Co-founded in 2016, SHANTI is a social enterprise whose mission is to promote the design of innovative and creative solutions to the social, economic, cultural and environmental issues of Tunisia.

Based on this principle, SHANTI has developed along with the women artisans of Nefta -specialists in the weaving of traditional carpets Klim and Margoum- the project of El Mensej as a solution to fight environmental pollution caused by cloth waste and perpetuate an endangered knowledge and tradition. SHANTI’s job is to help women artisans to improve the designs of their products and market their carpets in Tunisia and abroad while participating in the preservation of the environment through cloth recycling. Indeed, the raw material used in all the women’s creations comes from second-hand clothing.

The social innovation aspect of the project brings together the preservation of nature and the creation of added value that provides economic empowerment to women artisans working in their homes. For more information on this project, click on the link below. 

This practice was identified as part of the pilot action led by "La Ruche de la citoyenneté active" (The Hive of Active Citizenship association), which aimed at economically empowering the oasis women in Tozeur (Tunisia) while contributing to environmental conservation. This pilot action is part of the framewrok of the "Reinforcing the capacity of equality actors" project, funded by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) and coordinated by the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed).