Every thread knotted, one way or the other, has a huge impact on many lives. Every carpet is a social fabric. At Obeetee Carpets, we don’t just add life to your homes, but add life to society.