AVAL

Our Story

AVAL, meaning ‘she’ or ‘her’ in Tamil, is a brand made by women for the benefit of women. It is a social enterprise that has come into life with the help of Auroville Village Action Group. Under AVAL, women from different villages are mobilised and trained in advanced tailoring, crocheting and enterprise development to enhance their skills and provide them with Opportunities for sustainable livelihoods.

About

At AVAL, rural women meet contemporary urban designers from Bombay to France. Together, they use the platform AVAG provides to birth aesthetics for the progressive and conscious consumer. AVAL products are thoughtfully designed and carefully stitched by a collaboration of women dedicated to the cause of self-empowerment.They are born in a workshop that does not discriminate on caste or class-basis but puts the aspirations of women in the focus of its work. AVAL is a brand for the aware, sensitive and tasteful woman who aspires for beauty both within and out.

Our Vision

Is to empower female artisans from the rural villages of India and to approach fashion in an integral and transparent way that considers both, people and the planet. We are dedicated to ethical & sustainable practices and to create conscious, high quality fashion designs that are built to last.

Process for AVAL rural women empowerment through skill development

The main aim of this programme is to enhance the quality of life of rural women through increased knowledge and skill training.

Women from different villages and backgrounds get skill and entrepreneurial training for a period of four months.
Supported to overcome the difficulties to work in a mixed group of women from different backgrounds.
Trained women are helped to form their enterprises and get registered as separate MSME units under the Government of India.
Different units work together under one roof and support each other.
Tailored and crocheted products are made in a safe and secured place and women earn fair wages.
AVAL facilitates continuous training, design and marketing support.
Ongoing interaction with the designers and professionals are made available.
The profit earned will support the development initiatives of women.

What makes AVAL unique

Flexible timing and conditions to suit women coming from conservative households with a heavy load of domestic chores.
Women and their families get support from fellow women and the organisation to overcome stress and trauma.
Women who start from scratch with no skills have been supported to become sample makers and quality controllers as well.
It is a transparent platform where the members of the enterprise are the leaders and the decision makers..
Upskilling the women to produce quality products and to manage the enterprise.
Bridging the gap between rural traditional crafts and urban trends.
Conscious selection of the fabrics to reflect the traditions of India.

Fabric Traditions

The fabric we use in AVAL is consciously chosen to reflect the rich cultural traditions of India. Our passion for local fabrics takes us to different places in India and we use fabrics like Kanchi Cotton, Kalamkari, Ikat and hand block printed cotton from Jaipur. The textile villages showed the flow of the fabric’s life; with elderly women winding bobbins in their verandas, wives tying up warp on wooden frames while their husbands wove the wefts into the fabric.

Today machine looms have replaced much of this handicraft as the local artisans struggle to preserve their artistic traditions. As AVAL stands for fusion, we also use other indigenous fabrics such as Khadi and Linen to complete our range.

The Value of Each Stitch

At AVAL, each product is handcrafted and shaped with love and devotion to the cause of self-determination and empowerment. Working with contemporary designers from all over the world makes the products at AVAL unique and outstanding.

Aval follows the key principle of ethical fashion and fair trade. Each product is carefully crafted by keeping the environment in mind. The profits earned support development initiatives for the enterprise and provides a meaningful and sustainable livelihood to the women members.