Priyanka started Meemansa to address the waste created by her garment factory by converting it into cloth bags. Meemansa trains women from underprivileged backgrounds to stitch bags, providing the materials and buying back the finished bags. This generates immediate income for the women while being environmentally friendly. Priyanka was inspired to help others after surviving a plane crash, and sees Meemansa as giving back through empowering women economically and reducing waste.

1. MEEMANSA

2. MEEMANSA
➢Meemansa has been successfully converting production waste from their own garment
manufacturing operations into cloth bags (Jholas), aiming to become a zero waste company.
➢Trains women who are from recourse poor backgrounds to stitch and tailor good quality cloth
bags. Has a buy-back model so that trainees start earning immediately and the bags are then sold
ahead to other retail entities.

3. MEEMANSA
BEHIND THE STORY
To Priyanka, ‘giving back’ holds personal meaning, in a world where she has experienced the
compassion of strangers who helped save many lives, including her own. In 1993, she survived a
plane crash, one amongst sixty three survivors, out of a hundred and eighteen people on board.
This experience and its aftermath changed Priyanka’s approach to life. While her story is
enduringly inspirational for those who know it, she herself is a practical person, with a determined
persistence. Meemansa’s livelihoods project was born because Priyanka found it diffcult to live
with the waste she felt she was creating through her factory production. Sold by the kilo, it would
go into landflls. She decided she would address the issue, and thus was born Meemansa’s
livelihoods project.

4. MEEMANSA
 WHAT IS UPCYCLING?
Up cycling, also known as creative reuse, is the
process of transforming by-products, waste
materials, useless, or unwanted products into
new materials or products of better quality or for
better environmental value.

5. MEEMANSA
➢ The raw material is provided free by Meemansa.
➢A woman who has perhaps never touched a sewing machine, receives training under a Meemansa master tailor for
a month. Skill training and quality products are assured.
➢The bags are simple to make and an enterprising person can make many of them in a single day.
➢ Trainees begin to earn from Day 1 of training.
➢There is a product buy back by Meemansa.
➢This bag is not made of garbage or recycled materials. This is factory left over, brand new cloth.
➢There is potential for elevation of skill sets. Some trainees improve their skills and make value added products,
such as compartment bags and iPad, Kindle, or yoga mat covers.
➢If some women don’t want to stitch but would like to sell the bags, profits are shared equally.
➢ The project is scalable and can be set up anywhere in India.
➢There is potential to train persons with disabilities, keeping in mind the type and degree of impairment or
disability and the requirements of the task.
HIGHLIGHTS OF MEEMANSA MODEL

6. MEEMANSA
“The Meemansa model is environment friendly and generates income for women. It has the potential for expansion. Our experience has
shown that when women earn, it has a positive impact on the education of their children, on nutrition and on the health of the family
members. It provides an opportunity for families and communities to question and challenge unequal and discriminatory practices.
Priyanka is amongst one of the most amazing women I have met - so full of energy and passion, rooted in practicality. iPartner India is
proud to collaborate with Meemansa and Priyanka.”
- Sumedha Sharma. Country Director, iPartner India

7. Three Key Points of
❖ WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
❖ ECOFRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT
❖ WASTE OT WEALTH

8. Women Empowerment
BAGS FOR WOMEN CONFIDENCE
By buying this bag, you are supporting a poor woman to earn a livelihood. You are
helping her take the next step towards economic autonomy and strengthening her
voice.

9. REPLACE PLASTIC- ENVIRONMENT
By buying this bag, you are saving the environment, as this will replace plastic and
paper bags. Buy and gift these bags to local vegetable vendors, grocery shops,
friends and family

10. Conserves resources and minimizes pollution. Zero waste promotes social equity
and builds community, supports a local circular economy and creates jobs.
MAKE ZERO WASTE ENVIRONMENT

11. A WOMAN IS
A FULL
CIRCLE
WITHIN HER
IS THE
POWER TO
CREATE
NATURE AND
TRANSFORM
MEEMANSA