Building our Network a.k.a. Ramesh Menon

In the early days of our brainstorming sessions in Delhi (before we started the online store) we were very keen to work with larger corporate clients for wholesale orders. On one such impulse, we contacted FabIndia: their response was enthusiastic leading to several meetings to discuss possible collaborations. 

Through these meetings was when we realized how unfeasible it was, to take on a mammoth corporation from our perspective. Their needs to sustain and grow as a company were different from our goals (to progress by developing the weaving industry). Considering their large overheads of maintaining several stores all over India, the price-per-item they needed would not have made it worth the while for our specific social objectives. I'm not saying FabIndia was at fault for not understanding us, just that we were both coming from different places and had different goals as organizations. We're still a bit sad that this collaboration could not work out :(

The next direction we looked towards was that of the hospitality industry, notably some big players in the game, who had the impact to create awareness and support for our work in India. Again, the common roadblock we encountered was the wholesale price of each item being not in sync with the operational budgets of the organization. Simply put, our products were too expensive for them and they all sent back notes of regret and dismissal.

Enter Ramesh Menon, stage left.

Ramesh Menon, co-owner of Dal Roti in Fort Kochi

Indu and Surya met Ramesh after a particularly hard rejection-filled meeting with another business owner in Kochi, in the summer of 2007. They were going past this fun looking restaurant called Dal Roti and decided to grab a bite there. Ramesh Menon, who happened to be the co-owner, was there too and they struck up a conversation. 

Ramesh Menon's charming restaurant "Dal Roti" on Lily Street in Fort Kochi

Anyone who has met Ramesh will tell you that talking to him for the first time feels like you've always known him, such is the enthusiasm and energy of this dear man! Indu introduced our work at Kara and about the challenges we were facing when working with corporate clients. Being a long-time resident and business owner in the area, Ramesh immediately suggested meeting with some folks in the area who might share our vision.

One such meeting was with Babu Dominic, one of the co-owners of the CGH Earth group, one of the biggest and most beautiful hotels chains in the state. The CGH group and family behind it, unlike several other big hoteliers, comes from a strong tradition of respect for the environment and community; even as one of the largest in the hospitality industry in Kerala, they have never let got of this goal of theirs. A visit to any of their beautiful properties in Kerala is proof enough that this business respects and promotes sustainable green practices and the needs of a community.

Mr Babu Dominic was immediately impressed with our fabric and offered to promote it via their hotels. Apart from placing some of the work for sale in their hotel stores on a consignment basis, Mr Dominic also placed an order for several small hand-towels to be used in the CGH common washrooms across their properties. Several years and many more thousands of towel orders later, CGH put up an event for World Environment Day (in June 2010) where they selected a few organizations to showcase their work at the beautiful David Hall gallery in downtown Fort Kochi. We were one of the lucky few selected (among other favorite organizations such as the Kudumbashree), and got to work preparing for this event. At the event we got in touch with several other local businesses, among them the friendly folks of the Malabar House (a wickedly beautiful boutique hotel) that bought several of our bathrobes for their rooms.

Lakshmi and myself with our work at the David Hall show for World Environment Day by the CGH Earth group

Mr Babu Dominic really set the ball rolling for what would be a very long and fruitful collaboration with this wonderful business. A year after this first meeting with Mr Dominic and our big break with the local businesses in Kerala, Mr Dominic tragically and suddenly passed away of a heart condition. We at Kara will always remember this wonderful man for the visionary he was and the good will he had toward social causes in his community. Our ties with the CGH family have only strengthened since then as they continue to be one of our biggest corporate clients and promoters.
 

Through Ramesh Menon, we also met Renji and Rose, a fun couple who run a breathtakingly beautiful hotel at Mararikulam at Alleppy in Kerala. They've also been wholesale buyers with us and let us sell our products through their hotel shop. Apart from hotels, Ramesh also put us through to several small stores (Sivaah) in the area who support handmade work and regularly buy from us. Apart from the contacts, he has also provided us invaluable advice on several issues with

Though we have also been contacted independently by many local businesses through our website (case-in-point: the lovely folks at the Alila Hotels in Bangalore), we tip our hat to Ramesh and his infectious enthusiasm for helping us connect with our community. Every small business needs a catalyst to get started, ours was found over delicious lunch at Dal Roti :)