As a business, Sari Bari realizes the importance of sustainability, profits, etc…. As a Social Business, our passions go beyond the bottom line. We know that in order to be sustainable, we must invest in the people who are making it happen. The entire reason for the business is the women.
Empowerment expresses our belief in the women and their often untapped potential. Our hope is to instill in the women that they are greater, they are worth more than they have been led to believe and they are worth fighting for. We encourage them to take control, to create, to come up with ideas and simply to partner with us. We simple awake the already instilled purpose and personal strength within them.
By partnering with the men and women we work with, we see change is possible. For the women, for their families and in the surrounding community. When women come to Sari Bari, they are broken down. Slowly, over time, as we work together and teach them new skills, the women begin believe in themselves. They begin to believe they can do just about anything. They can write their name, they learnnew skills…these little steps toward personal independence are a daily measure of progress to standing strong on their own feet. When they sign their name for their first pay check, they realize that the hard work has paid off. They are providing for their family, and not just that, providing in a way that makes them feel good. Meaningful work in a safe, loving and encouraging place helps the women and staff feel valued. Because at Sari Bari; they are.
We are always seeking to press our women forward in new ways. Whether it be asking their opinion on a new design, or a color, or if there is a different way to make something. Our producer forum enables the women to actually hold a stake and make decisions on how the business is run. Additionally, in 2012 14 women became shareholders in Sari Bari Private Limited after more than 5 years of employment. They are not only emotionally, but financially invested.
The more the women become personally able to live empowered, the more they empower each other. The women review each other’s work and talk about how it can be better, they instill hope in other women still working the line and empower/encourage them to take the first step of simply walking through the door of Sari Bari to check it out. The managers and veterans at Sari Bari play a pivotal role in the empowerment of other staff members. They provide loving instruction and direction, constructive feedback, emotional support and friendships.
Empowering and partnering with the women of Sari Bari makes a difference not only in their own story, but in the life of their families and community. By providing a good job for the women, their children are able to go to school and reach educational levels that were never possible for their parents. They have access to healthcare. A savings plan. A retirement plan. By partnering with the women, Sari Bari is able to come alongside them as they make choices for lasting change in their family’s generations from now.
It’s is a great honor to share life and be apart of the freedom journey with the women of Sari Bari. Partnership for empowerment with the staff of Sari Bari is crucial to success of a sustainable business, but even more so to success of the freedom journey.