The light and colourful garments are designed by a team of Indian and French designers and are made by women in rural India. They are a delight and pleasure for the women who will wear this range of soft hand spun, tie dyed and hand embroidered silk and linen dresses, scarves and stoles.

The Ethical Fashion Show celebrates its’7th edition from 25 till 28 September 2010 in Cité de la Mode et du Design in Paris, France.

The differences between the COCs in Jaipur, Bhijnor and Hyderabad seemed significant while we were still in India last June. The quick scans will be fully analyzed in the Netherlands by experts, Jan Engels, Matthijs Rosman, Ronald van het Hof and Ellen Tacoma. Based on the results, we will determine, in consultation with Fabindia and the COCs, where to direct focus for growth and reinforcement of the business. Key elements associated with this will be an expansion of working opportunities for women and an increase in turnover. We expect to be able to implement follow-up steps with the various COCs in the autumn of 2010.

The foundation of FabricPlus’s business is silk. The factory near Guwahati, in North-east India, is one of a kind in India as it processes short to super long Eri silk fibres into top-quality yarns. FabricPlus has adapted its product portfolio and now supplies yarns, hand-woven materials by the meter and end products such as hand-woven saris and shawls, stoles, throws etc.. Click here to see a film about the entire process, from silk worms to end products.
Following evaluation of the past year, Ellen, along with FabricPlus, has further expanded the plan made last year. An important development is the start up of own shops. The collaboration will concentrate in the coming year on strengthening organization and processes to make way for future stable growth and profit.

In June, expert Ronald van het Hof worked with The Ants management on priorities till the end of this year, including events and promotions for Diwali and the holiday season, and to set up a fair trade area in the shop. A solution is also being sought to gain working capital to realize further growth (for which there is potential). In the autumn, Women on Wings will work with The Ants management on a comprehensive business plan for 2011/2012.

Flection International collects annually more than 500,000 surplus and obsolete IT units, and makes them suitable for re-use. With branches in The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, and United Kingdom – employing a combined workforce of 100 highly skilled professionals – Flection is one of the largest enterprises of its type in Europe.
Flection manages the transfer and recycling of used and obsolete IT equipment. Rated as one of the most reliable companies in its field, Flection provides a fast- and high-quality asset management service to IT asset owners.

Flection supports not only Women on Wings, but also has a partnership with Close the Gap.

Community owned companies (COC's) are organizations which produce hand-made products in rural India. The COC model consists of companies, which act as value adding intermediaries between rural producers and Fabindia. These are owned, as the name suggests, by the communities from which they operate. These organizations produce clothing and household textiles. Beautiful handicrafts based on traditional skills that are translated into contemporary products for the Indian middle class. Fabindia provides a platform in this collaboration for the sale of these products through its shops. Women on Wings supports the COC's with business knowledge, enabling them to achieve long-term growth.

Our special guest is George Parker, Corporate Magician & Alchemist, who shows that even the impossible is possible, as long as you believe in it...

Women on Wings subsequently nominated the plan for the BiD Challenge of the Dutch organization Business in Development Network. After a lengthy assessment, the business plan was judged the best of the four finalists. Meenu Vadera is proud of her 1st prize and has since been contacted via the BiD Network by a number of investors regarding the future of Women on Wheels. This fantastic prize is a tremendous opportunity for her to professionalize and expand her company further.
Women on Wheels provides safe transport for women by women in Delhi. Women on Wings has been working with Women on Wheels since 2009.

Pictures ©BiD Network

The board of Women on Wings has approved the annual report as well as the annual accounts for 2009. The annual accounts for 2009 were prepared by Torstai, Women on Wings' new accountant, in accordance with the guidelines for an ANBI. This new method of bookkeeping for Women on Wings gives a clearer picture of the financial results. Torstai is one of Women on Wings’ Business Wings.

The Annual Report 2009 is available in Dutch and English.

The Annual Accounts 2009 is available in Dutch and English.

Akzo Nobels' Dulux Paints are being used to colour the world in Jodhpur, India, one of the initiatives of the Let's Colour Project. Watch this film to see how the people of Jodhpur coloured their world. Or have a look at the colourful pictures.

