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Enterprise, Employment and Empowerment in India

 

Sarah Lee working with a women's group Sarah Lee spent two years as a Skillshare International development worker in India and Nepal. She worked with traditional artisans, community groups and local partners, providing training and support in order to help them to develop the skills they need to run viable businesses and access new markets for products at local, regional or international level.

 

Sarah started her placement after completing a Masters Degree in Textile Design at Chelsea College of Art and Design in London. During her studies she researched how design, creativity and business enterprise can be used within sustainable development projects and was able to put some of her research findings into place during her work with Skillshare international.

 

Artisanal craft work produced by Poonkodi's groupThe craft sector in India is the second largest employer of rural men and women, next only to agriculture. However, traditional craft production remains at the bottom of the value chain, outside of social security mechanisms and vulnerable to labour exploitation and economic instability. During Sarah’s placement she initiated and supported the development of a social enterprise project called Chidiya, to market the beaded jewellery products made by the local Narikuravar gypsies. The project developed the skills and capacity of the artisans and grouped them together into a small production team. Through product development and marketing promotion support the artisans gained access to wider domestic and international markets, providing them with increased employment opportyunities and empowerment.

 

Sarah says “We raised funds to start a small production centre within the village and orders started coming in. At the beginning of 2010, they had their 5th repeat order from a US buyer which is fantastic and the profit is used for social development activities within the commuinty and to grow the business. The piece rate for each product is decided by the group and one artisan, Poonkodi, was recently able to use the wages she received to pay for travel and medical expenses when her husband had a heart attack. Without this extra income he probably wouldn’t have received the medical attention he needed.”

 

Poonkodi with her colleaguesPoonkodi (wearing red in the photo) is around 45 years old, married with three children. She is illiterate and in good health but her husband is very sick. She is one of the 10 production team members of Chidiya who Sarah worked with and comments “The Chidiya group members have been provided ID cards and a work contract which makes me feel proud and happy that my craft skill is now being recognised. I wish for more orders to come to Chidiya. I enjoy working with the Chidiya team and the wages are good. If all my work comes through Chidiya I will no longer be reliant upon high interest loans and won’t have the men coming to my house late at night to take away my possessions if I cannot afford to meet the repayment. It scares my children when they do this.”