All Socio-economic Activities

Interactive workshop on Importance of Self-Reliance for women…
On the occasion of International Women’s Day…

Self-reliance is crucial for women, both for their economic as well as social empowerment. It enables them to break free from traditional gender roles and gives them confidence & power to resist gender-based violence, prioritize their health, focus on education and careers. Self-reliance is the key to achieve gender-equitable & inclusive society. It helps women to take ...Read More

Sponsoring Compressor Machine for wood & bone carving artisans…
A technology upgradation initiative…

Many grass root artisans still follow outdated& manual production techniques. This results in unnecessary drudgery, low efficiency, fatigue and increased wastages. By minimizing physical toll on artisans, there is an increase in productivity and efficiency. They can produce more goods and services in less time, contributing to economic growth. With saving of time & ener...Read More

Sponsoring fire extinguishers for safer workshop…
An initiative towards artisan health & safety…

Artisan health & safety is often neglected at the grassroots level due to lack of awareness & limited resources. Sometimes, the artisans may not be fully aware of the potential hazards and risks associated with their work, or, due to limited financial resources, safety measures take a back seat. Addressing these challenges requires a multi-faceted approach that invol...Read More

Work sheds for bell making artisans…

Infrastructure plays a crucial role in supporting and enhancing the livelihoods of grassroot artisans. It not only improves their economic prospects but also contributes to social, cultural, and environmental sustainability. Most artisans engaged in traditional handicrafts & micro-scale manufacturing, often have limited resources and minimal access to modern facilities. The...Read More

Candle making workshop for underprivileged youth & women…
A livelihood generation initiative by SETU….

There are many run-away young boys & girls, who can often be seen on the sides of signals and on streets scavenging through disposed-off tires, plastic bottles and other garbage. This is more prominent in bigger cities where the lure of a glamorous life forces many kids to migrate or run from their homes. Most end up in slums. Vocational skills can play a crucial role in...Read More

“Happy Workshop” for empowering the Differently-abled youth…

SETU strives to empower the lives of the differently-abled so as to help them live with dignity and confidence. Vocational training plays a crucial role in empowering special needs youth by skill development, fostering independence, overcoming societal barriers, and promoting social inclusion. By providing opportunities for personal and professional growth, vocational traini...Read More

Embracing World Environment Day 2023 at SETU…

As we commemorate World Environment Day, let's remember that our planet is a precious gift that we must preserve and protect for the sake of generations to come. It's not just about us, but also about the future we leave behind. Involving the future generation is the key to creating a sustainable world. By educating and inspiring our children, we empower them to become guard...Read More

Workshop on World Fair Trade Day – 2023

The theme for World Fair Trade Day 2023 is "Reimagining the Economy: Regenerative Businesses for the Future." This theme highlights the need to shift our economic system towards regenerative and sustainable practices. Fair trade is all about ethics and sustainability and prioritizing People & Planet over selfish Profits. To celebrate the occasion, SETU conducted a Worksh...Read More

Wood carving skill upgradation workshop for women artisans…
On the occasion of International Women’s Day…

Even though SETU works for Women Empowerment & Gender Equity all through the year, we observe International Women’s Day as an opportunity to celebrate the milestones achieved in this direction! There are many crafts in India which are stereotyped as “men’s” crafts, while women are supposed to follow “softer” craft skills. One such craft is the Wood Carving. C...Read More

Computer Literacy Centre for under privileged girls…

After the world emerged from the depths of COVID pandemic, the significance of computer literacy has become more evident than ever before. It has accelerated the transformation of education, making computer literacy indispensable for all. Online classes, digital resources, and collaborative platforms have become the new norm. By equipping underprivileged girls with computer ...Read More

New milestone for blue pottery artisans with advanced machinery…
A capacity building initiative by SETU….

SETU is associated with a no. of pottery artisans, including terracotta & blue pottery. We have helped their crafts to reach international levels by capacity building, quality improvement, design & functionality upgradation, installation of upgraded machinery, integrating new technology, training workshops etc. One of our blue pottery artisans is located in a small v...Read More

Menstrual hygiene awareness workshop with free sanitary napkins distribution…

An important & intrinsic part of our holistic development programs is to focus on health & general well-being of women. Keeping in mind the personal health of women, we conduct health camps & awareness programs from time to time. Despite so many efforts by Government & other women-centric agencies, menstrual hygiene still remains an area of concern amongst poor ...Read More

Unstoppable Women Initiative : A women empowerment campaign in association with NDTV & UBER…

This campaign with SETU has been sponsored by NDTV & UBER. It aims at celebrating the resilience of Unstoppable Women. Issues of commute leave a large number of under-privileged women out of the ambit of skill training as well as employment. Through this campaign, we want to honour the women who are fighting the odds each day, by supporting them with safe and easy travel, w...Read More

