Kanchan Bhadani, a 61-year-old woman from Jharkhand, started her entrepreneurial journey in her 60s by launching a crochet toy business called LoopHoop. The company empowers tribal women of Jhumri Telaiya in Jharkhand by bringing the art form back to life. Since its inception in 2021, LoopHoop has sold over 3,000 hand crochet toys and provided free training to girls from tribal communities and homemakers to help them earn livelihoods.
Kanchan has trained over 50 tribal women in the art of crochet, with most working with her to create the toys for the company. She grew up watching her grandmother and aunts make crochet toys and table cloth, and learned the skill from her family. Kanchan’s dream of making a meaningful difference in the lives of these women was lost due to her household responsibilities, but as her children settled in life, she knew she would do something along those lines.
In 2021, Kanchan got the idea of LoopHoop with the help of her children, who helped set up the website and social media for the business. She hires homemakers and girls from the tribal communities and trains them how to crochet for free. Most of the women are quick learners and take up the work very seriously. Kanchan has taught over 50 tribal women so far, and most take around 10-15 days to learn the basics of crocheting.
The women who work with LoopHoop get paid for the products they make, with an average of if they are working 2–3 hours every day, they make more than Rs 5,000 in a month. Sonali, a 21-year-old girl, has been in Kanchan’s team for nearly two years and makes more than 30 toys in a month. With the money earned, she can pay her tuition fees for college with the same money.
Kanchan makes various types of soft toys, such as octopuses, dolls, caterpillars, and elephants, and has sold over 3,000 toys so far. The company currently makes a revenue of more than Rs 14 lakh per annum. Kanchan also tries not to waste any materials by making other toys with leftover wool.
Kanchan believes there is no right age to start something and intends to keep working and improving the lives of these tribal women.
Conclusion
Kanchan Bhadani, a 61-year-old woman from Jharkhand, started her entrepreneurial journey in her 60s by launching LoopHoop, a crochet toy business. Since its inception in 2021, LoopHoop has sold over 3,000 hand crochet toys and provided free training to girls from tribal communities and homemakers to help them earn livelihoods. Kanchan has trained over 50 tribal women in crochet, with most working with her to create the toys for the company.
Kanchan’s dream of making a meaningful difference in the lives of these women was lost due to her household responsibilities, but as her children settled in life, she knew she would do something along those lines. With the help of her children, Kanchan set up the website and social media for the business. She hires homemakers and girls from the tribal communities and trains them how to crochet for free. Most of the women are quick learners and take up the work very seriously.
The women who work with LoopHoop get paid for the products they make, with an average of making more than Rs 5,000 in a month. Sonali, a 21-year-old girl, has been part of Kanchan’s team for nearly two years and makes more than 30 toys in a month. The company currently makes a revenue of more than Rs 14 lakh per annum and tries not to waste any materials by making other toys with leftover wool.
