The Pantrepreneurs visit India

Last year Pants to Poverty ran a national educational programme across 15 FE colleges around the UK called the ‘Pantrepreneur Challenge.’ This programme involved key entrepreneurial skills and the winning team won the opportunity of a life time, the chance to travel to Semla, Odissa, India to visit the Pants to Poverty supply chain. During their trip, the students visited a government funded school which is the beneficiary of the funds and support that the competition generated. They also worked in the cotton fields, lived in the farming community and visited the factory where the pants are made, working on the factory floor as unskilled labourers. They even lived in the homes of the garment workers to truly experience life in their shoes. All participants claimed that visiting these totally uncharted territories ‘completely changed their lives’.

This year, the Pantrepreneur Challenge goes even further, as it is being expanded to cover 18 colleges across the UK. It will also include participating in the Fairtrade fortnight mini march! The competition will then culminate in June at the finals, which will take over Spitalfields market for the day.

To see more photos from the trip, click here
Photography by Christ Storrar