OUR SOCIAL IMPACT

“Nugu was born out of a mission to support indigenous craftspeople whose livelihoods and heritage were at risk as local opportunities gave way to large-scale production. By empowering these talented artisans, Nugu not only preserved traditional craftsmanship but also built the very foundation of what the brand stands for today.”

For us, true empowerment comes through collaboration. That’s why we work hand in hand with indigenous craftspeople and their communities to create sustainable business models and lasting growth opportunities. Through training, fair employment, and entrepreneurial development around our micro-factories, we help ensure income stability, career advancement, and dignity of work for artisans who might otherwise have lost it. This commitment is at the heart of Nugu — and the very reason we came into being.”

“Indigenous communities, as true custodians of nature, hold unparalleled knowledge of sustainable living, handcrafting, and artisanal traditions. Their deep connection to the natural world inspires and shapes every aspect of our work and processes. Yet, these very communities remain among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable globally, facing challenges such as displacement, loss of livelihoods, and the struggle to protect their rights.”

OUR IMPACT FOCUS

“Nugu embodies a vision for a sustainable future — championing conscious production, fostering social equity, and nurturing a green economy for generations to come.”

We are proud to collaboratively create the following with our Nugu community

Skill Development

Our micro-factories in rural Karnataka (South India) are located amongst some of the most skilled indigenous communities in India. At the same time, these communities are brimming with craftspeople who are eager to learn from experts and improve their craft. Nugu works closely with craftspeople of all skill levels to offer on-the-job development programs that help build the skills they need to be successful working at Nugu, and gain confidence in themselves and their craft — all while being paid a good monthly stipend so they can support themselves and their communities while learning. We are proud to have had over 150 participants progress through our skill development programs since 2017.

Dignified Jobs

Prior to joining our team, many of our craftspeople earned low, inconsistent incomes working as migrant workers in unrelated industries. At Nugu, we create opportunities for all employees to earn higher salaries, learn new skills, and live amongst their families, communities, and land. All employees earn monthly salaries that average 50-100% higher than their previous incomes, and are offered development opportunities for promotions to positions on our leadership team—which is currently comprised of many employees who joined our team 4 years ago as craftspeople. Our dedication to offering dignified jobs allows our employees to support their communities while doing a job they love.

Entrepreneurship Support

As a local business supporting local businesses, we support entrepreneurial development from both within our own company and the communities around us, with the goal of creating and supporting sustainable manufacturing ecosystems. Internally, we build local entrepreneurship by promoting employees from within Nugu’s team to leadership positions at each micro-factory. We are also dedicated to supporting other local entrepreneurial ventures — we source clay from nearby community suppliers, and use local groups for our fuel, logistics, and packaging needs. We also promote entrepreneurship as a part of our regenerative agro-forestry initiative, a key element of our sustainability goals at Nugu.

OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

“With global warming now an undeniable reality and greenhouse emissions at record highs, we are committed to doing everything in our power to combat climate change. We remain vigilant in our efforts, believing that even the smallest drop can create ripples of lasting impact.”

Since the industrial revolution, humankind has relied heavily on mass production factories that compete to sell at the lowest price—usually, at a massive disadvantage to already-vulnerable local ecosystems and the global environment as a whole. We strongly believe the most future-friendly way forward involves challenging these damaging models, and instead promoting more micro-level, sustainable, and ethical production models.

“Our core environmental goal is to achieve a truly net-positive impact on the ecosystems around us. This means going beyond reaching net-zero carbon emissions to actively restoring and enriching the soil, water, and air surrounding our micro-factories. By leaving the environments we operate in healthier than before, we ensure that our impact is not just sustainable, but regenerative.”

Here are the steps we are taking to achieve this holistic environmental goal

Carbon Sequestration Through Regenerative Agroforestry

Since 2017, Nugu has planted over30,000 treesin our efforts to build regenerative agroforests around our micro-factories. Building regenerative agroforests means we are not only replenishing and repairing local forests, but also actively improving the soil, water, and biodiversity of these forests while providing food security and economic empowerment for our artisans’ communities. By employing permaculture principals such as no-till farming, mulching, natural fertilizer/pesticide use, and companion planning, we are able to causecarbon sequestrationat every level while generating benefits for nature and people at the same time, in the same space

Environmentally Conscious Production Process

Large-scale ceramics companies are notorious for a wasteful manufacturing process—without consideration, each stage in ceramics manufacturing can consume considerable amounts of energy and emit hazardous materials via waste from clays, glazes, and machinery. At Nugu, we have carefully designed our micro-factories and entire production process with sustainability at its core:

Local, natural raw materials: unlike large ceramics factories who import materials from many international suppliers, we use clay and raw materials sourced from local mines. Taking this one step further, we also extract clay from mine-waste with high Kaolin contents to up-cycle waste that would otherwise cause soil and water pollution.

Recycling water and reusing clay: we recycle and reuse all water and clay used in our various production stages and ensure absolutely nothing is wasted.

Fuel-efficient batch kilns: we use batch kilns to fire our products instead of continuous tunnel kilns, which are commonly used in large factories. Tunnel kilns can exponentially increase a factory’s production capacity as they allow products to be fired 24/7, but require massive fuel consumption and create large amounts of environmentally damaging ceramic waste. Alternatively, batch kilns are only used when needed (so no fuel is wasted) and produce no ceramics waste.

Zero waste: due to our limited product scale and conscious recycling and reusing processes, we are proud to ensure we are a zero-waste production micro-factory.

Sustainable Buildings

All Nugu production facilities, as well as living spaces for our employees, are built using repurposed shipping containers that offer a sustainable, cost-effective way to build the spaces we need. Buildings made using shipping containers are easily set up and taken down, meaning we’ll be able to adjust the size, layout, and location of our facilities as we grow—without using up any new resources, since all shipping containers will be recycled and repurposed from their previous life. In addition, shipping containers are build to withstand the harsh conditions at sea and are incredibly durable and weather-resistant. As such, we can ensure our employees will always be safe and comfortable while at work.