Pebble Child: About the Makers
Who are the people behind Pebble?
Pebble toys and baby products are made by the women at Hathay Bunano, a non-profit Fair Trade organisation in Bangladesh that was founded by Samantha Morshed in 2004. Hathay Bunano is Bangla for 'handmade' or 'hand knitted', which is exactly how all Pebble products are made. The aim of Hathay Buano is to give women from rural areas who are economically-challenged access to fair, safe and flexible work that is close to home. The women knit beautiful toys, chatting and sharing stories as they work, while earning money for their families' livelihoods and children's education.
"We wanted to create employment that fitted in with the rhythm of village life, and slow the rate of economic migration to the cities. It's all about keeping families together."
- Golam Morshed, Pebble
How Pebble operates
Create employment opportunities
Pebble gives disavantaged women from rural areas in Bangladesh the opportunity to work locally, receive a fair wage and have flexibility in their work.
Make gorgeous toys, blankets and baby products
Pebble toys and baby gifts are adorable, fun and have so much character. Each product is hand knitted with love and care.
Keep families together
Pebble provides local employment for women in Bangladesh who live in rural areas, preventing the need to move away from their families to urban areas in search of work.
Fund education
The women that work at Pebble can use the funds they earn to pay for their children's education or their own university education expenses.
Care for the planet
Many of Pebble's products are made with organic cotton. Pebble also partners with an organisation called Ecofish, which helps to prevent the problem of overfishing. By receiving an income from making toys, local people in Bangladesh do not have to rely so heavily on natural resources for income.
Shopna's Story
Shopna’s story begins in her village called Kauartec which is in Manpura upozilla of Bhola district in the area of Barisal. Her story is a familiar one in that area where most of the women are married to fishermen who catch the Hilsha fish. The Hilsa fish is the national fish of Bangladesh. Shopna has two sons who are 10 years old and 3 years old. Her dream is for them to get an education.
The community spirit in her village is strong because most women are in the same position. Most women dream of educating their children in order that they will have more opportunity in their lives. Shopna also dreams of helping her community and the other women in the village.
ECOFISH project is jointly collaborated by WorldFish, USAID and Government of Bangladesh (GoB). It aims to reduce poverty and hunger by improving fisheries and aquaculture. Fishing and fisheries are a complex issue since it isn’t just about enabling people to be able to catch more fish. Catching too many fish can result in depletion of fishing stocks. In Bangladesh the Hilsha is often in an endangered situation. When this happens the Government will ban fishing of Hilsha for some time. This enables the fish to grow and ensures that fish that are too young are not caught. In turn ensuring sustainability in the industry.
So it was great that ECOFISH wanted to partner with Hathay Bunano to provide training to the women in the fishing communities. This way when fishing is low the families will have an alternative income. It was through this collaboration that Shopna received training from Hathay Bunano to make Pebble toys. She was committed and determined to succeed. Following successful completion of her training she then did an additional written and practical test. Passing with flying colours, she was appointed the supervisor for the Hathay Bunano rural production centre in her area.
“I dreamed for a long time to do something for Kauartek women and it became true with ECOFISH and Pebble. These women were all sitting at home idle because there was no work here for them and now they can earn money from making Pebble toys. These women have never earned money in their life and now they have this opportunity. From the first month we were earning money and it was a big amount for us and we hope to earn more in the future. With this money I can help with my family’s expenses and I can easily pay the tuition fees for my son. Thanks to WorldFish and Pebble to change our lives.”
You can support the people that make Pebble Toys by purchasing Pebble products here.
The World Fair Trade Organization Label guarantees that Pebble follows Fair Trade best practices in their organisation.