00:00 (sandpaper scraping)
00:03 We started off with the idea
00:08 of creating thoughtful souvenirs for tourists,
00:10 which were made by native people.
00:12 We have been working with communities
00:13 living in wildlife-conflict areas since 2017.
00:16 Being a social enterprise,
00:18 it has been a long journey for us to gain the trust
00:20 of the remote communities and artisans we work with,
00:23 and then deliver quality souvenirs.
00:25 And then we were hit with the pandemic.
00:29 No tourism, no sale of souvenirs,
00:31 no income for us, and no income for the communities.
00:35 Until the pandemic,
00:36 we never considered selling our products online.
00:38 We did not even have an active social media account,
00:41 and online retail was this whole new game.
00:44 But we decided to give it our best.
00:46 We revamped the website,
00:47 we redid the product photography,
00:49 and we started listing ourselves
00:51 on multiple online platforms.
00:53 With some thoughtful social media marketing,
00:55 by June, we had 40 orders,
00:57 and by September, we were hitting 60 orders a month.
01:01 The pandemic made us realize
01:03 that other similar social initiatives
01:05 would also be in the same state.
01:07 And we spoke to them,
01:08 and we started listing their products on our website.
01:12 In December 2020, we crossed 100 orders in that month.
01:15 And as of today, we've resumed work
01:18 with all our centers and all our artisans.
01:21 (upbeat music)
01:24 (upbeat music)
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