WeAct is a dynamic and impactful organisation committed to promote sustainable development and empower women community through its diverse range of initiatives. Central to WeAct’s mission are three key categories that serve as pillars of its work: Food and Agro, Handloom and Handicraft, and Household Supplies. These categories cater to essential needs and contribute to cultural heritage, local economies, and environmental sustainability. This blog will take a deep dive into each of these areas, exploring how WeAct is transforming lives and creating lasting change for the rural women entrepreneurs across India.
The Food and Agro category promotes locally grown crops, resulting in sustainable agricultural practices and food security. By supporting small-scale farmers and encouraging eco-friendly farming techniques, WeAct ensures that communities have access to nutritious, locally grown food, while also addressing challenges such as climate change and land degradation. In the Handloom and Handicraft category, WeAct preserves traditional crafts while empowering artisans through fair trade practices. Handloom textiles and handicrafts are cultural expressions; they are also vital economic drivers in many regions. By connecting artisans to global markets and providing them with tools and resources to enhance their craft, WeAct ensures that these skills are passed onto future generations. Finally, the Household Supplies category offers practical solutions for everyday living, with products such as handmade soaps, shampoos, and other skincare items, as well as eco-friendly sanitary napkins and phenyl. This category promotes healthier and more sustainable lifestyles.
Together, these three categories embody WeAct’s holistic approach to sustainable development, helping WeAct members, their families, and communities thrive. All the products under these three categories are carefully crafted, free from harmful chemicals and are affordable, making them strong competitors to other well-known brands in the market.
Category 1: Food & Agro
WeAct's primary focus in the Food & Agro category is to promote healthy food while encouraging sustainable agricultural practices and empowering rural women entrepreneurs. Under this category, WeAct has boarded over 7,000+ rural women entrepreneurs.These women entrepreneurs produce a diverse range of millet-based products, including millet adai mix, biryani mix, bisibelebath mix, sambar mix, chips, mixture, sev, health mix, Pongal mix, laddus, cookies, and cakes and pancake mix. They also produce dehydrated fruits and vegetables, pickles, health bars, and honey-based products.
All the food products within this category are carefully crafted using only organic raw materials, ensuring they are free from synthetic chemicals, preservatives, and additives. The ingredients are sourced from sustainable farming practices that avoid the use of pesticides, herbicides, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This commitment to natural, chemical-free production helps preserve the integrity of WeAct members’ food products, promoting a healthier and more environmentally friendly option for consumers.
Category 2: Handloom & Handicraft
In the Handloom & Handicrafts category, WeAct promotes the creation and sale of sustainable and eco-friendly artisan products, focusing on both preserving traditional craftsmanship and supporting environmental sustainability. Through this initiative, WeAct empowers over 7,500 rural women entrepreneurs, who are skilled in producing a diverse range of unique, handcrafted items. These products include terracotta cups, coconut shell cups, intricately designed paper mache vases and boxes, banana fiber files, eco-friendly notebooks and boxes, and sarees showcasing traditional Indian printing techniques such as block printing, Kalamkari, and Bandhani.
Additionally, the entrepreneurs create beautifully crafted shawls, bangles, jute bags, upcycled plastic bags, and paper mache photo frames. WeAct members in this category utilise natural and recycled materials, reflecting the rich cultural heritage of India, contributing to reducing waste and promoting eco-conscious production methods. The Handloom and Handicraft category of WeAct aims to safeguard traditional crafts, provide sustainable livelihoods for rural women, and encourage the growth of eco-friendly industries, ensuring both environmental and social benefits.
Category 3: Household Supplies
WeAct's Household Supplies category is dedicated to producing eco-friendly and sustainable personal care products that are completely free from harmful chemicals. With over 3,500 rural women entrepreneurs involved, this initiative plays a key role in empowering these women to create a wide variety of handmade toiletries and household items. The product range includes essentials like handmade soaps, face wash, body wash, shampoo, moisturizers, lip balms, pain balms, exfoliating scrubs, scented candles, hand wash, and other personal care items, all available in a variety of soothing and natural scents.
A standout feature of this collection is the line of goat milk-based products, which have gained exceptional popularity due to their proven skin benefits, including moisturizing and nourishing properties. These products are carefully crafted using natural, locally sourced ingredients, ensuring that they are not only safe for consumers but also gentle on the environment. By prioritizing biodegradable materials and chemical-free formulas, WeAct is actively promoting a shift towards sustainable living, encouraging consumers to embrace products that are kind to their skin and also to the planet.
The Synergy Between Three WeAct Categories
WeAct’s three categories - Food & Agro, Handloom & Handicrafts, and Household Supplies are interconnected and create a robust ecosystem for sustainable development. Each category forms a characterised framework that promotes environmental sustainability, economic empowerment, and community well-being.
WeAct is committed to promote sustainable products across its three categories. t In the Food & Agro category, rural women entrepreneurs produce millet-based and other eco-conscious products that offer both health benefits and environmental sustainability. This commitment to sustainable practices extends to the Handloom & Handicrafts category, where traditional artisans create sustainable materials, thereby reducing waste. Their eco-friendly practices also influence the Household Supplies category, where natural ingredients and sustainable methods are used to produce personal care items such as handmade soap and face wash.
The common thread of sustainable practices runs through all three categories of WeAct, promoting sustainable living. This seamless integration of eco-friendly principles not only helps preserve traditional craftsmanship but also promotes health while caring for the environment. It empowers rural women entrepreneurs by providing economic opportunities and sustainable livelihoods. WeAct has created a holistic ecosystem where each category supports and enriches the others, driving a unified mission to offer eco-friendly products.
WeAct's Approach to Sustainable Development
WeAct provides support across all three categories under its five pillars—market access, product development, business development, network and learning, and financial literacy—aimed at reducing the carbon footprint on the planet. By focusing on business development, product development, market access, digital literacy, and access to finance, WeAct ensures that WeAct members receive the necessary tools and knowledge to succeed in their businesses.
Future Goals and Expansion
To scale up WeAct impact across categories, we plan to expand its outreach by increasing the number of entrepreneurs onboarded, and extending support to additional states and regions.
We also Intend to strengthen market access by onboarding more WeAct members entrepreneurs to e-commerce platforms to access wider and more attractive potential customers, both locally and internationally; it will help us amplify the positive impact and continue empowering rural women entrepreneurs.
Conclusion
WeAct’s core values are centred on rural women entrepreneurs, sustainability, and community development. By providing tailored support to rural women entrepreneurs, WeAct promotes economic independence, preserves traditional knowledge, and encourages eco-friendly practices. WeAct ensures that all three categories are creating a sustainable ecosystem that benefits both people and the planet.
With a vision for continued growth and impact, WeAct remains dedicated to transforming lives and communities through innovation, sustainability, and resilience.