Pabiben Rabari is an Indian entrepreneur who is known for her handicraft brand Pabiben.com, which is based in Bhadroi village in Anjhar taluk in Kutch district.
Wiki/Biography
Pabiben Laxmi Rabari was born in 1984 (36 years old in 2020) in Kukkadsar village in Mundra taluka, Kutch district, Gujarat. She dropped out of school only until Class 4 because she could not afford to go to another village to attend school, despite the free education. She started learning traditional Rabari embroidery from her mother and grandmother at a very young age.
appearance
Eye color: Black
Hair color: Black
Family and caste
She belongs to the Dhebariya community and is related to the Rabari tribe (also known as Rewari or Desai), a tribal caste of nomadic cattle and camel herders and shepherds.
Parents and siblings
When she was five years old, her father Mobi died. Her mother’s name is Tejuben. She has two younger sisters.
Husband and children
At the age of 17, she married Laxman bhai Rabari, who lived in the jungles of Chhattisgarh, where he raised cows and buffaloes. After marriage, she lived with her husband, but when she could not adapt to life there, she persuaded her husband to return home and settled with him in Badroy village in Gujarat. There, her husband worked in a grocery store in Anjar market and soon left to help Rabari run the business. She has two sons.
Pabiben Rabari and her family
Profession
In her community, there was a custom where women used to bring embroidery work as a dowry to their husband’s family. This often resulted in the girl staying at her parents’ house to complete her dowry; sometimes, the girl would stay there until she was 35. When the village elders realized that this custom led to late marriages, they banned embroidery in the 90s. Pabiben wanted to keep the tradition alive and began working with the Bhuj-based Kala Raksha Trust, an organization dedicated to preserving the art; she worked with them for 12 years. In 1998, Pabiben joined a Rabari women’s group, where she was quickly known as a master craftsman.
Pabiben performs traditional Rabari embroidery
To keep the tradition alive, she banded together with the women of her community and invented a new art form of applying ready-made elements using machines, called ‘Hari Jari’, which later became known as ‘Pabi Jari’. The first accessory she created with it was a shopping bag, which became an instant hit and was called the ‘Pabi Bag’, produced by the Kala Raksha Trust.
Pabi bag by Pabiben
Judy Frater, founder and director of Somaiya Kala Vidya, an organization that works with traditional artisans in Kutch, Gujarat, who has worked with Pabiben, recalls:
One day, when I was getting ready for a trip to the United States, I told Pabiben that she should make a bag for me one day. She made it before I left, so I took it with me. People loved it so much that we decided to produce and sell more of them. I named it the “Pabi Bag” and the rest is history.”
After the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, Kutch’s economy started to recover as many companies started investing in the city. During the Bailan festival, tourism increased, boosting sales of traditional wear and handicrafts. Soon, she started getting work from traders who would provide her with materials and designs. After gaining experience, she started making her own products and established her own brand and website “Pabiben.com” with clients from across India and around the world. To expand her reach, she travelled from city to city attending various exhibitions. Her first big order was for 70,000 pieces from a store in Ahmedabad. Later, she also received a grant from the Gujarat government in 2015. Pabiben is working with women artisans in the community to produce products like wallets and bags, toiletries bags, rugs, folders, quilts, cushion covers, etc. Her designs have been featured in the Bollywood film, Luck of the Luck (2009) and the Hollywood film, Telephone (2008).
The actress holds a Pabi bag in a scene from The Other End of the Line (2008)
In 2013, she was one of 3,000 artisans from around the world invited to the Santa Fe Folk Art Festival in Santa Fe, USA. However, she was unable to obtain a visa to attend the festival. She also participated in an international buyer-seller meet in Ahmedabad, a design workshop with Vietnamese artisans in Delhi, and an exhibition at the India International Centre in New Delhi. In 2019, Pabiben.com had a turnover of over Rs 2.5 crore. As of 2020, she has employed 160 families from the community. Pabiben.com has won international clients including the Smithsonian Institution in the United States, Vastra, the Taj Hotels & Resorts Group, as well as museums, heritage shops and designers.
Awards and Honors
- The Ahmedabad Trust was awarded the Quality Mark Women Award by the Mahatma Mandir Foundation, Gandhinagar in 2016
Pabiben wins the Quality Mark Women Award
- Jankidevi Bajaj Puraskar of IMC Women’s Wing 2016
Pabiben Rabari accepts her Jankidevi Bajaj Puraskar
- 2018 National Rural Business Outstanding Performance Award
Pabiben Rabari receives National Award
- Prerna Award 2018
Pabiben Rabari wins Prerna Award
- 2018 ASSOCHAM Mahila Shakti Award
Pabiben Rabari receives Mahila Shakti Award
- India Craft Week International Craft Awards 2019
Pabiben Rabari wins international craft award
- In 2019, it was awarded by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
Papiben receives award from Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
- Awarded a memento by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani for his outstanding contribution to the field of handicrafts in 2020
Pabiben Rabari honored by Gujarat Chief Minister
- In 2020, Wings Group Gandhidham awarded it with a special achievement award in the field of handicrafts
Pabiben Rabari receives award from Wings Group Gandhidham
- Won the Swayam Siddha Award from GCCI
- Best Rural Entrepreneur by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India
- My FM Jiyo Dil Se Award
Pabiben Rabari wins My FM Jiyo Dil Se Award
- NABARD Award for Outstanding Business Initiative
- Nari Shakti Award from the Government of Gujarat
- Mahila Udhyami Award from Hari Om Ashram
Facts/Trivia
- After her father’s death, her mother became the breadwinner of the family. To ease her mother’s burden, she began fetching water for the villagers, paying 1 rupee per person. Gradually, Pabiben began to earn more by working in the salt pans and making “lippan” pottery. At the same time, she learned embroidery from her mother and began making clothes for herself and shawls for men.
- According to Papiben, she has a lucky bag that she carries with her wherever she goes.
- Pabiben’s story is featured in the book Millionaire Housewives: From Housewife to Wealth Creator (2017) by Rinku Paul and Puja Singhal, which tells the stories of 12 women entrepreneurs who overcame challenges to achieve success.
- She is part of Kaarigar Clinic, an initiative by Nilesh Priyadarshi to help artisans promote their art and make them successful businesses. The program’s members include Pabiben Rabari, Jabbar Khatri (a traditional block printer), Rajiben Vankar (a traditional weaver from Kotay village), and Jyotsanaben (a skilled painter who captures the textile art of Mata Ni Pachhedi). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinic launched the “Local Gift Box” to help artisans during India’s economic recession.
Artisans working with Kaarigar Clinic
- She belongs to the Rabari ethnic group and has traditional symbols tattooed on her neck, chest and arms.
A photo of Pabiben Rabari, where some of her tattoos can be seen
- In 2018, she was part of the promotions of the Bollywood film Sui Dhaaga.
- In 2021, she starred in Kaun Banega Crorepati’s Karamveer Special along with Anupam Kher. The show aired on Sony TV and was hosted by Amitabh Bachchan.
Pabiben Rabari as Kaun Banega Crorepati
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education