A capacity building & technical upgradation initiative by SETU…

Terracotta pottery is one of the oldest traditional crafts all over the world, specially having an enormous cultural significance in India. It is also one of the most sustainable processes. Despite this, most potters are struggling hard to make ends meet due to low income. Market is mostly domestic & local. The product range is traditional, with very less value additions. D...Read More

Menstrual Hygiene Awareness & Sanitary napkins distribution Campaign

SETU is constantly working for the health of poor women in slum areas. We try to spread awareness on menstrual health and hygiene. We also distribute sanitary napkins packets to the needy women free of cost, so that they get used to the comfort and hygiene of using them and later on adopt them as an integral part of their daily lives. After surveying almost 15 slums of Jaipu...Read More

Celebrating World Fair Trade Day -2022 !

On the occasion of World Fair Trade Day, a workshop was conducted at our Jaipur training centre for underprivileged women. Objective of the workshop was to spread awareness about the concept of Fair trade, how it is helping the artisan community to earn fair wages for their craft form & empowering them to carve a life of dignity for themselves. The workshop was attended ...Read More

Beauty Parlor Training course for Underprivileged Women…
A livelihood generation initiative for women…

SETU continually endeavors for holistic development of underprivileged & marginalized women. To achieve women empowerment, it is important to focus on economic independence, literacy and self-confidence of women. We are running several initiatives in the form of Training workshops and awareness programs like tailoring & other handicraft skills’ upgradation, livelihood...Read More

Celebrating International Women’s day, 2022…
Computer Training Center for Blue Pottery Women Artisans

Date: 8th March 2022 Place: Bagru, Rajasthan In today’s world, especially after the pandemic outbreak, everything has become “online”….be it kids’ schooling, shopping, news, entertainment, any type of registration, everything involves the use of technology & internet. And so computer knowledge has become the need of the hour. However, the underprivileged & ...Read More

Free distribution of Grocery & sanitary items…
to the artisan families affected by Covid pandemic…

The second wave of Covid 19 has wreaked havoc in India. The situation has been a deadly nightmare. The whole nation has been affected in one way or the other. Economy suffered huge loss due to the two months lockdown, which is still continuing in many parts of the country. Be it urban or rural areas, the economic activities were hit hard by the pandemic. Many people who had ...Read More

Sponsoring Buffing machines & motors to Wood Carving artisans…
Another capacity building initiative by SETU…

SETU is committed towards the upliftment and development of artisan communities by providing a wide spectrum of help and support; be it infrastructural help, skill upgradation, capacity building, health and safety, social welfare, etc. With continuous training & marketing support from SETU, many artisan groups reach the stage where they need to expand their workshop &...Read More

Providing machinery to the terracotta artisans…
Another capacity building initiative by SETU…

Crafts like terracotta pottery have been taken for granted since ages. Not only the process is full of drudgery, but the net income of artisans is very low. Due to the fragile nature of terracotta and voluminous designs, the sale is limited to local markets only. SETU has upgraded these crafts to international standards and are providing sustainable livelihood to many artisan g...Read More

Providing machinery to paper maché artisans…
A Capacity Building initiative by SETU…

SETU is pledged towards all-round development of the artisan groups, with special focus on capacity building. This involves developing skill sets of artisans, market readiness training, upgrading technology & infrastructure, ensuring health & safety and so on…. One of the major strategies to enhance capacity building & increase self-sustainability of artisans i...Read More

Construction of work sheds for the bell making artisans…
Capacity building initiative by SETU

SETU Society is continually committed for capacity building of their artisans in various spheres. To achieve overall development of the artisans, we organize workshops for their skill development, market readiness, physical wellbeing, awareness on critical issues and many other areas. In addition to this, we also support them by providing infrastructural help as and when needed...Read More

Distributing Drill Machines to the Copper Bell Artisans… A capacity building initiative by SETU…

SETU Society believes in the holistic development of the artisans! Capacity building is of utmost importance when it comes to bracing up the artisans to become self-sustainable. They need to have all the essential tools & machinery and become competitive in terms of design, quality, price & productivity. Many of our talented artisans, engaged in the making of sonorou...Read More

SETU’s humanitarian initiatives in the times of Covid Crisis…
Free distribution of Masks to the underprivileged ..

SETU is committed to provide sustainable livelihood to the artisan & laborer communities by providing them trainings for skill development, thus helping them to earn dignified living. But times have changed due to the current Covid crisis and laborers and artisans’ woes have increased as it has become difficult to go out and work. Many are not even finding daily job oppor...Read More

Free Distribution of Grocery items to artisans in Orissa..

