OUR STORY
My name is Neha, founder and creator of NARIKIND.
Born and raised in Mumbai, I grew up in urban, modern India, surrounded by a loving family that supported my every dream and wish.
As a young girl, I was encouraged to study, work and to stand on my own two feet. I earned a bachelor’s degree, then an MBA and travelled the world before settling in Denmark - where I now live with my husband and 3 year old girl.
None of these wonderful things would have been possible without the support system that I had growing up.
I am lucky and truly blessed. But for many millions of women - especially in rural India - the family support just isn’t there, and opportunities are limited or altogether non-existent. They face a perpetual cycle of dependence, hindering progress for themselves and their communities.
Narikind is born.
Having held several C-level positions for the past decade, I suppose I started to feel the itch to pay it forward in some way.
A chance encounter on one of my annual trips to India led me to visit this little village where I met some truly remarkable men and women who were working on various projects for the welfare of local residents.
Their warmth, and enduring spirit made me fall in love with the place and its people. Ideas were exchanged, prototypes were made, and the rest is history!
It's all in the name!
Rooted in its name—'Nari,' the Hindi word for woman—the mission is crystal clear: to empower rural women. Through safe employment, skill training, fair wages, and the freedom to work from home, NARIKIND aims to give women a stronger voice and the means to create a better life for themselves and their loved ones. Creating a ripple effect of change in a small community. Read more to learn about why and how we do this.
Upcycling Nation
My mother was the first person who taught me about the concept of upcycling. I grew up in a middle-class household, so instead of buying new outfits for every occasion (and we have a lot of those in India!), my mother would turn her old saris into new salwar kameezes (aka. Punjabi suits), blouses, scarves, pants and dresses. Sometimes they would also be sewed into colorful cushion covers or bags.
So in a way, while we consider upcycling to be a trend in the Western world, Indian households have been doing it for decades. That’s what we’re doing at NARIKIND, but at a commercial scale.
Reducing waste
We aim to reduce waste created by the textile industry and only produce items out of used garments - such as jeans and saris - collected and curated by our team in India.
We thoroughly wash all garments without using harmful chemicals, dry them in the hot Indian sun and sanitize them, before cutting and sewing them into beautiful new bags, home decor products and gift items.
It starts with one.
We are a small business that believes in tangible, achievable goals. Starting out with a focused lens on just one tiny, remote village in Western India we aim to care for the small team that we have, and slowly expand to include more women, and potentially even expand to more villages - who knows what the future holds?
Learn about us
EMPOWERING RURAL WOMEN
We strongly believe that women hold the key to change and progress in society. Through safe employment, skill training, fair wages, and the freedom to work from home, NARIKIND aims to give women a stronger voice and the means to create a better life for themselves and their loved ones. Creating a ripple effect of change in a small community.
UPCYCLING & SUSTAINABILITY
We aim to reduce waste created by the textile industry and only produce items out of used garments - such as jeans and saris - collected and curated by our team in India.
We thoroughly wash all garments without using harmful chemicals, dry them in the hot Indian sun and sanitize them, before cutting and sewing them into beautiful new bags, home decor products and gift items.