Madhya Kalikata Shilpangan

Madhya Kalikata Shilpangan or MKS is based in Kolkata, India. It was founded in November 1994 with the aim of creating job opportunities for the economically weaker sections of society to enable them to lead a decent life. They also aim to preserve and promote the traditional crafts of India.

They also want to empower women and physically challenged people by creating job opportunities for them in a number of fields. MKS want to stay committed to the Fair Trade principles as outlined by the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO), which incudes payment of a fair price to producers and artisans.

MKS also aim to do the following:

• Promote Fair Trade in India and abroad
• Help India’s traditional crafts stay competitive in export markets
• Constantly upgrade skills of their artisans and improve product design
• Carry out training programmes in financial matters and other social fields like fire safety and health care
• Not to employ people under 18 years of age anywhere in their activities
• Not to discriminate in wages and working conditions on the basis of gender, caste, creed or religion
• Facilitate capacity building by producer groups
• Ensure compliance of ‘green’ technology at all levels, including production, packaging and shipment
• Maintain transparency and accountability
• Ensure a congenial working environment