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world picture… it has changed our way of living, our job scenarios and almost everything around us!! Due to this pandemic, people who are worst hit are the ones living below the poverty line, the underprivileged people, daily wage earners & artisans, who are now finding it difficult to even manage their daily bread. For some, it is no...Read More

Covid Relief: Free distribution of essential commodities during Pandemic to Dhokra artisans.. (Orissa)

Place: Villages Navjiwanpur and Sadivareni (District Dhikanal, Orissa), 26 May 2020 The present Covid 19 situation has ruined economies, taken a toll on the whole world and is still showing no signs of slowing down. In India, the daily wage laborers and the migrant laborers are among the worst affected. They have no security and have to earn on a daily basis to fulfill even ...Read More

Hunger Alleviation Food Project

“Pay attention to the hungry, both in this country and around the world. Pay attention to the poor. Pay attention to our responsibilities for world peace…. ” George McGovern The UN data shows that about 815 million people in the entire world live in hunger. Out of these, 200 million people are in India alone! This means about 15% population of India still fights hunger...Read More

International Women’s Day 2020

Even though SETU strives every day to empower women, we love to celebrate International Women’s day! And so, on the occasion of this day, SETU organized a two-day Workshop on Skill & Quality Upgradation for the women artisans of one of our partner artisan groups, V.R.D.I. Trust in Kutch. The group is engaged in making fine quality gloves and masks, hand-tailored out of...Read More

Infrastructure support: A SETU initiative to help the wood carvers

SETU strives to help our partner artisan groups by providing required infrastructural and skill related guidance and support whenever needed. One of our partner artisan groups in Hapur, U.P.is engaged in making beautiful wooden boxes & blocks carved with intricate and delicate designs. The group lacked the necessary infrastructure and was therefore unable to compete in mark...Read More

Awareness Workshop for Designers about Circular Design

The youth of today are going to be the torch bearers for tomorrow! With even a little guidance, they can bring about humongous change for a better world. It is important to invest in educating them and providing them with all possible exposure so that they can innovate and create new opportunities and solutions. Keeping this in mind, a session was organized for the young Design...Read More

Helping the flood victims of Godavari Delta Women Lace Artisans Co-operatve..

A lot of our women artisans, engaged in crotchet work for their livelihood, are based in the West Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. The area is flood prone and every year a large number of families are affected by the devastating floods. Natives are trying to migrate to cities like Hyderabad and Chennai for better employment opportunities. In October 2019, the floods wreake...Read More

Raising awareness about personal hygiene during the menstrual cycle..

Menstruation is a very important part of women’s life and proper information and good hygiene practices are necessary to avoid serious ailments affecting the body. There are many myths associated with the sensitive issue in our country and women specifically from rural areas and economically weaker sections of the society are not aware about the importance of hygiene during t...Read More

Sponsoring machinery for increasing productivity of bone artisans..
Infrastructural support for artisans..

In a bid to improve their skill sets and productivity, SETU is always committed to support the artisans in every possible way. For this, we also conduct workshops and sponsor machinery items as and when required. Our bone artisan group is engaged in making rare and beautiful jewelry & other artifacts' from bones. In the past, the group was facing a pollution problem at t...Read More

Free Eye check-up camp and distribution of spectacles…

SETU is committed to provide access to quality healthcare to its associated artisan groups. To achieve this goal, we conduct health camps at regular intervals. In the series, we organised an eye check-up camp for our partner artisan group, ‘SURE’ , an NGO based in Barmer, Rajasthan. The camp was conducted for a period of four days starting from 24th June to 27th June 2019. ...Read More

Celebrating World Environment Day..
Supporting Green Processes by underprivileged artisan groups..

SETU is committed to support ecofriendly products and processes. For this, we support & encourage artisan groups to manufacture products using recyclable & sustainable raw materials and thus contribute towards reducing our carbon footprints. One such group is a women’s Self Help Group based near Bharatpur, Rajasthan. SETU has trained these women to create beautiful...Read More

Installation of saw-dust control systems for wood carving artisans..
Another initiative towards ensuring artisan health & safety..

SETU is committed to improve the working conditions and processes of our partner artisans. Ensuring artisan health & safety is one of our primary objectives. And for this, we schedule regular team visits to our associated groups. Last year, in the month of December-18, SETU team (including our CEO Rashmi Dhariwal) visited one of our partner artisan groups engaged in maki...Read More

Infrastructural support to the wood carving artisans..

s part of the artisan development program, SETU team visited our wood carving partner artisan group based near Bijnor, (U.P.) in the month of December 2018. The group is associated with us since many years and is engaged in making hand carved wooden products. Earlier, we had conducted skill upgradation workshop for the young artisans of the group, thus helping them becoming sel...Read More

Providing Infrastructural support to the wood carving artisans..

With an objective to support the underprivileged artisan groups by providing them with required infrastructure & reduce artisan drudgery, SETU team had visited its wood carving artisan group based inU.P. in April 2018. Upon interacting with artisans & assessing the work place, it was found that artisans lacked the basic infrastructure like work shed, machinery & ...Read More

Celebrating International Women’s Day..

