After attending John Brown University, a private conservative Christian college, the newly-wed Melody Murray set out with her husband to work in an African orphanage. Melody and Dave could feel God burdening their hearts to reach out and help those in poverty. Over the next decade, they dreamed of themselves working with struggling artisans. In 2010, they moved to Rajpur, India, and JOYN was birthed.
JOYN is a socially-conscious handbag company that takes pride in their artistic 100% handcrafted products. At JOYN, people are valued and art is a process.
JOYN takes local artistic entrepreneurs and teaches them the proper technique of block-printing, block-carving, weaving, spinning, and sewing. One by one, individuals are being empowered by their artistic talents and trade to rise above poverty. They work in a nurturing community that is propelled by a vision to share the joy of Christ’s love.
Every bag goes through a 12 step process. There is no electricity or machines used in the creation of a handbag. Melody refers to this as “a model of purposeful inefficiency.” Each step that goes into the production process means another life changed and more jobs created.
Currently, JOYN has expanded to several cities across India. Melody’s vision of creating jobs and spreading hope and joy is coming to fruition. Images from JOYN.com
I love this! The organization is helping to solve a dire issue by fostering creativity and artistic talent. They are entrepreneurs helping the people of India rise out of poverty by becoming entrepreneurs themselves. I love the way they set up their business to have a real social impact. Their products also look fantastic. In all honesty, I will probably buy something from them because I just really love what they’re doing.
That is very very cool! I like how no machines are used in making this product. It shows that humans can still use their artistic talents and creativity without always referring to the use of technology. I think the purpose of making the handbags is an amazing story in itself as well. I love when people are able to make a difference in society and still being able to implement God into their purpose. It is a truly amazing idea and i know my mom would love something like this.
I really like the idea of empowering the people of Rajpur, India instead of just giving them handouts. I think it is important to show the people that they have value and that they are created in the image of God for a specific purpose. I believe that with the right tools they can rise out of poverty while spreading hope and Christ’s love to others in their community. What a cool organization!
I love this story and seeing people who are social entrepreneurs and see a need and want to help and really make a difference for these people. This also shows how these entrepreneurs followed God’s call for their lives and have been successful. They were also able to see what the skills and talents of these people were and use them to create a business that would help these people provide for themselves.