Interview by Nisha Dhawan
Today, we are in conversation with Mr Sambhav Raj, the founder of Crenulate, a social enterprise working to empower visually impaired individuals. Behind Crenulate, there is a group of dedicated volunteers who skill visually impaired individuals in book binding and designing diaries and notebooks.
Hi Sambhav! Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. Could you please introduce yourself to the readers of Indspire me?
Hi! I am Sambhav, an Economics graduate from SRCC, currently heading retail marketing at Nicobar (part of Eicher Good Earth). I am a creative individual with a logical bent of mind. I am against the concept of charity but I love to make a difference with social entrepreneurship, aiming to utilize my skills to empower those in need.
What is Crenulate all about? The name is very unique. What is the meaning behind it?
Crenulated means irregular. Blind-sided by society, visually impaired individuals live the word; irregular experiences and memories, irregular bonding and belonging, irregular opportunity and reward.
While some cry foul, we turn the word’s significance on its head.
Crenulated means the beautifully symmetric wavy outline of leaves. We strive to endow the singular experiences of these kids with beautiful uniqueness, an untarnished sense of belonging, security and self-worth by involving them in productive activity, while simultaneously making the world an easier place for them to live by creating awareness.
The Blind Bind Book is a diary notebook, the binding of which is done by hand by visually impaired individuals. This charming notebook makes for an everyday diary to sketch and scribble.
How did you come up with the idea of starting The Blind Bind Book?
The Blind Bind Book came about as a culmination of a few things brought together to solve multiple problems. The dual objective was to, one, empower visually impaired individuals, keeping in mind their abilities and second, to create awareness about the Braille language. Of course, the product is utility centric that can be used to sketch and scribble for anyone and as a bonus carries the bigger purpose.
How has your experience been working with visually impaired individuals? What are some of the misperceptions about them in society?
The visually impaired children enrolled at blind schools undergo various forms of vocational training but rarely do they find a means of regular employment to put these skills to earn a living. Beginning with the binding of these books, these folks can find a way to earn their own living.
My experience was quite enriching in the way that it is hard to imagine the deepest of problems that they face in the simplest of tasks that we as sighted people do.
Lack of awareness of the plight of these folks and of the various means devised to help them lead a self-sufficient life are the root causes of misconceptions.
How has your experience been like selling the products through Instagram thus far?
While the platform is a great medium today to communicate effectively with visuals, I think Instagram is overcrowded with undifferentiated businesses that prevent the larger audiences to be exposed to something like what we do.
What do you need to make Crenulate a success?
Success at Crenulate would mean non-existence of Crenulate.
Empowering the visually impaired to lead a fulfilling life all by themselves, without an intervention like Crenulate will be the real success for the project.
How can people connect with you or reach out to you?
They can connect with me via email at Info.crenulate@gmail.com or via phone at +91-9999900291.
Please share a message with the readers of Indspire Me, who are always looking to follow their passion in life.
If you strongly believe in something, you must take the plunge into it. But remember that patience is the key and your work will take time to produce fruits.
Editor’s Note: If you liked this interview and would like to check out more such awesome goodness, then head on over to our Inspiring Interviews section.
About the Interviewer
Nisha Dhawan is a fashion and English literature student. Her interests lie in fashion , fitness , travel and photography. She is an animal lover who wishes to do something big for the homeless animals in the near future and also has a pet dog named Tyson.
