Khalil Ahmed is smiling while holding a trophy.

ARTISAN PROFILE

Dilshad Hussain

Location: Village Bilari – 20 kms from Moradabad
Age: 37
No. of Artisans: 8
Family status: Married with 1 daughter
Working with Noah's Ark since: 2004
Products & skills: Stainless Steel Cutlery.

Dilshad Hussain and his team work on a piece of metal.

Dilshad Hussain is using pliers to work on metal.

A group of men, including Dilshad Hussain, working on a machine in a factory.

A profitable partnership with Noah’s Ark

When Dilshad Hussain’s, I K Handicrafts started working with Noah’s Ark, his annual turnover was just US$5,000. As of 2019, it has blossomed to US$700,000/year.

The impact of this on his family has been tremendous. They have moved from a small village to the city. Dilshad now owns workshops as well as his house – about 2000 square feet in total.

New beginnings for better pay and working conditions

Dilshad’s father is a grass roots artisan working for other manufacturers. It was after witnessing the poor pay and dangerous working conditions his father faced that he and his brother Shamshad decided to establish their own independent stainless steel workshop. The fair trade principles and his father’s experience helped Dilshad understand the importance of fair wages. This lead him to build his business on the fair trade model.

Dilshad Hussain started working with Noah’s Ark in 2004. Their work stood out for its quality and Noah’s Ark offered them financial assistance to establish better infrastructure for their workshop. One of the fair trade buyers was so impressed by Dilshad’s work, they donated a die press machine for their workshop.