ABOUT THE FOUNDER

The founder of Weaving Essentials, Yuvan Goenka, is a student at Step-by-Step School, Noida. He is an all-rounder with a keen interest in various activities, including academics, sports, playing the piano and engaging in extra-curricular pursuits.

Outside school, one thing that has deeply concerned him while living in Delhi, is the plight of countless children on the streets. Approximately 15% of Delhi’s population, which is about 23 lakh people, lives below the poverty line. Seeing them so often has ignited his desire to make a meaningful difference in their lives. Casual discussions with his family led him to consider if he could contribute, even in a small way, to initiate his journey in social service. Hence, the journey of Weaving Essentials began when he noticed what was lacking in the schools of the underprivileged kids during a visit.

ABOUT WEAVING ESSENTIALS

During his interaction with the students and teachers at a government school, Yuvan noticed that the children did not have a uniform. Yuvan felt uniforms are an ideal necessity in every school and each school should have its own exclusive uniform. Uniforms serve not only as a practical requirement in schools but also as a powerful tool for promoting equality and fostering a sense of unity among students. Therefore, supplying uniforms to government and NGO-run schools would be a good starting point in his journey of social service, as his family runs a garment manufacturing business, and he would have the resources to take the project off the ground.

According to the Indian Textile Journal, it is estimated that more than 1 million tons of textiles are discarded every year in India, with most of it coming from firms and household sources. When fabric is thrown in the garbage, it takes more than 200 years for the materials to decompose into the landfill, with severe environmental consequences, including the release of greenhouse gases and the contamination of groundwater and soil.

Yuvan and his team worked on this project and focused on the aspect of environmental sustainability, by upcycling surplus fabric from garment manufacturing units. Hence, he collected leftover fabric as per the project’s requirements and used it for production. This step also helped alleviate the project’s financial burden. Throughout the process, he aimed towards environment and economic sustainability and efficiency.

As the project continued to evolve, Yuvan expanded its scope by trying to empower several women by helping them operate sewing machines and equip them with a valuable skillset and means to gain financial independence.

In essence, Weaving Essentials aims to create a useful project that engages all participants in community development.

OBJECTIVES OF WEAVING ESSENTIALS

• Helping underprivileged children: Provide uniforms to underprivileged children attending government/NGO-run schools.
• Focusing on sustainability: By upcycling surplus fabrics from garment manufacturing units, we aim to create essential items.
• Reducing waste: Our project seeks to minimize waste.
• Empowering women: Empower women by training them to use the sewing machines, enabling them to become financially independent.
• Supporting a women’s vocational training center: So far we have donated five sewing machines to support a women’s vocational training center, helping women develop valuable skills for improved job prospects and financial independence, and we shall continue to extend our support.