Teddy bear business to help blind women in India

Students and lecturers from the B.A. (Honours) Fashion, Textiles Enterprise course (the University of Portsmouth, U.K), visited the women at ‘The Little flower convent’ (Chennai) to run workshops teaching blind women how to turn their hand-spun cotton into teddy bears, bags, table mats and other household goods. They are about to establish a design and manufacturing company that will create and retail them in the U.K. and in Europe. <br><br>Fashion and Textiles Enterprise course leader Sue Noble was inspired by a visit to India in July last year and has been the driving force behind the initiative. “We’re hoping that the global story behind the products and their development from a truly social enterprise will increase their marketability,” she said. <br><br>The project is a result of a joint project between the University, the British Council and the Kothari Academy for Women, a community college in Chennai who will manage the Indian end of the enterprise and outsource the production of the goods to local self-help groups.<br><br>All profits from the business will be split between these self-help groups and the convent, while the students benefit from the practical experience of designing ideas and finding retail opportunities in a global marketplace – just as they would in fashion industry jobs. <br><br>The products have been market–tested, and have been exhibited at Portsmouth City Museum as part of a national Crafts Council exhibition, ‘Well-Fashioned’.