How a hand embroidery brand based in Thiruvananthapuram is building an artisan community
The Thiruvananthapuram-based brand Alika is empowering women by building an artisan community centered around traditional hand embroidery. The brand, which has a multi-generational history, provides employment and support to women from various challenging backgrounds.
Why it matters
It showcases how small-scale, traditional craft businesses can drive social impact and economic empowerment for marginalized groups.
You cannot expect a hall with around 100 people to be quiet by any measure. But the one I walked into on a Saturday morning was relatively quiet, except for a buzz. A group, all of them women, sat there engrossed in embroidery, some on the floor and others on chairs. They were busy creating intricate designs on the fabric attached to the hoop they were holding. That was an event by Thiruvananthapuram-based hand embroidery e-commerce brand Alika to celebrate its artisans.
Alika boasts a legacy dating back to the 1930s, when Sophie Sathyasandhan, a homemaker from Thalassery, learnt embroidery from the visiting Christian missionaries. She passed on the knowledge to her daughter Ramola Francis and daughter-in-law Pearly Manohar. Sophie opened Sathya Thayyal Centre in Thalassery in 1958, and went on to train many women. Pearly carried forward that tradition, which she passed on to her daughter, Deepthi Jewel S.
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