Who would have imagined that keys can be converted into something you can use every day? In this video, our artisans talk about this innovative product which they designed themselves. The decorative bowl solves two problems at once - 1) gives you a great option for organising, and 2) upcycles metal waste.
Video Transcript:
Hello, I welcome you to the city of Moradabad which is also known as "Brass City".
My name is Shareef Ahmed and I belong to the village of Haryana in the district of Moradabad.
My business is named Shahzi Handicraft.
We upcycle scrap materials to produce new products for everyday use.
It all started a long time ago when I went to a cycle shop to get my broken bike chain fixed.
When I came back to my workshop with the old bike chain, I kept thinking of what good use I can put that old chain to instead of tossing it away.
That's when I came up with a new innovative product - a photo frame made from a bicycle chain.
I sent this product to the artisan producer who discussed and then forwarded it to a shop in a foreign country.
People there appreciated this innovation resulting it to be a bestseller for 5-6 years.
Around this time, we thought of creating a new product from scrap material.
Thus we went to a local ragman and noticed a lot of junk keys.
We collected those keys in abundance to make a bowl.
Luckily this product was well received in foreign countries as well.
As a result, we got many bulk orders, and even after a decade, we continue to sell it in huge quantity.
To keep up with the demand, we now source junk keys from cities outside Moradabad like Aligarh, Delhi etc.
When we get orders in huge quantity then we connect with unemployed women of the village
to give them an opportunity to train and work with us.