Revive Your Community Spirit at the 17th Yellow Ribbon NGO Fair

The fair is open from 11.00 am to 9 pm from 27th Sept to 1st Oct 2024.

PUNE: The evergreen Yellow Ribbon NGO Fair ( YRNF) is back for the 17th time in a row from 27 September – 1 October 2024. Organized by the Ishanya Foundation at Pune’s first lifestyle destination, Creaticity ( formerly Ishanya) this Pune’s Festive Shopping Season will feature more than 3000 curated products direct from weavers, artisans, and farmers. from NGOs, SHGs, and Social Enterprises from the length and breadth of India.

Essentially a platform to spread awareness about the various causes supported by the participating NGOs and SHGs, this yearly extravaganza of fashion, natural & organic products and produce, eco-friendly goods, and handicrafts is back with new products and participants as well as some old favorites! The five-day celebration of our Artisans, Farmers, Weavers, Social Enterprises, and NGOs is sure to delight all, including your family, friends, neighbors as well as corporates and entrepreneurs.

The 17th edition promises to be a shopper’s delight. Fun, excitement, and festivity will be in the air for 5 days. There are hourly lucky draws, children’s play activities, and plenty of action throughout. Along with the shopping our customers can savor authentic local delicacies such as Puran Poli, Thalipeeth, Baigan Bharta, Pithala Bhakri, and Millet rotis… at the adjoining exclusive food court.

The long list of NGOs, SHGs, Social Enterprises, Farmers, Weavers, and Artisans have traveled to Pune from far and wide to showcase their craft and spread awareness about their cause. Exhibitors are traveling from all across the country – Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and more.

The wide range of products includes handmade, natural, organic, upcycled, recycled, and eco-friendly goods. Along with shopping, a chat with these exhibitors will amaze you, and get to know more about some of the traditional weaving and handicraft techniques, organic farming methods, making of A2 ghee & natural honey, advantages of cooking and eating from cookware/serve-ware made from wood, copper, black stone and terracotta as well as the benefits of upcycling, recycling and sustainability. A wide range of products includes festive décor, artifacts, totes, baskets, fabrics, sarees, dresses, chaniya choli, cookware, serveware, fashion jewelry, natural honey, organic jaggery, A2 ghee, dry fruits, farm fresh vegetables, millets, spices, pickles, snacks and also some authentic Maharashtrian delicacies.

The entire display at this 25,000 sq. ft. indoor/outdoor fair is for all ages and all walks of life. There is something for everybody. Besides personal and lifestyle shopping one can find amazing gifting options and ideas for the upcoming festive & wedding seasons as well as for corporate gifting, birthdays, house warmings, anniversaries, farewells, travel, and more. An entire day of shopping may seem less!

Parul Mehta, Trustee, of Ishanya Foundation said, “This year’s theme – Rediscover, Resonate, Revive – is a warm and cheerful call to all of Pune to visit the 17th Yellow Ribbon NGO Fair at Creaticity and let us together Rediscover our rich textile heritage, Resonate with and support the various causes and Revive the joy of giving by buying handicrafts and Indigenous products from NGO’s, Farmers and Crafts People.”

Each purchase is in turn supporting one of the several causes eg. Women empowerment, Mental health, Weaver community, Artisans, Organic farmers, Village upliftment, Rural & Urban skill development, Youth employment, sanitation, clean water, health camps, people with hearing impairment, learning disabilities, recycling of plastic, cloth and other forms of waste and so on.

Customer participation will bring smiles to several hundred families across the country. Come and enjoy a family day out with shopping and food at the 17th edition of the Yellow Ribbon NGO Fair.

Head to the Yellow Ribbon NGO fair at Creaticity, Pune’s creative living campus, home to over 100 national and international furniture/furnishing brands, a delightful range of Restaurants and cuisines, a children’s activity centre, and plenty more. Take home warm memories and the joy of shopping for a cause.

Ishanya Foundation organises this annual extravaganza to:

Increase awareness about various causes supported by the participating NGOs and SHGs

Aid in improving earnings of several NGOs, SHGs, Farmers, Social Enterprises, Artisans and Weavers from across states.

Showcase our traditional, yet slowly fading arts and crafts.

Promote sustainable and eco-friendly manufacturing techniques for natural, upcycled, recycled, organic and bio-degradable products

Some of the featured participants at the fair and their uniqueness:

1. Sridevi Handlooms – Ikat, Kalamkari, Indonesian Ikat fabrics, stoles etc- Nalgonda, Telangana

Traditional and modern Ikat designs are hand-woven by women on a loom at their homes in Nalgonda, Telangana. All dyes used are chemical-free hence, the fabric does not run color, doesn’t fade easily, and is soft and breathable on the skin.

Complex Indonesian Ikat weaves are also available here. Fabric is bought by various large and small boutiques across the country.

2. Saath Foundation – Tangalia & Rajkot Patola, Fabrics, Sarees, Salwar sets, etc. – Surendranagar, Gujarat

Patola and Tangalia arts are several centuries old.

Patola is a weave, the raw material used for patolas is traditionally silk. Weaving is an intensive process that includes the entire family from dyeing the silk threads, marking the design, and then weaving.

