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| Credit: Danielle Chiel, Founder of The Artisan Nation |
Danielle Chiel is an entrepreneur and founder of KOCO (Knit One Change One) and The Artisan Nation. After a career in music teaching and academia (She has a PhD in Musicology), Danielle followed her passion for hand-knitting by opening and developing one of Australia’s largest independent retail knitting stores. She cares deeply about the empowerment of women,especially in developing nations. From her travels across the world and working alongside some of the most beautiful, smart and talented women, Danielle feels extremely passionate about enabling them to have an identity and to have their voices be heard. The Artisan Nation was born from a realization that women in rural villages in India who have little or no formal education combined with lack of opportunity are stuck in a subservient, malnourished, or a non-educated cycle. Using both their hands and their minds, combined with the support of The Artisan Nation, these ladies have a wonderful opportunity in front of them which entails breaking all of the above cycles through secure, regular work. The Artisan Nation is not bound by geography, language or culture but rather unified by passion, creativity and talent. Danielle is truly changing lives one village at a time. Credit: The Artisan Nation; KOCO
