Narmaben knows what it’s like to struggle to bring up a child. Her husband, Harilel, died 28 years ago, leaving her with their six-month-old son, Mahendra, to bring up alone.
Thanks to the support of her husband’s family and her own hard work, Narmaben coped and is now enjoying seeing her grandsons, Het and Meet grow up.
Four generations live on the family farm which Narmaben shares with her husband’s brothers and their families. She farms her area of land with her son, Mahendra, and has been growing cotton for 10 years.
"My son was six months old when my husband died," she said. "It was a very difficult time.
"I am doing some work in the field, like picking and weeding. I get a good price for my cotton. The Agrocel field officer also comes to give advice and there is interest-free credit.
"I want to give my grandsons a good education."
About Agrocel
Agrocel aims to increase the net earnings of farmers and assist them with market support as they develop sustainable agricultural practices. Agrocel has links with various research organisations and NGOs involved in water management work and other similar initiatives. Its service centre provides a "one stop shop" for advice, agricultural supplies and crop purchase.
Considerable support from Traidcraft has enabled Agrocel to enter and grow within the fair trade market, which now accounts for a key proportion of its sales. Agrocel produces cotton, rice, grapes (for sultanas) and cashews.
About Fairtrade cotton
Traidcraft buys its organic, Fairtrade-Marked cotton from farmers in the Kutch region of Gujarat, a semi-arid region of Western India where cotton is among the few crops the climate will support.
The cotton is used in Traidcraft T-shirts which are produced by Craft Aid in Mauritius, providing benefits to two producer groups.
You can buy Fairtrade organic cotton products on our webstore.
