“You’d think the biggest challenge would be
taking the whole family to India. I quit my job; we took the two kids out of
school and enrolled them in an Indian one. We spent 36 hours on a train up to
Rajasthan, 40 hours on the way back.”
Matilde
Ferone is an activist, born and trained. She loves
nothing more than travelling, collaborating and giving back to the world. She
has packed up her family - her husband and two beautiful daughters Blue 8 and
Maya 5 - more than once to step away from the high life of London, to really live: cultural lessons, spiritual
epiphanies and grassroots connections the central focus.
“The biggest challenge instead has been
finding the best way to market my project and its products. I’m a one woman
show, so working out how to best manage my time, as well as maintaining
self-belief in my mission definitely trumps living in India, or anywhere for
that matter."
Matilde is the founder of Matik Boutique – a London based boutique and project working closely with women textile producers in India and Ghana to reframe fair trade in terms of fashion.
“I have always been interested in
the role of women in development. Research and practice show that by investing
in women, we can break the poverty cycle. Women tend to be more effective at saving
money, they are more likely to invest in their children and they are generally
more responsible,” Matilde explained.
When
Matilde and her family were in India earlier this year, sourcing and connecting
with women’s collectives for her project, she met Lakshmi Bai, a Quilt Maker from Rajasthan who said: “ This job has given
me the opportunity to give my daughter a better future. Whatever
I could not enjoy as a child, I ensure that my daughter gets. She will get the best education possible. I used to
worry a lot about how I would do it but now I have courage and money. I will
work more and earn more money and make her a doctor."
“That’s why I am doing what I am
doing,” Matilde added. “To empower these women to have a say in the lives they
and their children live.”
