“The good man is the friend of all living things.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Leader of the Indian independence movement
“There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.”
Kofi Annan
Former UN Secretary-General
“We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love and then we return home.”
Aboriginal proverb
Proverb
“The heart of a volunteer is not measured in size, but by the depth of the commitment to make a difference in the lives of others.”
DeAnn Hollis
Volunteer advocate
ArtisansDirect by Sneha Karma Foundation is an online marketplace with a purpose: to help underprivileged artisans, especially women, reach customers they could never find on their own. Designed, built and managed by unpaid volunteers, the platform is part of our Social Enterprise program, which we believe should become self-reliant so that every rupee donated goes directly to helping the underprivileged. We begin in India, a terrain familiar to many of our volunteers, and our vision is a global storefront that lets artisans around the world earn a dignified livelihood from their craft.
Our Approach
Our vision is to build an ecosystem that enables underprivileged artisans, especially women, to get an equal opportunity to pursue their dreams. We are committed to supporting girls through academic education, skills training and professional development until they become independent and self-empowered.
We aim to help artisans from around the world, not just India, sell their products online. We are starting with India because it is a known terrain for many of our volunteers, but if you are from another country, especially Africa, and can help us connect with artisans there, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our goal is not only to sell within India: we are starting with the Indian market and will very soon sell in the USA and UK, with Australia and other countries of the world on our roadmap.
Our Strategy
Social Enterprise is one of our three key programs, and one of its success metrics is enabling underprivileged artisans to earn their livelihood. Artisans today are struggling to find a marketplace where they can sell their products, and we believe an online platform is the ideal place for them to showcase their talent and earn a living. Our vision is to make ArtisansDirect by Sneha Karma Foundation that platform.
By the end of 2024, we expect the platform to carry more than 5,000 products created by more than 100 artisans across India.
“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”
Mother Teresa
Founder, Missionaries of Charity
Our Plan for 2024
Our plan for 2024 is to launch the ArtisansDirect by Sneha Karma Foundation e-commerce platform and learn from the experience of selling products online. The store has been designed, built and managed by unpaid volunteers. Proceeds from the store support the operations of Sneha Karma Foundation, ensuring that 100% of our patrons’ donations go towards helping the underprivileged. The experience we gain from managing the store will help us sell products made by underprivileged artisans online.
In parallel, we are exploring launching ArtisansDirect stores on platforms such as Amazon, Shopify and Etsy.
Program Update
Thanks to the amazing efforts of our team of volunteers, the ArtisansDirect (India) platform is now ready to onboard products made by artisans. The online store was designed, built and will be maintained by a team of unpaid volunteers working virtually from all around the world. We expect to continue optimising the store and learning what it takes to run an online store through the end of 2024.
In parallel, we have begun partnering with other non-profit organizations that help underprivileged artisans, and we will start adding their products to our online store in the times ahead.
Partner With Us
If you are a non-profit organization, located anywhere in the world, helping underprivileged artisans earn their livelihood and looking for an e-commerce platform that can help you sell their products in the USA, please contact us. We will offer our service free to any non-profit organization, anywhere in the world, for a small security deposit that is fully refundable, so that we may protect the interests of our customers.
Donate (one-time or monthly), volunteer your skills, start a fundraiser, or partner with us as a foundation or company. Every gift reaches the programmes because our overheads are covered by a founder member.
Yes — a US 501(c)(3) (EIN 47-3774368), also registered in India. Donations are tax-deductible in the US (and 80G in India).
In India, including the Northeast and the Garbhanga forest villages of Assam, with volunteers and donors worldwide.
