Once again it is Christmas time, Holiday season, the year end and a time to take stock of the year 2025 and to welcome the New Year with hope.
As I sit down to write this note, my thoughts travel back across the 26 years I have spent with Creative Handicrafts. From a small NGO struggling to create livelihood opportunities, Creative Handicrafts transformed into a vibrant social enterprise employing hundreds of women; from makeshift beginnings to an organized and dignified workspace; from a simple income-generating initiative to a socially certified organization. The journey has been extraordinary, all with your unwavering support, but not without its challenges.
One of the most demanding aspects has been balancing the world of business with the world of human development. I have often said, and written, that combining these two is a formidable challenge. Business demands quality, efficiency, discipline, timelines, skilled personnel, investment and financial sustainability. Human development—particularly the empowerment of women—demands compassion, empathy, concern for human rights, sustainability, and an unwavering belief that people must come before profit. At times, these ideals seem fundamentally incompatible. Yet at Creative Handicrafts, we have persisted in walking this unconventional path, refusing to compromise one for the other. Over the years, we have learned to hold these contrasting values together, and it is in this very struggle that we find meaning and fulfilment.
Creative Handicrafts was born from a simple but profound conviction of our founder: that women can live a life of dignity only when they have financial independence. This belief shaped our mission and our vision from the very beginning. We have never required external validation to know that what we do is fair, just, and rooted in empowerment. Yet, the world around us has changed. Today, compliance and certification have become essential, even for mission-led organizations. It is ironic—and often painful—to seek certifications from multiple institutions that emerged long after organizations like ours began this work, and that often lack an understanding of what it truly means to run a social enterprise.
The legal and administrative landscape in our country adds another layer of complexity. Government systems largely recognize only two models: profit-making businesses or pure charitable activity. The idea of combining business with human development does not exist within their frameworks. As a result, organizations like ours often find ourselves misunderstood and entangled in regulatory challenges that stem from this lack of awareness. There is also a risk that the commercial side of our work—necessary as it is—can overshadow the human development goals that lie at the heart of this organization. We need constant reminders that business is only a means, not an end; that our ultimate purpose is the empowerment and holistic development of women.
It is a time to express our heartfelt gratitude to you all for your rock solid support which is an essential ingredient our growth and sustenance. To each one of you — THANK YOU. If you would like to support us in our efforts please visit the link
https://fundacionisabelmartin.es/donar/ and follow the instructions. It will be easier for you to make a donation to this account as you will benefit from tax exemptions and the same will be consolidated and passed on to us. Please mention that the donation is for Creative Handicrafts. Further, you may share this letter with your friends and well-wishers.
Johny Joseph
Director