With an objective to create awareness and educate the rural women artisans about the sensitive issue of keeping personal hygiene during the monthly menstrual cycle, an awareness workshop was organized by SETU Society on the apt occasion of women’s day. The topic is very sensitive in Indian society and equally important like any other women related issue, be it women’s educ...Read More

Awareness workshop for Designers towards achieving sustainability

To bring about a positive change in the Society for long term, involvement of the youth & upcoming generation is very important. These are the future torch bearers and can contribute towards the betterment of people & planet in a revolutionary way, if guided along with their education years. Designers can play a very important role in our society. And so, to address ...Read More

Providing machinery support to the jewelry making artisans, thus increasing their productivity & quality..

The craftsmanship of Indian artisans in making beautiful pieces of jewelry is acknowledged worldwide. Also, because Indian men and women are so fond of adorning themselves with ornaments which makes the art of jewelry designing and producing, our forte. The artisans engaged in the production of silver jewelry belong majorly to west Bengal. With the changing scenario in modern t...Read More

Tailoring centre for underprivileged women artisans..
Another step towards promoting self-sustainability…

With the objective of providing self-employment opportunities to the underprivileged women artisans, a training centre was started at the Sanjay Nagar slum area of Jaipur, about 4 months back. A lot of women here have already learnt various skills & are able to produce bags, buntings and a range of other home decor items. Looking at the interest of many women & to add m...Read More

Providing Infrastructural aid to Jewellery making Artisan Group…

SETU works with a number of artisan groups based in diverse parts of the country. Many of the artisans working in these groups come from lower income strata of the society and need help and support in a range of issues related to their work and family. One such artisan group, based in Wazirabad, is working with us for the last five years. The female artisans are skilled in doi...Read More

SETU Training Centre for underprivileged women artisans

SETU has been working towards the development of skill sets among the women artisans, thus empowering them to create a sustainable and dignified living for themselves. With this objective, a training center was started in the urban slum areas of Jaipur on 17th of October 2018. The objective of starting the center in the slum area came out of the idea that majority of the wom...Read More

Workshop on World Fair Trade day

On the occasion of world Fair Trade day, SETU conducted a workshop spreading awareness about the concept of Fair Trade and its importance in today’s world. The session was organized at Chomu village, Jaipur, Rajasthan. The program started with an introduction on the basic Fair Trade model of doing business. How it is an artisan friendly concept and what are its implication...Read More

Skill up gradation workshop for silver jewellery artisans

With an objective to constantly upgrade the skill sets of artisans, Kallista designs in association with SETU Society, organised a skill up-gradation workshop for the silver jewelry artisans at Jaipur. These artisans are working with us since a long time and we have supported them in multiple ways, like: by providing monetary help in purchasing raw material for jewellery, by...Read More

International Women’s Day at SETU In 2018

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, SETU organized a five-days’ workshop on Product Design and Skill upgradation for women artisans at Chohtan village near Barmer, Rajasthan. The workshop was conducted from 8th March to 13th March, in association with our partner artisan group SURE . A total of 40 women from the nearby villages of Navatala, Binjrad and Bidhani att...Read More

Infrastructural Aid to Blue Pottery Artisans…
Reducing artisan drudgery , improving work & process efficiencies

One of the major objective of SETU’s work spectrum is to help artisans improve their working conditions & work processes. The main motive is also to reduce human drudgery, & improve process efficiencies. There is also a need to optimize raw material & fuel consumptions & improve quality. These parameters are important to achieve all 3 aspects of sustainability...Read More

Providing advanced machinery & fostering Market Readiness… an endeavor of SETU/ Kallista to uplift the Silver Jewelry artisans..

Since ages, different forms of craft work have been practiced in India and widely appreciated across borders. This is true for Indian silver jewelry & artifacts as well.. Indian men and women have an unmatched inclination towards gold and silver jewelry. Gold & silver are also passed on from generation to generation as heirloom collection! However, with the changing ...Read More

Livelihood Training Workshop for the women Artisans..

Women empowerment is one of the foremost objectives of SETU. Making women literate & financially independent are the two main pillars that make them empowered in real sense. To achieve the mission, SETU has been running a literacy centre at Govind Garh, Rajasthan for the illiterate women in that locality. To take the women towards the next step of self-reliance, SETU con...Read More

Providing quality healthcare services to the artisans ..
Health is their most precious asset!

Health and Eye checkup Camp & distribution of spectacles for the wood carving artisans. Date: 24th September, 2017 SETU strives towards making healthcare accessible to the artisans and in this effort, regularly conducts health camps for the under-privileged artisan groups associated with us. In the series, a full-day health and eye checkup camp was organized for the woo...Read More

Literacy Programme for the uneducated women artisans… (SETU’s 6th literacy centre,Another women empowerment initiative..)

