The silk of these scarves comes from worn saris. These are sorted by color and fabric from two different saris are embroidered into one scarf by women in West Bengal with Kantha embroidery.

Reuse of sarees

Reusing silk sarees is a very old tradition in India. The sari, the national dress of Hindustani women in India, is about 6 meters long. Silk sarees are a precious commodity. They stay in the family for a long time and pass from mother to daughter. But at some point they leave the house. Then the sari is sold to the local "pots and pans woman", or exchanged for cooking utensils.

Fairly Paid Kantha

Kantha scarves are popular worldwide. Unfortunately, many of these scarves are made by women who are paid very little. We buy our scarves from an NGO that pays women fairly for their work. The women embroider at home, in their village. Once a month they take the bus to the village where their 'didi', the woman who founded this organization, receives them. They receive a fixed price for the type of embroidery (simple or complex) per meter.

Kantha embroiderers in West Bengal

The women in West Bengal stitch the silk strips together: the famous Kantha embroidery. A difficult job because the silk is quite “slippery”. Making each scarf takes about 15 to 30 days, depending on how many hours a day the women work on it. On average they embroider about 3 hours a day.