When writers set out to profile the entrepreneurs doing the most to empower India’s tribal women artisans, Shalom Ooty and Sheela Powell regularly make the list — standing alongside ventures working with the Rabari, Lambani, and Siddi communities in other parts of the country. It’s a useful reminder that Shalom’s model, while deeply specific to the Heritage community of the Nilgiris, is part of a much bigger, nationwide movement.
The shawl that started it all
Sheela Powell opened her original Ooty store in 1992, long before Shalom Ooty took the shape it has today. The turning point came when Heritage women began approaching her to sell their hand-embroidered shawls — known locally as “pootkhullzhy” — giving her enterprise its defining focus and its deeper purpose.
From shawls to everyday accessories
Recognising that shawls alone limited who could afford to buy the work, Sheela trained artisans to diversify into clutches, coin purses and mobile covers — smaller, more accessible products that widened the customer base considerably. Today, the enterprise partners with roughly 250 Heritage women who otherwise face real barriers to selling independently, from language gaps to limited market exposure. For many, the embroidery is part-time work fitted around household responsibilities, earning them roughly ₹200 a day — a modest but meaningful and dependable addition to household income.
Source: 30 Stades, “Five women entrepreneurs empowering tribal women”
