Our Projects
Long-term partnerships, local action, and global collaboration. This page gathers all our ongoing and completed projects that define who we are.
INO
Our in-house label INO combines fair fashion with social impact. The women in Chinsapo produce high-quality designs while challenging gender roles in a male-dominated field. INO is more than a brand – it’s a milestone of independence, collaboration, and craftsmanship.
MYLILY
Our production team manufactures MYLILY’s Period Bag, supporting a German startup focused on women’s health. The collaboration improved our quality processes, export routines, and taught us what it means to build a sustainable social business across borders.
Co-Creation with Weltwärts
Together with a designer from Germany, our tailors created new products, developed materials, and redesigned packaging. The six-month collaboration sparked creativity, shared learning, and strengthened our design capacity from within.
INO
Our fashion brand
INO is our own fashion brand. The result of many years of organisational work, INO is a vision that has become reality: the idea that a business can work for a good cause. It shows that beautiful, high-quality, modern products are possible in the slow and fair fashion sector.
That fair wages and price transparency can be achieved throughout a supply chain. This vision is embodied in our products and brand, and we are immensely proud to finally share it with the world!
To provide a new framework for everything we have learnt together in recent years, we founded INO. The brand is the masterpiece that lives up to the standards we have set for our work – a milestone that demonstrates our achievements and is our pride and joy.
You might be wondering what INO actually means. INO simply means “woman” in Esperanto, the international language. It may not seem like a very special word at first, but it is. By choosing this word as our brand name, we have embraced two of our brand’s core values:
Female Empowerment
With the word INO, we highlight the tailors – the women in Chinsapo who produce our products. By learning and trying new techniques, they earn a steady income for themselves and their families. This is not common in Malawi, where the tailoring profession is male-dominated. With INO, we aim to serve as role models for women fighting against traditional gender roles, asserting themselves in male-dominated fields, and striving for financial and general independence.
Eye Level
Like the inventors of the global language Esperanto, we dream of a world where all nations work and learn together peacefully, transcending language barriers, borders, and cultural differences. However, we realize that we still have a long way to go before we can actually reach eye level. Despite our good intentions, we cannot ignore the differences between the Malawi and European teams due to their locations. Nevertheless, we believe that INO is a good start and hope it inspires others to engage in more international cooperation.
Fair Fashion
INO aims to help tailors in Malawi achieve financial independence. This is achieved through a fair wage that ensures a good life for the tailors and their families, considering the cost of living in Malawi. For us, this means more than just having enough income to pay for food, rent, and other expenses in the short term. We believe it should also cover health insurance and allow our employees to build up reserves for a secure future.
With the word INO, we draw attention to the tailors – the women in Chinsapo who produce our products. By learning and trying new things, they secure a steady income for themselves and their families. This is not common in Malawi, where the tailoring profession is male-dominated. With INO, we aim to set an example for women who challenge traditional roles, assert themselves in male-dominated fields, and strive for financial and personal independence.
MYLILY
A production partnership for women’s health
We are proud project partners of MYLILY, an organic feminine care startup from Hamburg. Our production team in Chinsapo, Lilongwe has manufactured the Period Bags since its initial development in close collaboration with MYLILY. In 2024 alone, we produced and sold around 2,600 units.
MYLILY lovingly develops sustainable, high-quality products that accompany women through every stage of life. Their holistic approach to women’s health aligns with our own mission of promoting dignity, independence, and well-being for women. The Period Bag helps organize period products – such as tampons, pads, and panty liners – making them discreet and easily accessible in everyday life.
This partnership has been deeply enriching for both sides. For our on-site team in Malawi, working with MYLILY has provided valuable insights into quality standards, efficient production processes, and professional product packaging. The collaboration also challenged us to manage international logistics, including export to Germany – a milestone in the professionalization of our operations.
As an NGO, we’ve grown from this experience and begun shaping a more sustainable social business model: one that empowers women not only through education, but also through meaningful work, fair income, and international market participation.
Beyond production, our off-site team has benefitted from close exchange with MYLILY – from product development ideas to marketing and long-term strategy. This ongoing sparring has inspired new thinking and opened up pathways for future impact.
At the heart of this partnership lies a shared commitment to female empowerment, sustainable development, and collaborative growth. Together, we’re creating more than just a product – we’re building opportunities, expanding perspectives, and supporting women to thrive on their own terms.
Design Collaboration (Weltwärts)
Six months of co-creation in Malawi
Through the Weltwärts volunteer program, a designer joined our team on the ground in Malawi for six months – and brought a wave of creativity with her. Together with the local tailors, she developed new product lines, refined designs, and introduced new branding ideas. But it wasn’t just about aesthetics – it was about collaboration.
The designer also co-created educational materials, helped modernize our training tools, and supported product photography and storytelling. Her presence built a bridge between design thinking and grassroots production – helping transform ideas into tangible outcomes.
More than anything, this project showed what happens when expertise meets humility, and when creativity becomes a shared process. It wasn’t about importing “the right way to do things” – it was about listening, learning, and building together.
Alex in Germany
Six weeks of exchange, learning & shared leadership
Alex, one of our team members from Malawi, spent six weeks in Germany – and those weeks left a lasting impression on all of us. During his stay, Alex became an integral part of our off-site team. He spoke at events, co-led school workshops, and took part in strategy meetings and creative sessions.
What made this exchange so special was its authenticity. It wasn’t about one side “visiting” the other – it was about working together, side by side, learning from each other in real time. Alex brought insights that challenged assumptions, enriched discussions, and reminded us of the very people at the heart of our work.
His stay also included our annual team meeting, held for the first time with someone from our on-site team present. That moment marked a small but significant step toward a more connected, shared leadership culture – one rooted in respect, transparency, and mutual growth.
Poetry Slam & Panel Discussion
Creativity meets critical thinking
When we talk about sustainable development, we don’t just mean policies and statistics – we mean people, voices, and visions. That’s why we launched a university campaign combining culture and critical dialogue. The event kicked off with a powerful poetry slam, where young voices shared raw, moving reflections on inequality, identity, and global justice.
After the performances, we hosted a panel discussion with professors and students about the opportunities and contradictions in international development work. It was a space for reflection, nuance, and new ideas – and the event even caught the attention of the local press.
For us, this evening showed the power of combining education, emotion, and community. It reminded us that awareness begins with conversation – and that sustainable change needs both head and heart.
Collected Moments
Smaller initiatives. Big impact.
Not every story needs its own page – but many deserve to be told. From local campaigns to spontaneous events and field experiments, these projects reflect the creative, community-driven side of our work:
- Trips to Malawi – Partner visits, co-planning, and exchange
- School Workshops – Sustainable fashion and global justice in classrooms
- Intensive Tailoring Workshop – Technical deep dives with our lead designer
- Sewing Machine Campaign – 20+ machines shipped across continents
- Pad Workshops – Making and teaching reusable sanitary pad skills
- Embassy Bag Project – Collaboration with the German Embassy
- Worldpackers & Workaway – Volunteers supporting childcare, workshops, and house repairs
- Sales Case – A mobile toolkit for students to promote and sell our work
- Missionare auf Zeit – Selling our products at German markets
- Christmas Market Stalls – Local outreach and awareness
- Charity Concerts – Music and fundraising for a cause
- Mask Campaign – Advocacy for fair pay during the pandemic
- Awards & Recognition – Including Stiftung Brücke, BMW Foundation, Schmidt Foundation
These moments may seem small on their own – but together, they’ve shaped our journey, inspired our team, and expanded our impact.