"Make products that are not fair trade products that people can buy..."
In the past, even in Japan, due to incorrect knowledge and understanding, leprosy patients and their families suffered a lot. The same is true in India. Teebom's partner group, MESH, has set up workshops for weaving, dyeing, and sewing in colonies (sanatoriums) where leprosy patients live while receiving treatment, and is engaged in production activities by devising looms and other tools so that people with disabilities can work.
However, in order to sell in Japan, the quality is not stable, and we have spent a lot of time improving the quality. I felt that there was a sense of indulgence in the fact that there was a disability and that it was fair trade. We have also taken strict measures, such as sending back the bags that have been completed and delivered to Japan to have them remade.
Even if you have a disability, you have to make good products without compromising! While patiently communicating and exchanging samples many times, it took 10 years for it to finally take shape.
This is where the presence of Syamala, a staff member on the Indian side who has been working hard to support me as my counterpart, is indispensable. He patiently instructs the craftsmen, sometimes going to the workshops of the craftsmen, which takes more than a day by train, and gives direct guidance.
The products that are handmade using traditional techniques such as Bethany tape and Karamkari (wood block printing) are very unique and attractive. One of the attractions of continuing my activities for me is that I can contribute to the creation of a system that allows them to continue working and become socially and economically independent while receiving treatment.