Our Founder - Madhu Vaishnav
It all started with one woman. From humble beginnings, our founder, Madhu Vaishnav, became an inspiring community leader.
Despite a masters degree in Indian History, when Madhu married at 23 years old, her marriage license forbade her from working outside the home. Two healthy sons later, Madhu began taking English classes to teach her boys a language that could offer them many opportunities. This pursuit led to an unexpected teaching offer from a local English medium academy. With her family's reluctant permission, she embarked on a dual journey of teaching by day and mastering English by night.
After four years as a successful and beloved teacher, she shifted her career to the nonprofit sector and became a social worker. She spent five years working as a program coordinator with an American NGO in the slums outside Jodhpur to support female sex workers, raise awareness of HIV/AIDS, and assist with skills training and micro-finances.
During a wedding visit to Bhikamkor, her husband's native village, Madhu encountered the women's disadvantaged status. Deeply moved by their resilience amidst poverty similar to her own upbringing, she resolved to make a difference. Motivated by their struggles to support their families with little means, Madhu pursued further education in sustainable development, enrolling in a diploma course at the University of California, Berkeley.
On her return and with only $100, Madhu established the first humanitarian workshop in the village. Recognizing that each woman in the village owned a sewing machine from their marriage dowry, Madhu decided to launch a skills trailing program as part of a fashion social enterprise.
This became known as Saheli Woman, which comes from the Hindi word for ‘female friend’.
As Saheli began to grow and establish more brand partners, Madhu realised the young girls in the village needed support. So, she created the girls’ education project, The Institute for Philanthropy and Humanitarian Development (IPHD).
IPHD is a grassroots nonprofit that empowers and educates girls and college-age women in order to make them financially independent. They offer experiential volunteer jobs and train Bhikamkor locals to act as managers, teachers, and education advocates, creating lasting presence in the community.
IPHD and Saheli Women have created remarkable results — empowering women and girls and creating social and financial growth for these communities. We are now actively working to accomplish Madhu’s dream of expanding Saheli Women into nearby villages and enrolling every young girl there in school.
“No girls should be deprived of their education just because of small barriers.”
-Madhu Vaishnav, 2023
Our impactful community projects and the beautiful garments our skilled artisans create have captured international attention. By utilising platforms like Instagram and leveraging our partners' marketing efforts, we have been able to tell our story on a global stage through platforms like Vogue, Elle, and most proudly, the UN. Amid the pandemic, Madhu participated in a UN workshop to protect our artisans' livelihoods. Her stories of Saheli Women earned her an invitation to an online panel, which then led to membership in the UN Fashion and Lifestyle Network. This breakthrough recognition significantly advanced our mission, providing a global platform for stories that often go unnoticed within this billion dollar industry. Madhu is now working on ways to bring Saheli and IPHD women to panel discussions and meetings so their experiences can be heard and help influence the industry for the better.
