“The expansion of women's capabilities not only enhances women’s own freedom and well-being, but also has many other effects on the lives of all.”*

* “Many Faces of Gender Inequality,” Amartya Sen, The New Republic, Sept 17, 2001

Our Goals

Confidence Building

To help women living in poverty gain confidence to step outside their local communities.

Training

To help women living in poverty gain skills and capabilities necessary to produce quality products and manage their operations.

Production

To help women living in poverty produce ethically made quality products for global buyers.

Initiatives

Artisan Support

Ubuntu at Work offers training and support to artisans from across the world. Through our local partners, we connect artisans to global markets and help them plug into global supply chains. Thus transforming the lives of artisans and giving global supply chains greater integrity.



 

Training Programs

We are expanding our training programs geographically. We are developing innovative and technologically savvy ways to deliver our training materials to thousands of urban and rural women living in poverty.



 

Rag Picker Empowerment

Thousands of urban members of our partners are active in the recycling industry. Unfortunately, most are trapped at the lowest end of this industry. They pick rags and sort trash to earn a meager living. Our focus is on developing training and income-generation programs to help them find their path out of poverty.



 

Leveraging Technology

As we help our members produce ethical and sustainable products for global retailers, we are continually focused on leveraging new technologies.

Latest blog news

By: Ekaterina Shaleva

2018-01-29 23:48:59

Working Paper: The Pursuit of Gender Equality

While the concept of development is hardly new, our modern conception of it began to take shape after the end of the Second World War when Europe was in a dire need of reconstruction assistance and when the period of decolonization, legitimizing ‘civilization’ interventions, was starting to go underway.[1] Therefore, historically, development as ...

more

By: Ekaterina Shaleva

2016-11-22 16:46:45

Gender Data Revolution

The goal of achieving gender equality by investing in women’s empowerment has slowly been gaining momentum with world leaders voicing their commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in September of 2015. Yet, a crucial ingredient in the mix has largely been overlooked. To this day, there are not comprehensive and reliable gender data nor ...

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By: Ekaterina Shaleva

2016-09-14 23:52:37

Rural Women in Agriculture

Agriculture and the rural sector have traditionally played a crucial role in the economy of Europe, contributing to programs of poverty reduction, food security, community development and national economic growth. Thus, the European Union has devoted a large part of its budget to promoting agriculture and food security in the region. The Common Agriculture P ...

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By: Kumi Naidoo

2016-09-22 20:12:06

Model to Gauge Climate Impact on Displacement

At the inaugural U.N. meeting on Refugees and Migrants, environmental advocate Kumi Naidoo opens our series “Voices from the Summit” by calling for greater recognition of the links between climate change, conflict and the accelerated movement of peoples. Refugees Deeply: With the nexus between climate change, displacement and conf ...

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By: Vibha Pingle

2016-07-20 08:11:56

Conserving Water & Increasing Sustainability

      According Krishna Byre Gowda (Agriculture Minister, Karnataka), 70% of agriculture in the Indian state of Kartaka is directly dependent on rainfall. A small portion of the agriculture takes place in high rainfall areas where irrigation is less of a concern. The majority of agriculture takes place in areas which get a paltry 500 ...

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By: Super Admin

2015-03-12 18:46:30

Gender Equality and Earth's Future

By Mary Robinson, Christina Figueres, Amina J. Mohammed Mary Robinson, a former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, is President of the Mary Robinson Foundation and the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Climate Change    Christiana Figueres is Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on ...

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By: Vibha Pingle

2016-09-16 14:58:17

The Case for Gender Justice Across Africa

Scaling Up Women’s Empowerment Our efforts with Ubuntu at Work has demonstrated that when women living in poverty gain new skills, increase their income, they are able to not just able to transform their lives, and that of their families, but they are able to transform their local patriarchal cultures. Their daughters and sons grow up knowing that wom ...

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By: Super Admin

2015-12-01 15:53:32

Ubuntu at Work Inc. 2009-2015 Report

Report Credits:  Matthew Rudolph, Avital Datskovsky, Kaavya Raman, Darlene Currie, Vibha Pingle  Photo Credits: Clare Arni, Vibha Pingle   Click on the image below to read the report   ...

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By: Super Admin

2015-01-05 21:36:13

2015!

  Dear Friends of Ubuntu at Work,   We hope your 2015 is off to a great start.     We have been planning initiatives to expand and deepen our impact in 2015 and are eager to launch them in the coming weeks and months.  We have developed new training programs and production initiatives for our workspaces in Indonesia, India, Ug ...

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Read more about Us

Our Mission

We are a US nonprofit social enterprise focused on helping women living in poverty gain skills and capabilities to take advantage of global resources.

Where We Operate

Asia (India, Indonesia), Africa (South Africa, Uganda).

Our Partners

WIEGO, AIACA, HomeNet Asia, Ubuntu Kerya Bali.

Meet some of our members

Patricia

Namibia

Aneli

Namibia

Kashira

Namibia

Martha

Bali

Meghawati

Bali

Muriyani

Bali

Elizabeth

South Africa

Esther

Uganda

Kamala

India

Testimonials

  • As an African, I find it interesting whenever I see the word Ubuntu being used. Given that Ubuntu is seen in Africa as the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity" or the idea that "I am because you are" or "a person is a person only through other people", it is both inspiring and sometimes unsettling because sometimes the people or organizations that use this do not reflect the core central idea of compassionate citizenship.

    In the work that Vibha and Ubuntu have been doing over the years I have been deeply inspired and believe its work affords the respect and dignity to the original idea behind the important philosophical notion of Ubuntu

    Kumi Naidoo, 2015

Gallery

Frequently Asked Questions

01.

How I can I place a orders for Ubuntu products?

Please email sales@ubuntuatwork.org if you're interested in ordering products made by our members. All our products are ethically and sustainably made. We supply our products to retailers around the world. We welcome high-volume orders for our products. Please email us for a copy of our more recent product catalog r to request samples.

02.

How can I volunteer?

We welcome volunteers from around the world and our volunteers work in a variety of subject areas and locations. If you’re interested in volunteering at Ubuntu at Work please send us an email about the areas (subject and geographical) where you’d like to volunteer and your bio. Please email info@ubuntuatwork.org .

03.

How can I donate?

We welcome donations! Please donate via the donate link on our website or via Network for Good.

Contact information

  • Email

    info@ubuntuatwork.org

  • Office USA:

    Ubuntu at Work Inc
    75-83 Cambridge Parkway, E407
    Cambridge, MA 02142
    USA
    +1-617-460-4545

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