How Love Handmade Transforms Lives
Sania was only 13 when she first sat beside her mother, Khalida, watching her skillfully sort through stacks of fabric, her hands moving with confidence born from generations of tradition.
“I didn’t want to do this at first,” Sania admits. “It looked so hard. The money was small, and it felt like too much for too little.”
Her mother, Khalida, now 35, never had the chance to go to school. She learned the art of ralli and ajrak craft from her mother and grandmother, skills passed from woman to woman, generation to generation. Though non-literate, she is an expert in her work—leading fabric selection, overseeing quality control, and teaching younger women in the village.
“When I was younger, I wanted to go to school,” Sania says, “but it wasn’t safe to travel. So I stayed home. And I watched my mother.”
Sania eventually picked up the needle - reluctantly at first, driven by the financial strain at home. But with time, that hesitation gave way to admiration, and admiration to passion. Today, she is 20 years old and not only proud of her craft but fully immersed in it.
“Zein Ahmed trained us, especially in colour combinations and sizing. Her trainings are my favourite. I had so much to learn from her, and I still do.”
Together, Sania and Khalida create ralli bedspreads, table covers, and kitchen sets using traditional Sindhi ajrak. A single bedspread takes 8 to 10 days to complete, even with four women working on it. The work is meticulous, layered in history—and now, also layered in opportunity.
“Zein pays us really well. We started with one room… and now we’ve built more,” Sania smiles. “We’ve expanded because the work has grown.”
Their home has become a hub of enterprise. They now employ other women in the village, turning a mother-daughter craft into a small, thriving business. Not everyone celebrates their success, some in the village look on with envy or criticism, but that hasn't stopped them.
“I’ve seen my mother work with other NGOs. They’d come, take the work, and leave. They never cared about us. But with Love Handmade, it’s different…they’ve stayed with us, they haven’t forgotten us.”
*To respect personal privacy, some names have been changed.