Khushi Kantha is reworking the ‘kantha’ approach to meet global hygiene and safety standards, while retaining the principles of ‘reclaim-repurpose-reuse’ and bringing the cultural heritage of Bangladesh to a wider audience. Khushi Kantha (‘Happy Blanket’) has been selling multi-purpose baby blankets made from reclaimed and ethically-sourced cotton. They are sustainable, hand made and embroidered aimed at empowering women. These blankets are hand-stitched by mothers in Bangladesh. The contribution towards each blanket goes to a struggling mother to provide for her children with dignity. The programme aims to help mothers in supporting their families.
‘Kantha’ (which translates as “stitched cloth”) refers to the Bengali tradition of mothers repurposing their old cotton saris to create ultra-soft, multi-layered blankets for their babies. Khushi Kantha is totally unique and takes up to 20 hours to stitch. It endorses the idea of ‘buy less and buy better.’ Founder of Khushi Kantha, Laura Rana says, “When you become a mother, you become part of a global community of women who want to do all that they can to give their children the best start in life. We continually reflect on how we can use the collaborative power of community to build better futures for everyone. We want the words ‘Made in Bangladesh’ to be a statement of hope, pride and happiness.”
On International Mother Earth Day, April 22nd, Khushi Kantha will launch a rewards-based crowdfunding campaign, with the aim of raising £10,000. The funds raised will be used to train the first group of mothers; purchase fabric, embroidery threads and other raw materials; and make safety tests and transport the first collection of ‘Happy Blankets.’ Blankets can be purchased for £50 each through the campaign. Once you have pledged your £50 and chosen the embroidery design and colours you want, along with any personalisation, one of Khushi Kantha’s talented artisan mothers Khushi Kantha will hand-stitch your blanket.
There will be also other exciting rewards on offer, as well as an option to simply donate whatever you can spare to the campaign. You can check out the work on KhushiKantha.com.
