The Lotus Odyssey and WORK+SHELTER

by Jade Anna Hughes, Guest Blogger

Some people have the ability to turn dreams into reality, and once this reality has been attained, build upon these dreams to further their growth and development. When NYWSE member Theresa VanderMeer set foot in India in 2007 her main goal was to do research on how economic empowerment impacts woman (a study sponsored by the University of Michigan). During this visit several ideas began to blossom, and with subsequent visits and planning, both The Lotus Odyssey and WORK+SHELTER were formed. The Lotus Odyssey is an eco/people friendly social enterprise (i.e. business) that exports products from various non-profits, women-owned business and fair-trade certified organizations (including WORK+SHELTER), with the ultimate goal of using the revenue collected to fund WORK+SHELTER. The Lotus Odyssey aims to provide women across the world with beautiful and unique fair-trade items that are easily accessible. 

The idea of WORK+SHELTER stems from the initial plans for The Lotus Odyssey. If one can provide beautiful, unique and fair-trade products that women all over the world will use and wear, then why not create a place for women in India to live and work, provide them with a way to be financially independent from their husbands and/or families, and give them the opportunity to learn a trade that can be used anywhere? WORK+SHELTER gives women the chance to come in to work every day, stay at the shelter if they need to, and work with other women in similar situations to their own. By providing these women with financial independence, as well as a trade or skill, Theresa and her team are helping promote empowerment for Indian women of all backgrounds and ages. The initial location for WORK+SHELTER was set-up in Delhi last year, and there are plans in the works to expand within India in the future, as well as the possibility to move into other countries at a later date, providing there is enough funding to do so. The main point of WORK+SHELTER is that it is completely scalable, and the team can also work together with NGO or other organizations that are already set up in the region concerned.

Theresa’s main goal for this year is to ensure that the current WORK+SHELTER set-up becomes sustainable and can therefore continue to grow. The initial set-up was made possible by a Kickstarter campaign, as well as a benefit held in Michigan. Now it is important for people to buy content created by the women in the shelter in order to sustain the monthly overhead, and therefore continue to keep the women employed and the shelter profitable.

While WORK+SHELTER ultimately relies on the wealthy buying from the poor, it is not a charity, but a social and economic venture that will ultimately run itself once the initial set-up proves itself successful. The setting up process was not completely smooth-sailing from the get-go, but Theresa never gave up, saw the pitfalls and issues as challenges and updated her plans whenever she hit a wall. Now that the first WORK+SHELTER is up and running, Theresa’s mind is racing with many more ideas on not only how to make sure the shelter is profitable, but also on how to expand, with multiple locations as well as multiple skills. At the moment the women are creating beautiful goods with their hands, but there are many other niches that need to be explored, including technology.

Content from The Lotus Odyssey is available to buy online HERE, and the website is maintained by Theresa and her team. There will also be a large trade show at the Javits Center in August where the team hopes to move to a new level with the products they are currently selling. WORK+SHELTER information and products are also available online HERE.

Jade Anna Hughes is a writer living in New York City. Her blog contains articles on music, feminism, empowerment, literature and information on current events in the world today (basically a mix of everything that captures her attention). You can follow it HERE. Jade aims to join Theresa in India later this year to work in the SHELTER, and hopefully help set up a second location.  

 

Pictured: The author Jade Anna Hughes (right) and The Lotus Odyssey/WORK+SHELTER founder Theresa VanderMeer (left) at the 2012 Green Festival.

 

Comments

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Work+shelter program will go beyond its expectation because of its charitable goal. It's a sweet thing to know that one's dream will turn into reality.

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I love it when you said that some people turn their dreams into reality. Well, this is true! Reality comes from desiring something. So, to those who wants to be realistic, start dreaming!

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Hi Jade, thansk for this great post. I really love to read article about charity and helping others and i think Work+shelter program will succeed