The CharGlo campaign is a 3 week crowdfunding campaign – to kickstart the Beta launch of India’s first ever ‘Earn While You Cook’ Micro-enterprise.
This campaign asks you to pre-order a basket of 6 handcrafted Detox Personal Care products created based on the unique chemistry of Bio-Activated Charcoal that is sustainably produced. The proceeds will support a fledging livelihood cluster that is working its way towards sculpting its own economic destiny.
- India’s first “Earn while you cook” Micro-enterprise in the organised sector.
- India’s first Activated Charcoal Products series based on sustainably produced charcoal. Cleansing and healing for man and nature, charcoal draws out bacteria, chemicals, dirt and other micro-particles of pollution to the surface of the skin, leaving the skin fresh and breathing.
- First ever attempt in the world, where cookstove residue becomes the currency to finance cookstoves for BoP (Bottom-of-pyramid) communities.
A group of 300 women from a community in the panchayat town of Manimuthar (Tamil Nadu, India) don’t want to roll beedis (tobacco) anymore. It isn’t helping them make progress. It isn’t good for anyone, they learned.
They searched for an alternative livelihood that will propel their community’s growth and identified one from something that was a part of their daily lives: the charcoal residue from firewood used in their cookstoves. Thus began a journey towards creating an innovative socio-economic model - one that can serve as a starting point of their improvement spiral and is entirely self sustaining:
Led by a merry Septuagenarian, Prof Mohan Ram, the community turned a seeker. Rather than look for subsidy, donations and grants, they decided to seek out appropriate economic opportunities that they can co-create with local capital and native resourcefulness. The concept of a cookstove residue based micro-enterprise took shape. The first 6 products are now ready after undergoing trials for about 15 months.
‘The CHARGLO Detox Basket’ is now ready with utilitarian packaging and functional labels. What it lacks as fancy certificates, it makes up with the bona fide wholesomeness of high-grade bio-activated charcoal, wild organic ingredients and honesty in what they contain.
This cluster now seeks to build out the next logical link in the economic chain: The Sales Link.
This campaign seeks your backing for at least 1000 CharGlo Detox Baskets in 3 weeks. Your response will be an endorsement of their efforts towards a better tomorrow and the difference between a community’s self-belief and their return to a job they have worked hard to move away from.
With the income generated from 1000 Charcoal products we will be able to wean away 20% of the women rolling beedis. At 5000 products we will be able to wean away the entire cluster towards something more sustainable. Our aim is to make a difference to at least 300 households gradually as part of this project.
If you want to learn more about the Products and the Initiative then please go to the FAQs section here.
Thank you for co-opting this initiative. Your feedback will help us improve our product and the packaging. We look forward to hearing from you at: sujatha@avajoka.com or vinookrishnan@gmail.com
A dynamic blog has been set up to serve as a direct connect with this cluster – where you can access more information about this Micro-enterprise - its mandates and progress. The customer feedback panel is also empaneled there.
