The Misconception That Is Holding Pakistan’s Craft Sector Back
"If you work with craftspeople, you should work for free."
In Pakistan, many people genuinely believe that anyone working with artisans — especially rural women — should not earn money. “Itni achi cause hai, paisay kyun kama rahe ho?” or “If you care about women, why is this not free?” are questions social businesses hear all the time. This way of thinking may feel noble, but it is one of the biggest barriers stopping Pakistan’s craft sector from growing, creating jobs, and becoming a real economic engine. Below is a simple breakdown — in everyday language — of why expecting people to work for free is unrealistic, unfair, and ultimately harmful to the very artisans we claim to support.
The belief sounds noble — but it doesn’t work in real life
Running any operation — even a small one — costs money. Transport, raw materials, packaging, electricity, salaries, training, quality checks, marketing, photography, shipping, and customer service are all real expenses. Yet many Pakistanis assume the artisan should earn a fair wage, the middle organisation should somehow work for free, and the customer should still get a cheap product. This equation does not and cannot add up. When the middle organisation collapses because it has no money to operate, the artisan is always the first to suffer.
Social businesses are still businesses — not charity offices
A social enterprise has two goals: to create positive impact and to stay financially alive. If it cannot cover its costs, it cannot deliver that impact. Still, people often say, “But you’re helping women. You shouldn’t take margins.” But without margins, a business cannot pay its staff, afford quality control, invest in marketing, meet buyer deadlines, scale orders, or reinvest in the artisans themselves. Margins are not greed; they are fuel, and without them, the entire vehicle stops.
The ‘free work’ mindset actually blocks artisans’ progress
When Pakistanis expect social enterprises to operate like free NGOs, several harmful consequences follow. Professional structures never form because no one can afford skilled managers, proper supply chains, or robust quality systems. Artisan income remains unstable, as there is no capable organisation to connect rural producers to consistent markets. Ultimately, the sector fails to grow into a real industry. Countries like India and Vietnam created billion-dollar craft sectors because they treated crafts as an economic opportunity, not as a charity hobby.
Why nonprofits often fail after their grant ends
Pakistan has a soft spot for the idea of “NGO ka project,” but the truth is simple: grants end, markets don’t. When a grant finishes, most nonprofits cannot sustain their cluster operations, training programs, product development, distribution, quality teams, market linkages, or even basic salaries. With no income model, these efforts collapse almost overnight. Artisans are left right back where they started — sometimes worse, because their hopes were raised and then dropped. This is why decades of donor money have not produced a stable craft industry in Pakistan. Projects create activity; businesses create continuity. And continuity is what artisans truly need.
Only a market-based model can survive, scale, and support artisans long-term
When a business earns revenue, it can pay artisans fairly, pay its teams, invest in new designs, handle returns and defects, maintain consistent quality, scale orders, and even enter export markets. Most importantly, it can support artisans for years, not months. A sustainable craft sector requires strong, sustainable businesses — not free work, not temporary projects, and not the mindset of “acha kaam kar rahe ho, muft karo.”
The mindset shift Pakistan needs
Pakistanis must understand a simple truth: working with artisans is not a charity job. It is a professional job with real costs and real expertise. The goal is not to make products expensive; it is to make the artisan’s income steady, independent, and dignified. That only happens when the organisation linking them to the market is strong, stable, and financially healthy.
If you pay for food, clothes, transport, rent, and Netflix…
Why should craft organisations be the only ones expected to run on zero money? No one tells a doctor, engineer, farmer, shopkeeper, or tailor to work for free “because it’s a good cause.” So why do we say it to those who work with rural women?
Paying fairly is supporting artisans — not exploitation
When you support the business that supports the artisan, you strengthen an entire ecosystem. Rural women earn more, their children stay in school, traditional skills survive, poverty cycles begin to break, and Pakistan’s craft economy grows. Expecting free work destroys this possibility. If Pakistan wants its craft sector to grow — and its artisans to truly thrive — we must stop treating this work as charity and start respecting it as a profession.