The Mother's Fragrances
| Greater Goods and Fair Trade |
In
May 2003, we visited the producers of The Mother's Fragrances in Pondicherry,
South East India. To read our report and see some of the pictures we took,
click here.
Greater
Goods and Fair Trade
Greater Goods Limited aims to promote the practice of Fair Trade. Fair Trade means that the makers of the products get a fair deal. This includes good wages and working conditions, freedom from the fluctuations of the market through advance payment, guaranteed prices and long term trading relations. It also means that the producers are not forced to mortgage their future and that of their children through environmentally unsound practices. Fortunately, Fair Trade is receiving more and more attention.
All products sold by Greater Goods Limited originate from the Mother's Commerce Company in Pondicherry, India, a model project where it is shown that it is possible to produce high quality products under good conditions.
Wages at The Mother's Commerce Company are above the minumum wage and far above average for the industry. Wages are also paid during the training period, which in the tapestry unit can take up to three months. Workers, 95% of whom are women, can further benefit from a provident fund, where the worker and the company both put in 10% of the wage each month. This savings plan is released when the person marries or leaves the company. Workers who live at a distance from the production units can take part in a bicycle project. The possession of a bicycle gives women great freedom and independence.
Workers also benefit from medical insurance. Care is taken regarding sufficient lighting and ventilation in the places of work. Working hours are limited to 40 hours per week. Needless to say, children are not employed. Every worker has to bring her birth certificate when applying for work, so that her age can be verified. Workers are also free to organize themselves within the units.
The Mother's Commerce Company currently employs about 370 people, mainly women. The Mother's Commerce Company receives help from its Northern counterparts in the design and development of products. The relations are long term, spanning over 20 years. Prices to the consumer are kept low in spite of the higher costs associated with production, because the middle-man has been eliminated.
In the manufacturing of incense products no toxic materials or processes are involved. Conventionally, incense sticks are rolled at the homes of workers. They are later dipped in essential oils, dried and packed in a factory. In this process the essential oils are diluted with cheap chemicals (to keep the price low). The result is a dipped incense which is strong and rich in chemicals, with a heavy fragrance that lingers for a long time and attaches itself to clothes and curtains. Our incense is hand rolled whereby the essential oils are included in the dough from which the sticks are rolled. This eliminates the need to dilute the essential oils with chemicals, and gives a fragrance which is far superior to that of dipped incense sticks. It also creates a healthier work environment for the incense makers.
The above conditions are in stark contrast to the conditions under which millions of people in developing countries work. The excellent conditions under which our products are made and traded have led our accreditation as Fair Trade importers by the British Association for Fair Trade Shops (BAFTS). Our products are also accredited by the Dutch Society of World Shops (Landelijke Vereniging van Wereldwinkels). We feel Fair Trade should be the norm when it comes to doing business with the South, and not the exception. Our aim is to increase the availability of Fair Trade products, and to make people aware of the issues involved. If you have any remarks or questions, feel free to contact us.
Two visits to The Mother's Commerce Company
December 1996 Report by: Joke Bot & Peter van Mersbergen
This afternoon we have an appointment with Ramu and Paru of "Mother's Commerce Company Pvt Ltd", the producers of tapestries and incense that are sold in the Netherlands to among others World Shops. Ramu is the present owner and his sister Paru works for MCC a number of days a week. The company is situated in Pondicherry, South- India, about 100 kilometers south of Madras. We arrived at 14.00 hrs, more than an hour later than we said to Ramu. The cause is the fact that travel times in India are hard to plan, especially after the heavy rains of the last few days. The bus was up to the axles in the water in a number of places. The local papers are full of reports of tens of thousands of people driven out of their homes and the damage done to the rice harvest. After meeting Ramu, we were asked whether we had had lunch, and after our negative answer, we are served a lovely sandwich, together with tea, as familiar in India.
MCC was started about 15 years ago by the father of Ramu and Paru, together with Robert van Harten, the manager of MIRA. The founder of MCC is a follower of Sri Aurobindo ( 1872-1950), mystic and philosopher, who started an ashram in Pondicherry, where his ideas and teachings on yoga were put into practice. MCC employs about 350 people, mainly women, between 18 and 25 years old, Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
Work is done in seven locations, larger houses in a residential area. One house is used as an office, and the others as production workshops, of which we visited three. One for the production of tapestries, one for the production of incense and one for the packaging of incense.
First we visited the tapestries workshop. The tapestries produced here are 100% destined for export, no wall hangings of this kind are used in India. The women in the workshop were working in well lit and well ventilated rooms. Next to the experienced weavers, some trainee-weavers were working. The tapestries are sold in among others, Sweden, the United States and the Netherlands. The scenes on the tapestries are not typically Indian and are often designed on demand on the basis of a picture.
After this we visited the incense workshops. The production of incense is approximately 2500 (long) sticks per day. The production is done completely manual. First the fragrances are made, only a few people know the exact composition, these are mixed with charcoal, resins, and up to twenty other ingredients to form a paste. The women roll this paste around a bamboo stick, after which it is laid to dry naturally. In one room about 25 women were quietly working. After the drying, the sticks are transported to the packaging workshop, which we subsequently visited. In this workshop everything is done by hand as well, both the marbling of the packaging as the making of the plastic sachets in which the sticks are packed. Only for the printing of the text on the packet and the cutting of the paper, an old printing press, a "Heidelberger" is used.
