Mela Artisans Social Impact
Business Counseling for Artisans + Artisan Entrepreneurs
Mela has provided direct business counseling to artisans through our field staff and through our partnership with several artisans in the areas of capacity building, production planning, efficient human resource management, quality control and on-site skills training.
Capacity Building + Production Planning
Mela's field team spends time with each individual production group helping them to plan each order, monitoring existing production processes, and finding ways to increase efficiency during production. We have also introduced production monitoring processes to Asha and producer groups with weekly reporting requirements for each order.
By providing a 25-50% advance to producers against each order, Mela and its partners are also helping to increase financial capacity. As orders increase and more capital is required, Mela intends to help producer groups forge banking relationships which will help them connect to the appropriate financing to scale up. At the current stage and at early stages of starting up, Mela Artisan Partners have provided access to small-scale financing for machinery, generators, and other infrastructure needs. Because of our Partners and Mela's joined efforts in financing, we have enabled our artisans to avoid incurring unnecessarily high debt burdens from local moneylenders- which many of their counterparts suffer from because most other buyers/exporters do not provide the same financial security.
Human Resource Managment
Mela has worked with its Artisan Partners directly with producer groups to help them plan human resource management as per order. We counsel the business owner on how to divide up production based on the skill levels of the permanent and part-time artisans in their network.
On-site Skills Training
This refers to applied skills training administered by Mela staff during the sample development process when different techniques are required, and also happens on the ground throughout production. This program has currently focused on skills training as directly relevant to Mela orders, rather than a more generic educational program.
Quality Control + Packaging
Instituted new processes for pre-production samples which helps to significantly reduce quality issues and wastage of raw material and labor time post-production. We have also implemented processes for mid-production on-site quality checks through Asha. Mela staff also helps to oversee final quality check, labeling and packaging. Mela has also introduced improved packing materials such as bubble wrap to reduce breakage.
We have already seen significant improvement in quality of product based on this program, leading to less rejections, better time lines, and better quality than competing products in the US Health, Education, Household improvements (Projects for improved Standard of Living for artisan communities and families).
Artisans Jewelry Mela has also partnered with our Artisan Partners' programs for health and technology access. Mela has distributed 40 mobile phones and has conducted an educational workshop on money management for 80 artisans through our mobile financial literacy program. In addition, we have funded and distributed over 1,200 daily disposable masks in Saharanpur to prevent inhalation of dust for those artisans working in cutting of wood.
We are also currently conducting household surveys which will enable us to create subsidized access to health insurance, clean cookstoves, solar products and other household improvement items that also have health and education implications.
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