Rupa has worked in India and in the Netherlands and has a variety of experience with corporate and in implementing sustainable practices. Upon completing her Master’s in Environmental Management from the Netherlands, she setup the “Green Hearts Club” at Tata Consultancy Services Europe working very closely with the local bodies.

In analyzing programs, Rupa is able to develop a better view of the various options within a program. Just like the first consultants in India, Tanveen and Prachi, Rupa will also be trained for the advice trajectories with our Indian clients.

Rupa’s motivation in working for Women on Wings: "Every drop adds to the ocean, my journey with Women on Wings is to share in the vision and be a source for uplifting and enabling better lives for women in the developing world”.

Most customers are presented with sufficient choice when purchasing their products. So how can you convince them to buy your products? Ellen and Maria explained that it is all about asking yourself the right questions: Do I have insight into my sales revenues? Who is buying what? What kind of customers do I have? The workshop on Sales Attitude gave participants a hands-on experience in being the most fantastic seller. Selling is about making your customers happy. The third workshop on product strategy covered the stars, the cash cows, the question marks and dogs of the BCG matrix; to create better insight into the product portfolio.

The participants were very happy and rated the three workshops at 4 or 5 on a scale of 1-5. In written feedback the practical exercises made the difference. As one said: “extremely helpful in explaining strategy to a layman”.

The Logistics Manager of the Year Election is a DHL Express initiative and is supported by the Vereniging Logistiek Management (Association Logistic Management). It was organized for the fifth time this year and took place in the Van Nelle Development Factory in Rotterdam. During the event, three finalists were presented, various workshops took place and entrepreneur, Annemarie van Gaal, and football trainer, Mario Been, spoke to those in attendance. The winner was announced at the end of the event: Duco Buijze, Director of Operations at Lekkerland Nederland.

The consultants will work part-time for Women on Wings, during which Prachi’s initial focus will be on relations with companies and giving workshops, and Tanveen will focus on relationships with new clients. Tanveen and Prachi are the first points of contact in India. Both consultants will be trained for their advisory programs with our Indian contacts.

An order for no less than 4000 Green Buttons turned out to be too large for the mini-enterprise within the course project (legal reasons), but three of the eight students were so determined to take on the order that they started their own company in order to be able to do so. These three young entrepreneurs are also donating € 1 to Women on Wings for each Green Button sold by their commercial company.

The Green Button is a button that can be attached to a computer via a USB connection. When a computer is switched on but not being used it loses a great deal of energy. By using the Green Button, you can switch the computer in and out of energy saving mode at the push of a button.

Sadhna has also been busy with product and new design development and started exporting to Europe, Asia and the USA. They are looking forward to increase their client base in these markets. A new Dutch company has indicated its wish to collaborate with Sadhna. The company will begin with a product line called Silverline, which refers to the silver-like hope that the company wants to give to the women making the products. The first step is for Sadhna to make a number of samples for three Silverline products.

Find here all information about products and services of DHL Express.

The team, Jurgen Staring and Jan Engels of DHL and Ellen Tacoma of Women on Wings, were faced with a two-part question - how could we involve the people living in the immediate surrounding area with the castle and lodge, and how could we use the completion of the jungle lodge to reintroduce Ghanerao to the market in a more interesting way and to secure work opportunities. Together, we developed a plan with a few issues that were particularly notable. Ghanerao and the Singh family have a history to tell that spans over 400 years and includes many exciting anecdotes.

The castle, in combination with the national park, is a very attractive place to stay. The family’s style and working methods, involving local people and thereby creating work opportunities, are impressive. As well as this, the family welcomes you as a guest and not as a customer, making your stay much more personal. The plan is currently being implemented; the official opening is the first important event in drawing maximum attention within the travel world and press.

Together, we looked at whether the database meets current requirements. Fortunately it does. And even more importantly, how the information deduced from the database can be used as a basis for fundraising actions. In order to work in a focused and efficient way with the limited tools available. It is about asking questions, being interested in client behavior.
The great enthusiasm and creativity of the team has helped to develop a plan for the coming eight months that will support Seva Mandir to realize its fundraising targets. We are currently working hard on the implementation of this plan.