After this interesting tour of the workshops we were given plenty of opportunity to ask questions. One of the things we wanted to know was the legal position of the employees. We were told that all employees have a contract for an undetermined time with MCC, and that the women usually stay for 5 to 7 years. The renumeration is at least Rs. 35 per day, which is double the minimum wage in India. Only during the training period do the employees earn this amount. After this their wage is dependent on production, which in practice means that they earn about Rs 80 per day. Besides this salary, there is a savings scheme for the employees, which becomes available when they marry or leave the company. The employees work 5 days a week for a maximum of 8 hours per day. Occasionally it happens that a large order has to be prepared, and overwork may be necessary then, for which they receive 100% on top of their normal reward. If we wanted, we could check all this in the "books". Besides this for India good renumeration, MCC also makes bicycles available to the employees that live at a distance from the company.
We were and still are very impressed with the way of working at MCC, and how the workers are treated there. After we had seen and heard all this, we were given an assortment of the products that MCC makes as a souvenir. We were given a bag with incense, incense holders and a tapestry, and a booklet on the activities of the father of Ramu and Paru, in which we read about the other projects besides the MCC that he has started for the local population. We ended our visit with a walk through Pondicherry and a wonderful meal in a restaurant. After this day, we will never again throw away a handmade incense packet and we will try to promote their products as much as we can.
We hope that if Ramu and/or Paru ever come to the Netherlands, to meet them again.
February 1997 Report by: Mieke Aussems-van de Beek
During our visit to South India last January, in which we spent a lot of time at our sponsor project, the childrens' home Seva Sangam in Trichy, we also spent a few days in Pondicherry. There we made an appointment with miss Paru of The Mother's Service Society. This non-profit organisation produces the incense and also woollen tapestries, that are sold in the Netherlands by MIRA. The incense is sold under the name The Mother's Fragrances. Two years ago, miss Paru was in the Netherlands, and together with Henriette from MIRA, she visited a number of Wereldwinkels (World Shops) among others our shop in Valkenburg a.d. Geul. She remembered it well. My sister, Ans Vincken and I, came more or less unexpected, but we were still given an extensive tour and answers to all our questions. We knew quite a lot already, because of the information Mira had provided us with, but it was still very interesting and new to see a project like this in reality.
THE ROLLING OF THE INCENSE First, we went to the place where the incense is rolled. Because an emergency order for the Netherlands had to be made ready, all the girls that normally do the rolling, were packing. A pity for us, but understandable. Even though, especially for us, a little demonstration was given of the mixing of the paste with natural fragrances and the rolling. It was very nice to see. The girls were sitting in a well cared for space with good light.
INCENSE PACKING Another building in the city is the real place where the packing of the incense takes place. Outside stood a whole row of bicycles of the girls who worked there. These are sponsored by the organization, but they have to pay back Rs. 50 per month. A bike is really very important, the girls become much more mobile and independent. The packing place looked large and colourful, with all 'our' different incense packaging. Also here work was solely for the large order from the Netherlands and an information leaflet is now included in all packets. The Netherlands is the largest customer. In this building also the printing was being done, as well as the marbling of the beautiful packaging and here the orders were made ready for shipment to (in this case) the harbour of Rotterdam.
THE PACKAGING One of the nicest things we saw, was the marbling of the incense packaging, which was demonstrated especially for us. In a tub full of water different colours of paint and oil are mixed, measured very precisely, as every package has its own distinctive mix. With a stick the marbling pattern was created, a large sheet of paper was dipped in and then it was done. A surprising effect. The girls found this work not as nice and difficult, but the result is so nice, that they keep on supplying this. I bought incense from another organisation in "fake" marbled packaging, significantly less nice.
INCENSE HOLDERS The soapstone incense holders that MIRA supplies, are made in Northern India, but are also supplied via Pondicherry. The wooden incense holders are made in Pondicherry, in local carpentry units. Here also they were busy packing for the large order from the Netherlands.
HANDWOVEN WOOLLEN TAPESTRIES Lastly we visited the weaving unit. Here beautiful, complicated woollen tapestries are woven, impressive to see. The girls first get a solid training, and then gradually get more difficult tasks with more and more complicated designs. Many flowers and landscapes. The demand in the Netherlands is somewhat stagnating, but many still go to Sweden and the United States. After the weaving there is a careful check and finishing work. The girls are not allowed to talk during the work, because mistakes are then quickly made. When seeing the complicated patterns, this is understandable. They have two tea breaks and one hour lunch break. There was good light everywhere and sufficient fans, which improves the quality of the work, but is definately not always the case in other weaving workshops.
After the tour we had a cup of tea with miss Paru and she told us some more. It was the day before Pongal, a very important festival in South-India. Because of Pongal, all the girls got a new sari. There is also a good savings scheme for the women. When we said goodbye in the street, miss Paru drew our attention to a number of women, who were building a new road, hard and dirty manual labour. She said that 'her' girls came from the same background as these women, but were much better off. Because she had visited the Netherlands, she apologized for any untidiness we might have seen at their project. But because this was my third visit to India, I was used to quite something, and I thought things looked very neat and tidy, and that is what I told Paru.
There are a growing number of Fair Trade Shops in the UK. Contact the
British Assocation of Fair Trade Shops for more information.
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