With the objective to increase literacy rate amongst the artisan community, specifically the women artisans, literacy programmes are being continuously designed and implemented by SETU Society. In the series, Literacy classes were organised for the uneducated women artisans of Govind Garh, Rajasthan. This is a small village, about 60 kms from Jaipur. This is the 6th literacy...Read More

Product Design and development Workshop for the Paper-Mache Artisans, Srinagar(J&K)

A Product designing and skill development workshop was organized for our Paper Mache artisans, based at Srinagar, Kashmir. The Group is engaged in making beautiful and unique artifacts from recycled paper, which are then hand painted in fine traditional & modern designs. The objective of the one month long training program was to engage underprivileged women in the craft...Read More

Celebrating World Fair Trade Day..

World Fair Trade Day takes place on the second Saturday of May each year to bring together the fair trade movement in a global day of activation for real change. It is an inclusive worldwide festival of events celebrating fair trade’s contribution to the fight against poverty, exploitation, and climate change. To celebrate the day, SETU organized an awareness workshop to i...Read More

Free Eye Check-up Camp and distribution of spectacles..

To make healthcare accessible to the underprivileged artisan groups, SETU organised a seven day long Free Eye Check up Camp for the artisans of our Godavari Women Lace Artisans Co-op Society (GWLACC) based in Narsapur, Andhra Pradesh. The venue for the camp was Vijaylakshmi Eye Hospital, Narsapur. The artisan group is associated with SETU for many years and makes unique croc...Read More

Celebrating World Earth Day at SETU..

Earth Day is observed every year on April 22nd worldwide. Various events are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, more than 193 countries are now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network. At SETU, we celebrated the day in association with one of our partner artisan groups engaged in hand printing & dyeing work. The grou...Read More

Tailoring Centre for the women artisans

To achieve the long term objective of empowering the women artisans by making them proficient in skill based work, SETU opened a tailoring centre at Malikpur Dhani. The women artisans are associated with SETU for the past many years and earlier have also been part of our learning initiatives project for the elderly, where the women have successfully learnt how to read & wri...Read More

International Women’s Day at SETU

One of SETU’s biggest mission is to strive for women empowerment. To achieve this objective, we at SETU are constantly working towards introducing the women artisans to skill based employment avenues so that they can support their families financially and thus have an equal say in the society. To increase awareness on the subject, on the occasion of women’s day, a workshop ...Read More

Design and Skill Upgradation Workshop for the tribal artisans of Odisha..

In the present times, a lot of the illiterate youth is moving to urban areas in search of employment and many end up living a life in slums, frustration & crime. Being unskilled, they do not have interest in practicing the traditional craft forms and thus they do not have any direction as to how to earn a decent livelihood and live a respectful life. There are a few tribal ...Read More

Celebrating Fair Trade Month at SETU…

The month of October is celebrated worldwide by Fair Traders as the Fair Trade Month. SETU always tries to conduct some special & meaningful activity to mark the occasion. This time we conducted a series of skill development training programs for our underprivileged women artisans engaged in making upcycled products. The week long Training Program started from 16th of Oc...Read More

Establishing two new Education centres for the illiterate women artisans..

SETU works for the upliftment and holistic empowerment of the underprivileged and downtrodden sections of the society, focussing especially on the disadvantaged women artisans. Many women have to deal with poverty and social stigma, and are still unable to break the vicious cycle as they are illiterate and lack awareness about their rights and options. SETU develops vocation...Read More

Installing Dust control systems for the jewellery making artisans.. Ensuring artisan health & safety..

At SETU, we believe in ensuring a safe, healthy and eco-friendly working environment for our partner artisans. This is very essential as the quality of environment in which the artisans work, directly & indirectly impacts their health. The craft work sometimes create dust and smoke that may have an adverse affect on the health of the artisans. Similar scenario was observ...Read More

Skill Up-gradation & Training Workshop on Batik hand printing for the underprivileged women artisans of Bhuj..

With an objective of upgrading the skills of artisans, specially underprivileged women, so as to enable them earn sustainable livelihood for themselves, a workshop for a duration of one month is being conducted by SETU, starting from 15th of july 2016 at Mandavi Bhuj. The beneficiaries of the training Programme are women artisans engaged in making Bandhani crafts . These artisa...Read More

Providing Infrastructural aid to the copper Bell Making artisans in Kutch..

In addition to the socio-economic aspects, SETU also strives to ensure healthy & comfortable working conditions for the artisans. A lot of artisans still endure harsh working conditions due to lack of suitable resources and infrastructure. With our process of need identification, regular visits and continuous interaction with artisans, SETU tries to identify such deficienci...Read More

Tailoring and Designing skills workshop for underprivileged women..

