Naomi House
Naomi House is a social enterprise for at-risk women in Chiang Mai, Thailand. They equip and empower women to earn a sustainable fair-wage income to help build a better future.
Naomi House creates textile products using a variety of fabrics such as Thai ethnic weavings and prints, along with locally made cotton. The textile and leather products made by Naomi House artisans are sewn with individual care and quality, and each displays the creativity of the crafter.
Naomi House is also a community development center focused on life skills, empowerment and leadership training. Product and employment creation are just two of many activities. Some of the women workers have come to Naomi House from correctional centers. Others are refugees who have come out of persecution or some from the local community. Due to cultural and economic barriers towards marginalized people, these women are unlikely to find legitimate work in mainstream society.
The artisans receive a wage that allows them to provide for themselves and their families, and are trained to develop excellence in their skills. Because there is no free education in Thailand, this income also provides for their children’s schooling, shifting patterns of poverty through access to education and social integration. Naomi House helps with scholarships to provide uniforms, books, supplies, and school fees until the women are able to sustain these costs independently.
The vision is for the outreach of the house to expand and to see women who have suffered unwarranted trials in their lives and have never been free to work for income, would have sufficient work to resource the the needs of their families,