This leather handbag was made by EMA for Shared Earth. EMA is one of the oldest Fair Trade organisations in India - its founder worked with Gandhi.
They run a community 10 miles from Kolkata where disabled people from nearby villages live during the week - making leather products, candles and musical instruments, enabling them to contribute to their family’s income.
All EMA employees receive a provident fund, pension, medical insurance and a yearly bonus. The charity Ekta Trust was set up by EMA to provide scholarships for widows and unemployed people living in Kamarhati, to donate text books to students through its text book grant scheme and to develop a centre for single mothers, widows and troubled wives. They also aim to plant 10,000 trees per year with the help of youth clubs in South Kolkata.