With a view to promote sustainable livelihood opportunities, SETU conducted a 15 day long tailoring and designing workshop for the underprivileged women at Wazirabad. The training programme started on 5th of May and continued till 20th May 2016. The women involved belonged mostly to minority communities with male dominating environment. Many of the participating girls and wo...Read More

Community Mobilization and Environmental Awareness Program on the Occasion of World Earth Day..

Earth Day is celebrated annually on April 22. On this day, events are held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It was first celebrated in the year 1970, and is now observed in more than 193 countries every year. SETU marked the occasion by conducting a Community mobilization and Environmental Awareness Program on this day. The venue selected for th...Read More

Free Eye Check-up Camp and distribution of eye-glasses for the jewellery making artisans..

SETU organised a three day long, free eye check up camp for the jewellery making artisans. Based at New Delhi, the artisan community is specially deft in fine carving skills in bone & metal. Jewellery making is the main source of livelihood for them. They have been associated with SETU for the past many years. Jewellery making is a craft which requires attention to minute ...Read More

Women Empowerment initiative – Providing Livelihood skills to the underprivileged women, at Milakpur Dhani & Kaladera, Chomu..

To achieve women empowerment in the true sense, women need to be equipped with 2 main things: basic education & financial self-sustainability. There are many underprivileged women who are not only illiterate, but also do not have any livelihood skills. Such women lack self-confidence and are usually the most prone to social exploitation and male dominance, with little or no...Read More

Workshop on women’s rights & Free distribution of Solar Lanterns…

International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8 every year. SETU celebrated the occasion with the underprivileged women artisan community of Barmer, Rajasthan engaged in embroidery and appliqué work. SETU is associated with the artisan community since past many years. The artisans of the region are facing an acute shortage of electricity which is hampering their qualit...Read More

Livelihood Training Program for the women from Tailoring community

SETU carries out skill based community development programs and workshops for the artisan community on a timely basis. These skill based programs help the artisans in shaping their skills and exploring new avenues of employment. The programs are specially designed for the women artisans so that they can be breadwinners for their families or contribute to the family income. In ...Read More

Training Workshop for teachers at Women Literacy centres of Gajsingh Pura, Milakpur Dhani & Kaladera, Chomu, Jaipur, Rajasthan..

With it’s long term objective to make the artisans and their families educated, specially women, SETU has been running 3 literacy programmes. These have been specially designed for the illiterate women from the artisan communities. Two centres were started in November 2014 ; at Gajsingh Pura, and Kaladera, near Jaipur, Rajasthan. Besides providing primary education to the art...Read More

Education Centre at Milakpur Dhani for the women artisans

With the objective of making underprivileged women self sustainable and spreading awareness on the importance of education, SETU has been running 2 education centres for the women, especially focussing on adult education i.e., providing education to the illiterate women in the age group of 18- 50 years. Both the centres have been successfully running since over a year and the p...Read More

Skill Development Workshop on Soy candle making for the Differently Abled Artisans

SETU believes in self sustainable growth of the artisan community and provides self employment opportunities to the underprivileged and downtrodden sections of the society. Handmade products have a large potential, requires less investment and offers infinite self employment as well as job opportunities. Special needs people with disabilities and persons with weak mental str...Read More

Fair Trade Awareness Workshop.. Celebrating Fair Trade Month.. :)

Every year, the month of October is celebrated as the Fair Trade Month.. It’s an extremely special time of the year when Fair Traders across the globe carry out activities to mark the occasion. To observe the day, SETU organised a Fair Trade awareness workshop at a women’s self help group in the slums of Jaipur, Rajasthan. The group comprises of women artisans who belong...Read More

Ensuring safe & healthy working conditions for our bell making artisans in Kutch..

Sponsoring of technically upgraded furnaces SETU works with numerous bell making artisans, which is their traditional craft and the sole source of livelihood generation. They have been practising this craft from ages. They make beautiful and sonorous bells that form an important part of our product line. The traditional craft of bell making is a highly skilled & complex...Read More

Fair Trade breaks poverty

1 October 2015 (Culemborg) – Fair Trade breaks the chain of poverty. Fair traders around the world, together with small producers and backed by consumers, are breaking the chains of poverty. Fair Trade is growing and that is our proof that we are gaining our fight against extreme poverty. The WFTO membership count doubled from 155 Fair Trade organisations in 2005 to 355 in...Read More

Computer Training Centre for our wood carving artisans & their families..

Making Computer Education accessible to the artisans.. SETU focuses on the overall development of artisan groups and organizes a wide spectrum of need based development programs on a regular basis. One of the long term objectives of SETU is to make computer education accessible to the artisan groups & their families residing in remote village areas. Evidently, in today’s ...Read More

Spreading the word about Fair Trade

SETU tries to spread awareness about Fair Trade and how it can be a powerful tool for eradicating poverty and achieving sustainability. When SETU was featured in the June-22 edition of the magazine SwiftNLift, we made sure to update them about what Fair Trade is and its benefits. And as a result, their Chief Editor made a special mention on Fair Trade in the “From the Editor...Read More

Eye Check up camp for the crochet lace artisans..

