High temperatures and humidity have been features of the conference so far, which means much of the time is spent thinking I’m going to melt. But my little metal cup for water, (we were all given one at the opening of the event) has been incredibly well used. I carry it everywhere and so far have succeeded in keeping myself hydrated.
I’m feeling much better today though as I’m wearing some loose-fitted light cotton clothing that I bought yesterday at the Sadhna shop. They sell everything from saris to cushion covers to Christmas decorations. Beautiful garments and accessories come in every colour you can think of from salmon pinks to vivid mustards, with intricate appliqué and embroidery. And everything is incredibly good value.
Riot of colour inside the Sadhna shop
But the best thing about this shop is that it is a social enterprise (although I haven’t heard anyone refer to the company this way) employing around 625 women in the Udaipur area. The items are sown by machinists in the city and groups of women in surrounding areas complete the beautiful hand-stitching. Profits from the business are put back into community development, and the company is Fairtrade registered.
I had the great privilege today of visiting one of the villages where this work takes place, as well as the production building where the women sew, iron, pack and generally take care of business.
In the village we visited, 54 women are employed by Sadhna, and I reckon more than half of them joined us to share their work and cup of chai, to answer our questions and to ask us to sing! It was a wonderful scene to see so many women together sewing and chatting in their brightly coloured saris and to share a cup of tea with them.
Women stitch as they tell us about their work with Sadhna
One of our group, Janelle from Australia, works with indigenous women there to make jewellery from beads. There was great curiosity and praise for the beautiful samples that she’d brought.
There is a group leader for every 15 or so women who coordinate their work, by travelling to Udaipur, completing a sample and then taking it back to the village to teach her group. The group leader then returns the work to the production office when it is complete.
The women not only receive a wage for their work, but also a pension, health insurance and regular eye checks. They can also apply for a loan from Sadhna. And the organisation tries to help them with problems they might be facing, including family issues.
Before they begin their work they are given three months training. Some become very skilled, others less so, and some struggle. But those who struggle are given more training to help them build up the quality of their work. On completion of their training all the women are given the tools they need to carry out their work.
The women do their work in between their household chores. Before being employed with Sadhna they were doing manual labour on farms and so on. At first some of their husbands did not want them to work – in fact one man threw his wife’s work down the well – but now they see that it is a good wage and that working with Sadhna is worthwhile and satisfying employment.
Around 10 to 20 percent of women leave every year for a variety of reasons including marriage, migration and ill-health. But now Sadhna is so well known and respected there is always a waiting list of women ready to take their place. Women from the city, or better off women, also want to do the hand stitching, but Sadhna is committed to working with the poor.
Some of the women attend exhibitions and trade shows around India but also in other countries. One of the group we visited had recently been to China, for example. So the project also empowers women to travel beyond their village, region and country.
Cutting the fabric ready for applique work in Sadhna's production space in Udaipur
Sadhna is a very successful business, growing enormously since their start in 1988 with just 15 women. One of their amazing sari designs won a UNESCO award and over 50 percent of their product goes to an Indian chain with 90 outlets called Fab India. But Sadhna need to grow their markets to ensure that there is sufficient work for all the women. Our guide at the production office said that now the women are so good at their job they want more and more work!
I am so enthused by this inspiring and economically successful project that I could probably go on and on and write a series of blogs!
If you visit the Sadhna website you can see the work that the women do and learn more about the project. Look out for a feature on the project hopefully coming to the Rural Network website soon, as well as photos from the visit.
And if you run a crafts or Fairtrade shop and would be interested in building a relationship with Sadhna, get in touch with Madhu at sadhna@sadhna.org or by calling 0294 – 2454655.
