Lakshmi Devi taught mathematics at a government school for twenty years. Each year she watched girls vanish from her classroom after Class 8 — to marriages, to farm work, to nowhere in particular.
In 2011 she began evening classes in a temple courtyard, pairing basic numeracy with lessons from master weavers in the village. The idea was simple: if weaving could pay, families would let their daughters keep learning.
Designing for a new market
The collective partnered with young designers to update traditional ikat patterns for modern buyers, and learned to sell online long before most handloom groups did.
I did not want to rescue anyone. I wanted to give them a skill no one could take away.
Today Nesam has 480 member families, a design studio and export buyers in fourteen countries. Every member must complete Class 10 — the cooperative pays for the classes.