&Samhoud Women is een netwerk voor en door vrouwen. Zij geloven dat door het verbinden van vrouwelijk toptalent vrouwen elkaar goed kunnen helpen, inspireren en motiveren. Met het netwerk wordt een uniek platform geboden waar ideeën, meningen en kennis uitgewisseld kan worden met als doel gezamenlijk initiatieven te ontplooien ter stimulering van vrouwelijk leiderschap.

12 januari 2010, de uitkomst van de actie:

Women on Wings heeft 14% van de stemmen gekregen en ontvangt daarvoor 140 euro van &Samhoud Women. De andere twee goede doelen, Microkrediet voor Moeders en Stichting fonds Catharine van Tussenbroek, kregen respectievelijk 80% en 6% van de stemmen.

Alle stemmers hartelijk bedankt!

If you would like to give the gift of Friendship Wings to yourself, please read how to do this here. You will be sent a hand-woven shawl for yourself.
Revenue from the ‘Friendship Wings’ (100 euro) is spent on projects undertaken by Women on Wings. ‘Friendship Wings’ is part of the membership programme ‘Wings around Women on Wings’.

Download the Friendship Wings gift form here:

Matthijs Rosman, a senior consultant at Boer & Croon and Ronald van het Hof, Director Operations at The Cookie Company, were both impressed by the passion and unbridled drive of the management, who is dedicated to improving the lives of many in the rural North East region. Both The Ants and the Women on Wings team are committed to working together for the next three years, in which they will all contribute to the sustainable growth of The Ants.

From the start, the whole point of Women on Wings has been to secure knowledge in India. In the first instance, within the organisations with which we work, after which the next step can then be taken: training Indian consultants according to the practical working methods employed by Women on Wings. Indian consultants will acquire and take care of the intake of new organisations for Women on Wings to support. They will be the contact point for the organisations we already work with. Secondly, they will also implement the advice trajectory themselves with new and existing organisations. Thanks to the amazing contribution of Cordaid, Women on Wings will be able to organise this trajectory in a reliable and professional manner. For Cordaid, the distribution of knowledge and sharing of experience is a core belief. Read more about it at www.cordaid.nl

The book and the accompanying website were created by Brighter World in collaboration with EEN. All profits from the book will go to EEN. EEN is an initiative of 60 social and development organisations. EEN is Dutch, but is part of a world-wide movement against poverty, which includes ONE in America, Make Poverty History in Britain, and Wada Na Todo in India. Every year, EEN coordinates the protest 'Stand Up and Take Action', in the course of which millions of people make a stand against poverty.

Fons and Jacqui Burger have a communications agency in Rotterdam that is dedicated to sustainable and fair-trade initiatives. Last year, they wrote the successful book '52 Simpele manieren om de wereld te veranderen' (52 Simple ways to change the world).

The book is available from 17 October 2009 at bookshops via www.52x.nu or via www.een.nl and costs € 14.90.

Have a look at this photo book and get a feeling of Women on Wings' second anniversary. The cakes are sponsored by Cherries on Top.

The shawls are designed for Women on Wings by Rangsutra, one of the organizations Women on Wings works with in India. Artisans near the city of Bikaner made the shawls which are unique and for Women on Wings Friendship Wings members only. The ladies shawl took 12 hours to make: 4 hours for weaving the shawl and another 8 hours for the embroidery.

So support the work of Women on Wings and register as Friendship Wings and receive a beautiful shawl.

http://www.rsm.nl/portal/page/portal/home/news/detail?p_item_id=5702515

Women on Wings exists two years in September and we will celebrate this event with our relations. Therefore we are really happy to invite you to our second anniversary on Monday, September 28th, from 6 till 10 PM, in de Grote Suite of Restaurant De Roskam in Houten, The Netherlands.

The test has been available online on our website since the last week of June and has already been put to good use. The test facilitates initial contacts with prospective clients in India, as they are now able to assess the viability of their business first before the test results are sent to Women on Wings by e-mail. Until now, the initial ‘testing’ was carried out by sending e-mail messages back and forth. The test is a valuable supplement in our pursuit of continuous improvement.