SETU organized a four day free health and eye check up camp starting from 18th to 21st September in association with our partner artisan group Godavari Delta Lace Women’s Cooperative based at Narsapur village in Andhra Pradesh. The women artisans here make beautiful crochet lace products. However , due to the skewed demand-supply ratio, the artisans find it difficult to sell ...Read More

Computer Training Programme for the artisans..

Distribution of certificates to the participants by SETU To ensure all round development of the artisans, SETU had started a computer training project in the year 2014 to provide technical education to the artisans & their families at our partner NGO, SURE, based at Binjrad village of the Barmer district of Rajasthan. This small village is located at a distance of 75 kms...Read More

Educating Women and promoting girl child education..

Higher Education Programme for underprivileged girls belonging to weak financial background… With the overwhelming success of the various literacy programmes for women running from over a year, SETU has started a new education incentive programme specially designed for the underprivileged girls. The programme has been named “Higher Education Scheme for girls”. The p...Read More

Illuminating lives of Paper mache artisans of Kashmir..
Installation of solar Battery backup for the artisans..

In the scenic landscape of Kashmir, one of the traditional craft forms practiced widely is Papermache, that comprises of making beautiful and functional products by recycling of paper. The craft form is the sole source of income for many of the artisan families in the valley. As known to all, the region recently faced devastation caused by the floods in the past months and...Read More

Awareness Workshop on eradication of Child Labour

SETU regularly organizes workshops to spread awareness on issues of social concern and artisan’s welfare. In the series, workshop on eradication of child labour and protection of child rights was organised on the occasion of ‘World Day against Child Labour’. The programme was conducted for our jewelry making artisans at New Delhi. World Day against Child Labour is an...Read More

10-day Workshop on Jewellery designing & skill upgradation for artisans

SETU organized a 10-day skill-upgradation workshop in association with SETU’s partner artisan group ‘Anwesha’, based in Orissa. Anwesha is a non-profit organization working for the underprivileged artisans in rural and tribal backgrounds. SETU supports the artisan group by providing them with international marketing platform to sell their products. The underlying objec...Read More

Celebrating World Fair Trade day at SETU

Awareness campaign on Fair Trade The World Fair Trade Day is an initiative of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) that takes place on the second Saturday of May every year. It is an inclusive worldwide festival of events celebrating Fair Trade as a powerful means of socio-economic transformation for the world’s most vulnerable population. SETU observed the World Fa...Read More

Celebrating International Labour day at SETU

Awareness workshop addressing labour rights International Workers’ Day, also known as Labour Day in some places, is a celebration in the honour of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every year on 1st of May. SETU observed the occasion by organising an awareness workshop discussing the origins of the day and...Read More

Evening literacy classes for underprivileged women artisans

SETU endeavours organising of development & growth oriented workshops and programs for the sustainable and overall development of the artisan groups. In the series, evening literacy classes were organized for the underprivileged women artisans of Gajsingh Pura, Jaipur. These women belong to the tailoring & construction labor community. Some women do tailoring whereas...Read More

Educating the masses: Literacy Programme for tassel making women artisans & their families

To achieve it’s long term objective of sustainable artisan development, SETU has taken one step forward by initiating education of the artisans & their families. We believe that by getting educated, the artisans would be able to endow themselves a better life.. With this view, literacy classes were organised for the artisans and their children at Kaladera, Chomu, Jaipur. ...Read More

Skill up-gradation workshop for the wood carving artisans

Artisans need to hone and up-grade their skills from time to time to keep up with these competitive times where the customers need new and innovative designs & products every day! Keeping this in mind, SETU organized a 10-days skill up-gradation workshop for our wood carving artisans, between the period of 2nd March to 12th March 2015 at Kajiwala village in U.P. The work...Read More

Free eye and health checkup camp for Wood Craft artisans

Setu Society keeps on organizing health camps and skill development workshops for its partner artisan groups so that they can have access to better health amenities, education prospects and self sustainable employment opportunities.. In the series, a free eye and health checkup camp for our wood carving partner artisan group HSS was organized by SETU on the 4th of March 2015, i...Read More

Fair Trade Promotion Workshop for the educated youth : The torch bearers for tomorrow…

The educated youth of today will be the torch bearers for tomorrow..and will lead forward the Fair Trade movement for a better society! With this view in mind, SETU organised a one day workshop on 7th January for spreading awareness on Fair Trade principles for the students of following renowned universities: • American Management students from Fordham University, USA •...Read More

Spreading the word Fair Trade.. Celebrating World Fair Trade Month!

