Isabel Martín was born in Guijuelo, Salamanca, Spain in 1926. She spent her childhood there and decided to train as a nurse. At the age of 18 she joined the Missionaries of Jesus Christ in Javier, Navarre, and in 1955 she was appointed to India. This is where Isabel committed herself to the most vulnerable and excluded. In 1984, Isabel started to visit the women of the Slums in Mumbai, the poorest neighbourhoods in India, and realized everything she could do to support them in a project for a stable livelihood which could allow them to be self-sufficient. This is how Creative Handicrafts, was born in 1985, a success case in Fair Trade, an organization which currently consists of 13 cooperatives where more than 800 women work.

Isabel died on March 17, 2013 in Bombay, India. A group of volunteers from the fair trade cooperative, Creative Handicrafts, who lived with Isabel and shared her passion and dedication decided to start Isabel Martin Foundation.