About the Bag

The Khushbu Project

The Khushbu Project started in 2012 as an NGO to help tutor children fromZamrudpur’s Village who were not currently in school. The program became so successful, that eventually 200 children were taught and assisted in getting placement in local schools. Eventually the mothers began to come to the center and say, “this is great for our kids—what do you have for us?” So a sewing center was created to train women in the basics of stitching. Eventually, a few clients were found who wanted block-printed tea towels. The team pivoted and began training the women to sew tea towels and napkins and learn the trade of block printing. Until 2021, the company ran as a sole proprietorship under one of the original volunteers—Victoria Sanjenbam Devi (a 2001 LSR grad). During Covid, the team had to pivot again and decided to transition into a Pvt Ltd company, in order to grow the business and hire more women.

Today, Khushbu has 15 female artisans and 2 male artisans, working at three locations (the bag company, the clothing company, and the childcare center). The childcare center is run by two young women who were a part of that early NGO tutoring program.

At Khushbu, we believe that everyone is creative and capable of making beautiful things, and that giving women good opportunities, not only impacts their own families, but entire communities.