GSE Alum empowers communities with artisanal crafts and education

Alum Fabiola Lara examines threads with one of the women artisans she works with in Oaxaca, Mexico. 

As an educator, Fabiola Lara, GED’14, knew that when she started her lifestyle brand tlali•pani, she wanted to make learning an integral part of the business. She also aimed to give back to the communities that she partnered with and to the artisans who crafted her products. 

Together she and her co-founder and husband Sabith Khan have accomplished this goal. By working with women-led artisan families and female entrepreneurs in Oaxaca, Mexico, they have been able to educate their consumers on sustainable and ethically sourced products. They have also been able to give back to the artisans themselves by providing guidance and opportunities to share their products on a larger scale. 

Moreover, tlali•pani held awareness trainings in these artisans’ communities addressing the issue of gender-based violence and what they could do to combat it. Lara’s interest in supporting communities through education, especially those in the Global South, was nurtured when she was enrolled in Penn GSE’s International Educational Development Program. 

Read more about Lara’s initiative and other stories in the news briefs section of the Penn GSE Magazine’s Fall/Winter 2023 Issue.