Our Mission

More Ripple Effects

The artisans theme for the last 6 months "Ripple Effects," was about the many changes that have taken place in their lives, their families and their communities over the years. Most of these women had not even seen a city before marrying and moving to Mumbai. These young women (sometimes teenagers) had to cope with an enormous challenges all at once. Typically, the woman's marriage was arranged and her new husband and his family were virtual strangers. It was a shock to adapt to living with 4 or 5 new in-laws in small crowded homes (typically 10 x 10 feet) after the relative spaciousness of their villages. They had to learn to cook and keep house under the critical eye of their new mothers-in-law. They furthermore had to learn all the new ways of surviving in the city.

The children who were babies when MarketPlace began are now grown and facing their own possible marriages. The artisans continue to show their determination to improve the lives of their children. Now they are considering how the ripples of change will flow into new generations.