On the first week of my “Leadership in Action” summer in Kerala, India, working with social enterprise “Swara: Voice of Women”, founded by Asha Scaria Vettoor @Asha Scaria Vettoor , I worked with the organisation “Save the Loom” and the affiliated brand “Store 108”. The slogan “Save the Loom” was founded as a cause given the damage done to the looms of home weavers as a result of the floods of 2018 in Kerala. The organisation aims to promote this hand craft to the younger generation by improving the working conditions for weavers and innovating garment designs to increase the wages of weavers. “Store 108” is evidence of this cause in action - with its multiple bespoke pieces it is utilising design to maximise the utility of the fabrics the women weavers are making in order to “Save the Loom”. 

I spent time at “Store 108” in Fort Kochi, in addition to visiting the weaving cooperatives across Kochi that have been assisted by the organisation in their restoration post floods. I also visited the dying unit and learnt about how the dying process works before the fabric is weaved. To conclude the week our group presented a series of suggestions on how to make the organisation’s social media more engaging to the younger audience for which it is trying to reach. In all, an enlightening and creatively stimulating week.