Here are a few highlights from the report: The home furniture market has shown a slight shrinkage of 1.2% since 2003, but in France and Spain a certain growth has been signalled. This applies to Eastern Europe as well. There is still a growing market for bathroom and kitchen textiles. Design is a crucial element and the colours must also match those of kitchens or bathrooms. Towels and drying cloths in standard plain colours no longer meet the requirements of European customers. In addition, a growing interest in organic cotton has been noted. European consumers are clearly becoming more and more ecologically aware. We are also more frequently faced with allergic reactions to textiles. This strongly influences our choice of materials.
In addition to these developments, an Indian organization needs to be extremely well-organized. There should be no problems whatsoever with respect to the quality of the products, delivery as agreed and care and handling during transport.
In short: the report is a valuable source of information. Sumita Goshe of RangSutra and Women on Wings are very pleased with the report and the dedicated efforts of the PA Consulting team.

While Ellen and Maria literally feel the heat in India, Ineke is also starting to feel the heat under her feet in the Netherlands as her greatest challenge revolves around the organization of our second birthday on 28 September. We at Women on Wings, from Delhi in India and from Houten in the Netherlands, are nevertheless managing to keep our heads cool and wish you a very pleasant summer!

Of old, women in this region in the Tamil Nadu province, have specialized in weaving the finest quality river grass mats for decorating homes. Nowadays over 200 women specialize in weaving mats in all kinds of colours and designs on handlooms in their homes. The mats are sold through Industree in Bangalore to European and Japanese companies and are used to make other products for the Indian market. When export dropped, Industree asked Women on Wings to help these women become less and less dependent upon Industree, create their own brand and sell directly to customers and wholesalers in the growing Indian market. The aim is to create a continuous demand for mats and to increase the number of weavers in this rural area of India.

This week was very instructive for the women of Pattamadai and Tirunavelli. Not only did it give more confidence to these highly skilled women, who are mostly not aware of their gift, but it also helped them think in a constructive way about the customer, how to reach these customers and how to organize their group and marketing activities. Of old, they are used to working at home alone and never leave their village. Information about the Indian market is not available and it is very new to them to visit fairs in other cities. After the visit Ina worked out trends in the Indian market, developed a branding strategy for the mats and provided some ideas for new products to be produced. The next activity is to work out this strategy and put it into practice. In July, the Managing Director of Industree will come to France. The next steps in the process will be taken then. For more information please contact Ina Dijstelbloem.

We have won last week's prize in the ASN Bank campaign 'Voor de Wereld van Morgen' ('For Tomorrow's World'). We had the most votes in that week and Women on Wings has earned 100 euro's. We would like to thank all our voters! And if you have not yet voted, you can still vote for next week's prize. We apologize that the ASN Bank website is only available in Dutch, but we are working on an English voting instruction. If you wish to receive this, please send an email to ineke@womenonwings.nl.

You can download the article using the download button.

The Dutch government implements a fiscal policy that encourages donating money towards good causes. Apart from granting tax advantages to Women on Wings, the ANBI status also favors the supporters of our organization who are taxed in The Netherlands. If you have made a donation to Women on Wings in 2008, you may deduct the amount from your taxable income in 2008 (obviously according to the usual practice). The ANBI status has been conferred for an unlimited period of time, so in future, too, you can benefit from its advantages when filing your tax return.

Click the download button for the complete interview.

The five workshop topics were Segmentaion, Visual Merchandising, Branding, Your Customer’s Personality and Effective Communication. They consisted mostly of practical exercises such as “Make a mood board from your customer” and “How to position a brand for a milk product”. The practical approach of the workshops led to constructive discussions and made marketing theoratics easier to put into the daily businesses of all participants.

Kusum Tiwari from Mura Collective was one of the participants: “I attended all the 5 workshops from Women on Wings during the Knowledge Fair. I not only enjoyed the workshops immensely, but also benefitted hugely from each one of them. In today's crowded and extremely competitive marketplace, the workshops helped us define our place sharply, making our business more effective and viable."

Carolijn: “Visiting the field of action and talking to the artisans on the spot, makes it perfectly clear what the added value of companies like Sadhna consists of. It’s wonderful to see how the transfer and the combined application of knowledge speedily contributes to long lasting change, resulting in more employment for women in rural areas. It is inspiring and at the same time puts things in perspective, which is a nice experience to bring home to the Netherlands.”

