The Unique Pahadans Boxing Pahadi Essence
Shimla, Aug 20 Ritanjali Hastir
With a pure motive of giving Himachali people living away from their homes a memorable experience of unboxing the parcel and feeling the vibes of their homes anywhere Shivee Sirmauri started a small journey with a leap of faith that not only changed her life but even of “The Unique Pahadans”.
Matshona Dhliwayo, Canadian based Philosopher words “If you know where you are from, it is harder for people to stop you where you are going” seem to hold good in the case of Shivee Sirmauri a founder of Unbox Himachal Valley who in spite of being well educated chose to settle in her home state and save the dying traditional art and craft.
Born in a small town of Himachal Pradesh, Nahan, in Distt Sirmaur and hailing from a family of educationists; as both her parents contributed to society by serving the education department; Shivee is a fine example of an impact that a visionary teacher make in changing the whole perception of a child towards environment and society.
“I am an eco-warrior and I do not buy anything that comes in plastic. I also don’t support fashion waste, so I don’t even buy clothes. I only wear donated clothes from friends, cousins, and my mother and both Grandmothers. Around a decade ago, I started running some cottages in Manali in a small village named Nasogi, and having firsthand experience of the culture and traditions, I noticed that our culture is dying a slow death. The current generation is probably the last one to know the local handicrafts and it was then that I decided to start Unbox and my main concern was to infuse sustainability at affordable rates. I wanted to make our local women self-reliant by proving them with employment”, shares Shivee.
The product range starts with INR 39, which is the basic Rakhi that was conceptualized 4 years ago with Kullu Shawl Border designs. “When we started making our Pahadi Rakhi, we took a Vow to protect Mother Earth, because each year on Rakhi we bring so much Single-use plastic. Our most expensive product is a laptop bag that we customized for a friend; it was tagged at INR 3500. One of our best sellers is a Fanny Pack with Kullu shawl border and it tagged at INR 899”, informs Shivee.
Other products offered by her include keychains, headbands, soaps, and jewelry to name. Many celebrities including Krishna Abhishek, Barbie Rajput, Pankaj Badra, Pankaj, Comedian Bharti and her husband Harsh are esteemed customers of Unbox.
Like the rest of the world, COVID did make an impact on the business and reflecting on the times she says, “I will never forget the Lock Downs. I was at my parents’ home in Nahan for a week and suddenly lockdowns happened. I was stuck without any preparation. For two months we had no sales and I had overheads. So, I decided to shut my private limited company and used all the savings for clearing all dues. Being hopeless thought about shutting down my work but it was then that a phone call like in movies changes my life.”
“One of my team members from Manali called me up saying ‘Didi this lockdown is tough but we know we will get through because we are The Unique Pahadans (the team of women that make the products) and we have you. Even though I closed my private limited company, still we had a self-help group with the same name, so we continued and reached where we are today”, shares Shivee.
Talking about ease of doing business she shares her journey saying, “Setting up a business in Himachal was a task but not a big challenge however setting it up with a concept of being Eco-friendly was a herculean task. Today we have many options for packaging but back then it was really difficult. We mostly operate from various villages of Himachal Pradesh and managing logistics is one of the biggest issues. I remember during the initial days of Unbox it was really difficult to convince the courier companies and post office staff that we cannot use plastic tapes to cover our parcels. However, in current times it is way too easy to do it.”
As per her future plans she says, “I want to set up our own workshop and have better shipping services. We are also thinking of hiring an in-house team as for now it mostly works from home, whenever you have time and situation.”
As a piece of advice, she shares ” There’s nothing as satisfying as having your passion turned to your job, so go ahead, know what you are doing, learn the craft and don’t be afraid of making your own trail. I totally believe that one should not be afraid to chase one’s dream but however have a backup. I come from a privileged family and I always had financial security. I could make everything happen because I always knew if I can’t make it, I know I have financial freedom. I have cut down a lot of expenses and I live a very simple life with very few expenses that make me brave to take risks and follow adventurous paths because I know I can afford it. So, if you are thinking of starting your own business, make sure to save some money for rainy days. Sometimes your business blows up and then there are days or weeks without a single sale, be prepared for that. ”
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