Pabi Bags–an Incredible Story Of Inspirational Entrepreneur

This episode of inspiring entrepreneurial success and empowerment left me spellbound. It’s a magical and inspiring story of an extraordinary woman from Kutch, who transformed her struggles and challenges to a brilliant global entrepreneurial venture. She had no elaborate academic degrees or corporate experience to back her entrepreneurial dream, yet her outstanding success is a lesson to even the most experienced entrepreneur. I am talking about Pabiben Rabari, who founded pabiben.com, a motivating women’s artisan initiative that is much sought after for its designer bags and accessories using a unique form of embroidery called hari jari.

The initial difficult days

Pabiben belongs to the Rabari community of Gujarat, where art and craft were part of her growing days. However, her childhood was not easy. She had to drop out of school at an early age to help her widowed mother take care of her sisters. Being the eldest in her family, Pabiben had to sacrifice her education for her family. But this also led her to the unique skill set that was destined to make her name a global brand.

An interesting tradition of the Rabaris required women to create and give works of embroidery as dowry. This meant that girls had to learn embroidery and create beautiful works of art right from a young age. Pabiben hence found the magical colors of embroidery, which soon became her intense passion.

The transformation of a passion into a brand

A major drawback of this practice of dowry was that women could marry until they completed their embroidered works. This lead the villagers to change their decision. They went ahead and banned the use of embroidery for personal purposes. This was a huge disappointment for Pabiben since she now had no outlet for her passion. However, there was a solution because she realized that she could pursue embroidery as a profession rather than an interest. Hence she joined a group that taught professional embroidery. She soon excelled in the art and worked with the other artisans to create a unique art form.

The team of artisans incorporated the exquisite beauty of Kutch, its tradition, art, dance, and crafts, into their embroidery skills. They created a new form of craftwork they termed “hari jari.” This beautiful term encompassed the brilliance of the creations and the vibrancy of the ribbons and accessories used.   Pabiben realized the potential of this unique art form that they had invented. She created samples of bags and found that these bags had incredible market value. This was the first stepping stone toward the iconic “Pabi bags”

Pabi bags today

Pabi bags are a national and international sensation today, with even Hollywood movies spreading their popularity. It serves as a source of livelihood empowering the women of her village. Pabi bags has helped these talented women in securing a successful future for them and their families. With more than 50 women working on Pabi bags, Pabiben is an inspiration to entrepreneurs dreaming about their goals.

Converting your passion into an entrepreneurial mission and inspiring an entire community is one of the most important lessons I take from this story. It’s not enough to have a formal education, what matters the most is for you to have a pulse of what magic your capabilities can bring. You too can work toward your brilliant entrepreneurial dreams. All you need is the help and support of your business mentor and business coach who can guide you in taking the right decisions.

I’ll bring to you more such stories of inspirational entrepreneurial success and empowerment in the weeks to come!