Charaka is a fundamental altruistic philosophy of life that has come true.
The Social Women's Community Charaka was founded by a circle of scholars and philosophers over 30 years ago and is led by its chairman and initiator, Sri Baba Prasana. Since then, the collective has grown to over 200 full-time employees, the majority of whom are women.
Charaka produces the finest hand-woven and naturally dyed dresses, accessories, covers, bags, blankets, curtains, shawls - everything that can be made out of cotton fabric.
Charaka produces the finest hand-woven and naturally dyed dresses, accessories, covers, bags, blankets, curtains, shawls - everything that can be made out of cotton fabric.
The Clue: All done natural while supporting the livelihood of over 200 women.
The Organisation was founded with the aim of counteracting the destruction of the soil by the growing population and monoculture of agriculture.
No electricity is used for the entire production process, from the cotton to the finished factory. Sewing and weaving machines are operated by human power according to old tradition. Dyeing is done with natural dyes, which are extracted from fruits and vegetables. The water used for dyeing is purified in a self-built natural purification process and reused for agriculture.
The employees are not only employees but also part of the company. The non-profit organisation distributes the profits to the employees at the end of the year. Many have spent their entire working life at Charaka.
No electricity is used for the entire production process, from the cotton to the finished factory. Sewing and weaving machines are operated by human power according to old tradition. Dyeing is done with natural dyes, which are extracted from fruits and vegetables. The water used for dyeing is purified in a self-built natural purification process and reused for agriculture.
The employees are not only employees but also part of the company. The non-profit organisation distributes the profits to the employees at the end of the year. Many have spent their entire working life at Charaka.
With a consistently holistic approach, the ashram was also built, which houses many of the production processes. The buildings were built in the old tradition with clay and painted by villagers. In summer, the huts remain pleasantly cool despite the notorious summer heat in Karnataka. A small solar system provides the canteen with enough electricity to charge two mobile phones and a marginal lighting of the facility in the evening. Cooking is done on an open fire, the sumptuous vegetarian lunch is free for the employees - meat is unthinkable here.
Jobs are not only offered but in certain cases also created to fit the needs of the people.
Charaka is known for creating space for people who cannot find work elsewhere because of their physical limitations. Especially for women this is a recurring theme in the rural area because of trivialities (e.g. small body height).
The organization runs 4 shops with exhibition space in Karnataka which they combine with a kind of museum to preserve old traditions and values in the long term. One of the shops is even housed in a hundreds of years old house, where you can admire an old kitchen fully intact. Who buys at Charaka, like with us, does not get a plastic bag with the purchased works in it, but a bag stapled together from newspaper. The sales and management of the shops is led in the same social and sustainable form by Sri Krishna in Bangalore.
Charaka not only convinces with its unique products, but especially with its consideration for nature and people during the entire production and distribution process, in other words, holistically.
