Ohrna is a story about people through products.
In extraordinary efforts towards empowerment, our makers strive hard for perfection.
Rustic village settings in Maharashtra are home to some of the women who make our handmade products. Small temples dot the landscape, their shikhar (steeple) painted in many bright colors; welcoming arched entryways to each village, sugarcane fields, bullock-carts sometimes sugarcane laden, schoolgirls on their very long walk to school, white loose clothing and bright colored turbans and mountain ranges in the horizon, are all typical of the hilly and arid region in which we live and work.
Ohrna believes in enabling home-based women to earn. Working with women many of whom are farmers and therefore connected with mother earth and her bounty has been enriching and fulfilling indeed for Ohrna. Sharing meals and mealtimes have been our important bonding moments.
For Seema Satish Chavan one of the defining moments of her 30 years life has been the day her painstakingly hand crafted pouch was bought by a student from New Jersey. Born and raised in a small village four hours from Mumbai, Seema had understandably never even heard of New Jersey. But the purchase unlocked for her an opportunity she had only dreamt of till now - the ability to create something with her own hands and then have that skill empower her financially. After seeing the global world through Ohrna, ‘I feel awakened’, she says.
Jyoti our studio assistant in Pune, was terrified to hold a scissor. She soon started to confidently cut fabric. She enjoyed drawing instructions for the village kits where written instructions don't work. This is teh kind of empowerment Ohrna strives for, beyond earning a livelihood.
Ask Noorjehan Tehsildar who enjoys Ohrna work a lot, how Ohrna has ben transformational for her. ‘I love to do creative work, learn new things. I have a great desire to do something, to become somebody. You come from so far to teach us, it feels very nice. I hope Ohrna grows, and I hope you can keep giving us work.
Or Vishakha Balkrushna Desai, who works at her own schedule and puts away the entire amount she earns to buy gold ornaments for her daughters’ trousseau.
That in essence is what inspires Ohrna. Hearing their stories you know that Ohrna is much more than an enterprise.
When asked what she did during her days off after the holiday rush, Jyoti said she was on the hills collecting firewood. And happily added that she collected enough for a month!
Ohrna salutes the spirit of these women.
Ohrna believes in responsible design. Our focus is fourfold: use of sustainable materials, employment of rural and home-bound women, preservation of rich craft traditions and packaging in up cycled materials. We train for free and often employ women with minimum skills. We design to customers' needs and also constantly adapt our designs for ease of making, for our makers.