Empowerment Through the News

Reading a daily newspaper was simply not a part of the artisans’ lives.  First of all, many of the women cannot read or write.  Also, their busy lives do not allow much personal time to consider the news. All this changed when the cooperatives started newspaper discussion groups.  Once a week the artisans get together

Mission in Products — Embroidery

Hand embroidery on MarketPlace garments is an important factor in enabling women to work and earn a living.  Because they are also responsible for running their households, including shopping for food, cooking, cleaning, and childcare, they need to be able to work from home.  Embroidery work can be fitted in around their other obligations. It

International Women’s Day 2019

By Pushpika Freitas, MarketPlace President On March 8, I was thrilled to join in the celebration of International Women’s Day in Mumbai. Women artisans from each of the cooperatives came dressed in their best saris to be greeted by the men who are staff and members of Share and MarketPlace Mumbai.  The men were not

Leadership by Design

Darpan The first priority in MarketPlace’s development program is to ensure that the women are employed and able to provide their family with the basic needs of food, shelter and clothing. Improving their quality of life does not stop there, however. In the program the artisans named “Darpan,” meaning mirror, the women are given a

MarketPlace Milestones

The Beginning: Sisters Pushpika Freitas and Lalita Monteiro were exposed to social work from an early age.  Their mother, Florie Freitas, ran a large organization that treated leprosy and TB patients, sponsored school children, and created other community development projects.  In 1981, when Pushpika and Lalita decided that they wanted to work with women who