We are raising funds to employ women escaping all coerced forms of the sex trade through the manufacture of a new range of 500 candles.
by Lovewell in Bristol, England, United Kingdom
With extra funding we will be able to buy purchase equipment to increase our manufacturing threshold and we will also be able to employ more women. In addition, extra funding will help us to start to develop our holistic programme.
Lovewell is a social enterprise supporting women escaping all coerced forms of the sex trade, offering them the opportunity to build new skills and abilities through the manufacture of natural skincare products.
We create luxurious, quality products for you to enjoy. However, we want the story behind the organisation to be our motivation to continue what we have started. We believe that what this organisation is doing is changing a little corner of the world.
" It gives me hope."
We plan to manufacture a brand new range of 500 of our hand-poured, soy wax massage candles which will be sold online, at local independent boutique stores, craft fayres and artisan markets in Bristol.
Women caught up in the coerced sex trade find it incredibly difficult to escape, and even after exiting, have to live with the trauma of their experiences. At Lovewell we provide a supportive, therapeutic community to help with women's well-being, whilst also giving the women new opportunities by learning new skills through the manufacture of luxury natural skincare products.
"When I have finished making the products I think 'wow', I am proud of myself, I feel smart, like a genius! [I have] a sense of achievement, I'm happy, I want to show people - look what I have made!"
Our soy wax candles are made with natural ingredients from ethical suppliers. The wax melts at a lower temperature to paraffin wax and the added Brazil nut oil and apricot butter have highly moisturising and nourishing properties. This means the melted wax can be rubbed into your skin leaving it felling soft, supple and fragranced.
The dimensions of the candles are 7x7x7cm which is 30cl and they come packaged in a presentation box.
There is very little support to help women overcome the barriers that hold them in their position: lack of education, no work experience, no outside contacts and being indebted to employers. We want to support women to overcome this barrier and empower them to reach their potential and dreams of the future. We work with a number of women all with different backgrounds from the sex trade but they all have one thing in common, to have a brighter future and we are there to give them an opportunity.
This is an important issue that cannot be ignored as the number of people living in modern day slavery is rising.
"When I came to Bristol I was so low, Lovewell has given me a sense of home and community."
We have been manufacturing our products for over a year and prior to that we ran workshops for women supported by other charities. We have slowly been expanding since, with continual manufacturing and the running of workshops.
In the future we are looking to offer a holistic programme where vulnerable women will join us for a 9 month programme. They will be paid to manufacture 2 days a week and also participate in other workshops to build up skills such as education, finances, finding a job or setting up their own business.
"It is nice to meet people and to be part of a community, part of something. I now have a friend for life."
The money raised will go towards the manufacture of 500 candles in a new range, covering the costs of ingredients and packaging for the candles, more equipment to make bigger batches, and most importantly to pay the women who make the candles the real living wage. We will then use the profits from the candles to employ more women and build their skills in manufacturing processes.
Any extra funding will go towards starting our holistic programme.
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