This Christmas, Dalit candles bring light into your home and hope to the communities who made them.
In December, many of us find comfort in small moments of light. A candle on the table, a warm glow in the window, a gentle flame that helps us slow down and settle into the season.
This month, we’re sharing the story behind our Dalit candle collection, a story of a partnership bringing dignity and opportunity to outcasts in India.
Dalit Goods Co. works with the Dalit people of India who have faced generations of discrimination. Once known as the Untouchables, they are forced to live a separate existence, excluded from all aspects of of everyday life including education, and made to do the most demeaning of jobs.
One of the ways of reinforcing their outcast, unclean status is that they are forced to drink out of clay cups. These are made by Dalit potters and only Dalits do this work because it’s considered unclean - because the earth is seen as dirty.
Today, that symbol of oppression has been transformed into something beautiful and desirable - an elegantly earthy pot with a deliciously scented, handmade candle inside. They are simple, natural and made to be reused, and when they reach the end of their life they can be returned to the earth on a compost heap.
Each pot begins in a small pottery workshop in the Dharavi slum in Mumbai where Dalit potters shape and fire them on a wheel. A short distance from the pottery is a small candle room where women work preparing the pots, pouring the wax and packing the candles. Without this work they would struggle to find paid work outside the home. They receive fair wages, daily meals, healthcare for their families and support with education.
But this isn’t all. Funds raised from the sale of Dalit Goods support children’s homes for Dalit children without a home to go to, and schools for Dalit children who otherwise would remain uneducated. The plight of these children and the support of the Dalit people is at the heart of the project.
For our partners in India, these candles represent fairness and opportunity. For us here in Harrogate, they bring a little more warmth and humanity into the season. Perfect for winter evenings and meaningful Christmas gifts.
* Thanks to Dalit Goods Co. for the photograph.
