The embroidery effect

Published February 17, 2011
Designing bright, colourful apparel and accessories such as handbags and wallets, Poll & Me currently utilises the skill of about 500 women in Chitral who are otherwise isolated from the rest of the country due to severe weather conditions.
Designing bright, colourful apparel and accessories such as handbags and wallets, Poll & Me currently utilises the skill of about 500 women in Chitral who are otherwise isolated from the rest of the country due to severe weather conditions.

Social enterprises use market-based models and strategies for a social purpose by working with skilled craftsmen, artisans, farmers and so on at the grassroots level.  Currently in Pakistan, there are a handful of organisations that can be correctly labeled as a social enterprise and Polly & Me is one of them. Founded in 2003 by two sisters, Cath and Ange Braid, Polly & Me has introduced the handicraft and traditional embroidery skills of Chitrali women to the international market.

Dawn.com speaks to Cath Braid, the force behind the initiative, on some of the challenges she has faced and even some things she learnt along the way.  – Text by Amna Khalique and Photography by Eefa Khalid/Dawn.com

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