Tangaliya is woven on a pitloom: a small and simple loom that is installed in a pit. The loom is operated by two foot-pedals (in the pit), leaving the hands of the weaver free for the dana-work.

Saath Foundation is helping these dying arts by extending support to the weavers in sourcing raw materials at competitive prices, product innovation and finding new markets for improving sales.

3. Kapileshwar Mohanto – Kotpad Thann Fabric, Stoles – Odisha

Kotpad fabrics are made using traditional techniques involving the use of cow dung, oil, and natural dyes. Made by tribals on traditional wooden looms, these fabrics and stoles are good on the skin and long-lasting.

4. ReCharkha – Recycled Lifestyle products – Pune

Tribal women and youth manually weave fabric from waste plastic using a traditional Charkha (Spindle) and handloom. The fabric is then used to make recycled lifestyle products such as handbags, fashion accessories, office utilities, and home décor.

Their present focus is to resolve the issue of waste management, particularly that of the non-biodegradable and difficult-to-recycle plastic waste, and create livelihood opportunities.

5. Seva Nidhi Trust – Project 1000 – Handcrafted lifestyle products – Maharashtra

PROJECT 1000 is a social enterprise based in rural Maharashtra to inspire and empower backcountry women to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams and unlock their full potential with the aim that every woman earns Rs 1000 a day.

Innovative lifestyle products with sustainability as the end goal are handcrafted through creative upcycling using natural and functional fabrics.

Traditional techniques such as weaving on wooden looms, crochet, and macrame are used which makes the manufacturing process zero-carbon emission, zero water, air & noise pollution, zero use of non-renewable energy, zero plastic, zero wastage, and both product and packaging are bio-degradable.

6. Swades Foundation – Cashews – Mumbai

Their goal is to empower rural India through building Dream Villages – transform villages with a 360-degree development approach. It includes health, education, water, sanitation, financial literacy, economic development, and independent growth and prosperity of the villages.

The women in the villages prepare food items to earn a better living. The farmers from the Farmer Producer Company (FPC) are supported in growing cashews and earning through their sales.

7. Bamboo India – Lifestyle products – Pune

Women from NGOs are trained to make the products. Bamboo is sourced from various farmers to make eco-friendly lifestyle products such as Toothbrushes, Straws, Earbuds, Speakers, Pocket size mini speakers, Stationery, Bottle holders, Mug holders, Desk organisers, etc.

8. Saheli – Bags and Pouches – Pune

Saheli works for the upliftment of female sex workers. They look into various issues faced by these women such as health, violence, and children’s education.

Saheli works towards their financial independence by providing training to make products such as herbal soaps, perfumes, bags, pouches, mobile covers, etc. The sale of these products is a step towards empowerment for the women.

9. Loreehamle – Black Stone Pottery – Group of Artisans from Longpi, Manipur

Coming from Manipur’s Longpi village, this group of local artisans make the famous Black Stone Pottery. Although it is called ‘pottery’ they use bamboo sticks and do not use a potter’s wheel! All products are handmade with locally sourced black stone available only in the Longpi area.

The process involves various steps including powdering the stone, flattening, cutting, rolling, mixing, drying, scrubbing, and baking to make each product.

All cookware and serveware are chemical-free, microwave-safe can go directly on a gas flame, and can be washed with regular dishwash detergent and a hard scrub.

Since the stone is rich in iron and minerals the benefits also transfer to the food cooked and served in them.

They also make chemical and pesticide-free hand-embroidered baskets, Tiffin bags, Trays, Mats, etc from locally grown reed grass. These are washable with soap and water.

10. Art Bunker – Workshops and DIY Kits for children – New Delhi

Educate children, aged 5-15 yrs., across the country about our rich heritage, vernacular architecture, Indigenous craft processes, and various art forms.

This knowledge is given with the aim that the students will turn out to be better-informed individuals who will make responsible lifestyle choices.

Artisans design folk art paintings to be used in DIY kits prepared for children. These are made by artisans as a part of the livelihood generation program.

Diy Colouring Kits, Indian Doll making Kits, Block Print Your Own Dupatta Kit, Cotton T-shirt Printing Kit, Wooden Block DIY Kit, Ganjifa Athrangi Printed Playing, Monuments of India.

11. Asgar – Ajrakh fabrics, stoles, sarees – Zura, Kutch, Gujarat

Ajrakh known as the ‘Garment of Kings’ has been made since the Indus Valley Civilization.

Ajrakh printing involves many complex stages such as making unique and customized designs on wooden blocks, preparing vegetable and synthetic dyes, blocking, drying, dyeing, etc.

Sarees, Stoles, Dupattas, and Fabrics available in Modal, Cotton, and other materials

12. Dhalia Crafts – Juttis (footwear) – Hisar, Haryana

This fifth-generation of artisan family has kept the traditional craft of making ‘Juttis’ (footwear) alive. Along with traditional patterns they also continuously innovate new styles and designs, keeping customer comfort and affordability as their priority.

Juttis are made by rural women using cloth and leather with hand embroidery done in Zardozi, Tilla, Zari, and colorful threadwork.

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