Social Impact
"We want opportunities, not charity!"
This is the message that we heard again and again from the women in disadvantaged communities in Vietnam and Indonesia.
We believe in the power of education and economic opportunities to transform lives and communities.
When choosing Tara Sartoria products, not only you are supporting a small woman-owned business and ancient silk traditions, you also help women and their families break the cycle of poverty. 10% of the profit from your purchase goes to programs that help women to be economically self sufficient and attend university.
We work with our nonprofit partners PPMK Empowering Women to Fight Poverty and Blue Dragon to provide economic opportunities and university scholarships for women.
About PPMK Empowering Women to Fight Poverty
PPMK (Empowering Women to Fight Poverty) is a grassroots microfinance organization that works to alleviate poverty in rural Indonesia. Founded in 2009, PPMK’s aim is to empower poor women through microcredit, health, and scholarship programs, so that they and their families can escape the cycle of poverty.
In 2019, PPMK provided 302 women clients with micro-credit loans. Amongst 302 women, 46 loans are for new women clients, and the other 256 women clients are returning clients who have been successful in their previous loans.
About Blue Dragon
Blue Dragon Children's Foundation (bluedragon.org) is a grassroots charity reaching out to kids in crisis throughout Vietnam. Blue Dragon kids are street kids, children from very poor families and victims of human trafficking and slavery.
Many children growing up with Blue Dragon are from extremely poor rural families who cannot afford to send their children to school. Often they are single-parent families, or the primary carers are grandparents, and the meager household income is from rice farming or fishing.
Access to tertiary education helps individuals, families and communities to break free of the poverty cycle. However, for those children from very poor families supported by Blue Dragon, paying for tertiary education is not an option.
Under our Tara Scholarships program, Tara Sartoria partners with Blue Dragon to provide university scholarships to young women from rural areas, so that they have access to a brighter future.
Thao, our first Tara Scholarships Recipient
Thao is an independent and active girl. Since she was in high school, she led several campaigns and activities at her school to support other students. She is also a Youth Leader in the Leadership program of Blue Dragon Children's Foundation to organize workshops about anti- drowning and early warning on human trafficking in her hometown.
Thao's parents are farmers and they try their best to send Thao and her siblings to school. Thao grew up in a poor household from an impoverished community on the outskirts of Hue province.
During the full course of study, Blue Dragon provides ongoing guidance, mentoring and advice to Thao as she works towards her qualification and seek to enter the workforce.
Tara Scholarships pays for Thao's university fees and a living allowance.