Sonita from the Sadhna team: “The workshop on Sadhna shops proved truly beneficial, for we are receiving very good responses from our customers. They notice the changes and are very satisfied with the new look. The customers are happy, as there are no obstacles in the routing and they can move around freely. We have also labeled all products with respect to sizes, so that customers can easily locate the products they want. The most important change is that products are displayed design wise, on hangers and in racks. Especially the sarees are noticeable. The men's section is fabulous!”

A personal account by Sandra: “There we are, 30 women in a little hut. We don’t speak each other’s languages, but our looks and our gestures are clear enough. We support each other’s work and we compliment each other. Without words and with a lot of giggling. I am visiting the women of UJAS Pugal, an isolated area with families who call themselves refugees, even after 37 years. They are stranded in the desert after the territory was split up between India and Pakistan, between Hindus and Muslims. In the past few years, these women have been taught by Udyogini to make appliqué embroidery, a very labor-intensive way of embellishing cotton. Bed covers, pillow cases and clothes are made this way.

We listen to them and look at designs, at applications, at the diversity. And at the connection between all this, and the relevance for principals, buyers, customers. Slowly, the women’s closed countenances open up and change into laughing faces. From their accounts we distill a corporate story with three underlying beautiful values: connected, peaceful and enlightened.

The next step is to translate the power contained in these people and their organization into market practice. The social objectives of the organization are complex. What is their first priority: producing or getting access to the market? We choose the latter. And we start working on a business plan, a customer information system and an approach aimed at selling. If we can prove there is a market for those beautiful products from the desert, an increase in employment must be feasible, too.”

Ineke of Women on Wings: “It was a fantastic evening. We got the opportunity to explain who we are and what we do, and there was a possibility to get more information at our stand later, for everybody interested. We were happy to receive 486 euro’s in donations that evening. We had a little present for the employees who offered a donation: a recipe for an Indian dish. Something to accompany the famous Dutch donut balls at Christmas!”

Women on Wings will provide visitors with the knowledge how to help producer groups and organizations improve their marketing, and help them understanding their markets.

Visitors can participate in our interactive workshops on November 12 and 13. They can participate in five one-hour workshops per day. Topics of the workshops are: Segmentation, Visual Merchandising, Branding, Your Customer's Personality and Effective Communication.

The location and time schedule of the workshops is for both days the same:
Hotel The Ashok, New Delhi
Suite 294 – Emerald
10 AM Segmentation by Patrick van Son
11 AM Visual Merchandising by Marischka Leenaers
12 AM Branding by Sandra Horlings
  2 PM Your Customer’s Personality by Ellen Tacoma
  3 PM Effective Communication by Maria van der Heijden

Veiling
Onder begeleiding van veilingmeester Willem Berdenis van Berlekom worden deze avond o.a. prachtig handgemaakte producten geveild van 'onze' vrouwen uit India. Wil je zelf iets inbrengen in de veiling? Dat kan! Denk bijvoorbeeld aan kaarten voor een concert, een greenfee bij een golfvereniging of een fietsclinic. Bedenk zelf iets leuks en mail je aanbod naar maria@womenonwings.nl voor 5 september a.s.  

Aanmelding en bevestiging
Wij vragen een bijdrage van € 25 voor deze avond, rekening 1364.89.931 t.n.v. Stichting Women on Wings. Als je je per mail aanmeldt via maria@womenonwings.nl ontvang je in de 3e week van september een bevestiging met meer informatie over het programma en het veilingaanbod.  

Routebeschrijving
Neem op de A12 van Utrecht naar Arnhem afslag Bunnik. Volg de provinciale weg door Bunnik richting Utrecht. Net voorbij Bunnik neem je afslag Rhijnauwen, 400 meter verder, einde weg links parkeren (nog voor de poort). Voor de poort ligt het landhuis, ook gebruikt als Stay Okay, aan de rechterzijde. Openbaar vervoer: Vanaf station Bunnik is het 3 kilometer lopen naar Stayokay Utrecht - Bunnik. Je kunt ook vanaf station Utrecht bus 40 of 41 nemen richting Wijk bij Duurstede en uitstappen bij halte Rhijnauwen. Het landgoed ligt 400 meter verderop.