Hey guys, I recently launched a Kickstarter project but I am not telling you this to ask you for support. I mention it because there is a family in Srinagar re-writing history. A father and son, with the help of their mother, sister and two uncles are making history at this very moment, slowly breaking away on their own..while carefully building trust and alliances with other cottage artisans in their community. Forty miles away, there lives another family..a son, with the help of his dad and two uncles are doing the same with Kani Pashmina shawls.
I am 53..have a beautiful house, two awesome sons, two awesome dogs..becoming a millionaire is not high on my list of priorities at my age. I worked at IBM and GE for the last 25 years of my life in Corporate America. At GE there are 16 employment bands. When you reach band 15, your next step is a senior executive. I reached the 15th band..worked my ass off for another two years and was rewarded with a pink slip. I was laid off 2 years ago. Best thing that ever happened to me. I look back at all the work I did, projects I managed, etc..what did I accomplish? What mark did i make? Jack Shit. But something great came out of it. I managed a couple of very large teams in India over the course of my career, traveled to India, made many great friends. About 14 years ago there was this young, bright, soft spoken but brilliant young man who went way above and beyond for me on a project. I was managing. I rewarded him by giving him a 6 month rotation here in the US so I can mentor him. His name is Zubair Tramboo. Zubair was supposed to return to India after the 6 months. But we became fast friends...now brothers. Now a manager at Deloitte and Touche, the student FAR surpassed the mentor.: )
There is a point to this story. Zubair was born and raised in beautiful, but always tremendously in turmoil, Kashmir India. Fortunate for him he was "high borne". But he told me all about the REAL history of the region...not the BS the government wants us to hear.Three bloody wars since 1947..after the British pulled out giving India it's Independence. With the constant threat of a Pakistan invasion looming over them, corrupt government, and corrupt business practices, few are rich but the majority are poor. A huge population of illiterate and uneducated but hard working families...millions of them suffering. They are uneducated but they are Master Artisans, highly skilled in textile arts such as carpet weaving, various ancient embroidery skills, etc. They are paid between $2.00 and $5.00 a week when employed..half the year they are unemployed and struggle to feed their families by farming, or picking cotton and saffron. While the millions are suffering the handful of corrupt business owners, greedy middlemen, corrupt politicians and Western and European Corporations make millions of dollars from the sales of carpets, Pashmina and Cashmere scarves, etc.
For centuries, generations of ancestors have been weaving and embroidering for Kings and conquerors. For the first time in history they banding together with other families and building their own business where they earn merit wages for handcrafted products exported and sold in the US.
Fortunately their products have been selling well at outdoor markets and boutique stores because the crowdfunding has gone nowhere. I know the video needs some work. Perhaps that is where I can ask you guys for some advice if you don't mind. Not in the funding, but on improving the campaign info.
But getting back to India..a country so rich with history, tradition, culture, beautiful people. Zubair has dreamed about reducing poverty in Srinagar Kashmir..not through donations..but by allowing his people to proudly work their way out of poverty. He has two cousins who have been working with the Fazeel family for close to two years now. It took a while for them to build a relationship and trust but it is finally paying off.
This is a great thread guys..I am glad I came across it.
Cheers!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1304534736/the-picasso-project-the-beauty-of-textile-art-fluf