Banu Parveen

ARTISAN#: 07

Banu Parveen is a shy, soft-spoken mother of three who lives in the Kadapa District of Andhra Pradesh, India. She is twenty-eight years old and has been working with Vijay Foundation Trust and One Thread Fair Trade for four years. She was never given the opportunity to attend school as she was female and as a result, is completely illiterate. Her sex and lack of education made it extremely difficult to find work and to feed her children. She was forced to work in the fields, earning 15 rupees a day, working 10 hour days of tough manual labor.

Now Banu Parveen is a skilled tailor earning fair wages that allow her to not only support her family but invest in a long-term savings account. She said that after becoming a fair trade artisan, her life has become much easier and her living conditions have improved greatly. Her dream is to educate her children, especially her daughter, to the highest level possible. She wants all her children to become successful doctors or engineers. When asked what she believes in, Banu Parveen says she believes in opportunity and peace. She is a wonderful, hopeful person and we believe in her.

FUN FACT: Banu Parveen loves listening to Hindi music while she works