Place- Indian Institute of Craft & design, Jaipur (Raj.) Date- October 15, 2014 To mark the ocassion of World Fair Trade month, a workshop spreading awareness on the concept of Fair Trade was organised at Indian Institute Of Craft & Design (IICD), Jaipur (Rajasthan) on October 15, 2014. IICD is one of the top most renowned Design Institutes in India and focuses prim...Read More

Workshop generating awareness on child labour

SETU organized a workshop for spreading awareness on the burning issue of child labour, especially in the craft sector of making lacquer products, at one of our partner artisan groups on 28th September in Jaipur (Rajasthan). This group is engaged in making lacquer products and makes beautiful artefacts & jewelry. The workshop was considered necessary for the artisans & ...Read More

Tailoring Centres in Narsapur district of Andhra Pradesh for the crochet lace artisans, specially the HIV affected and their families..

In our mission to promote economic independence for underprivileged women artisans, SETU has come up with two training centres for tailoring in remote villages of Narsapur district in Andhra Pradesh. Training centres have been established in the two villages (one center in each village) of Narsapur district viz Mogultur and Appanarmunilanka. Our crochet lace women artisans live...Read More

Workshop to develop tailoring skills in underprivileged women artisans

SETU constantly endeavours for women empowerment by way of developing livelihood generating skills, so that the women can become economically independent and can also contribute to their family income. In the series, a fifteen day long tailoring workshop, with the motive of inculcating stitching/tailoring skills in the poor women artisans coming from the underprivileged and dow...Read More

World Environment day at SETU

June 5 is celebrated globally as World Environment Day. To mark the green occasion, SETU organised a tree plantation and environment protection awareness campaign at Kailash puri, Gajsingh pura, Ajmer road Jaipur, Rajasthan. The theme for this year’s WED campaign at SETU was “Green and healthy surroundings- Our responsibility” SETU is associated with tailoring artisans...Read More

Pledge to support Fair trade… Signature Campaign

On the occasion of World Fair Trade Day on 10th May 2014, a signature Campaign was carried out jointly by SETU Society & city based prominent NGOs as well as FTF-I members namely Jan Kala Sahitya Manch and Nav Srijan Societies at City Palace and Jantar Mantar Jaipur, Rajasthan. The campaign started at 10 in the morning and continued till 2′O clock in the evening. Membe...Read More

Block Printing Workshop for the special needs people

In its constant efforts to support the differently-abled, SETU organised a training workshop on Block printing for the special needs people at Very Special Arts, New Delhi on 2nd May 2014. This was second in the series of these training workshops to be organised here. Earlier in 2013, similar session was conducted at VSA who is our partner artisan group since many years. VSA is...Read More

Block Printing Workshop

To generate awareness on the history, hard work, techniques and intricacies involved in producing various types of block prints, a three day workshop was organised by Shilpi handicrafts at Jawahar kala Kendra, Jaipur. The event was inaugaurated by our very own team head Ms. Rashmi Dhariwal. It span over a period of three days from 14th to 16th april 2014. Block printing arti...Read More

Skill Development Programme for livelihood generation for women (8th March 2014)

Locality: Mazdoor Nagar Basti, Jaipur (8th March 2014) In continuation with the series of livelihood generation programmes for women coming from the underprivileged and downtrodden sections of the society, SETU organized a training workshop for women residing in the slum areas of Mazdoor Nagar Basti, Jaipur, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, 8th March 2014. Ma...Read More

“Imparting Computer Training to the Artisans” On route to being tech savvy…

SETU is associated with many women artisans doing appliqué and embroidery works, braving poverty as well as the harsh conditions of the Thar Desert region in west Rajasthan. Opportunities for livelihood and development are low. SETU tries to make them self-sustainable by partnering with them and helping them to develop new products & providing marketing platform for the pr...Read More

Providing modern furnaces to the copper bell artisans of Bhuj, Kutchh.. ensuring artisan health and safety..

Bell making is a traditional craft of the Muslim Luhar community residing in the Kutchh region of India. The art form is the sole source of income for the majority of the local population here. The work is carried out by the entire family involving women artisans also. In order to make these artisans self sustainable and to provide them a market platform , SETU has partnered...Read More

Training Workshop providing livelihood opportunities to Women

With an underlying motive of increasing livelihood opportunities available to poor women homemakers, a training workshop was organised by SETU Society on 6th September 2013 at Shaktinagar (Nivar road) Jaipur. The basic thought behind carrying out the workshop was to help women in contributing towards the family income by making them learn the art of jewelry making & simple ...Read More

Workshop generating awareness on Sanitation practices

Venue: Hasanpura slums, Jaipur (Rajsthan) “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”, an age old idiom still holds significant meaning in today’s times. To spread awareness about Sanitation practices among the underprivileged and marginalized sections of the society, residing in urban slum areas, an awareness workshop was organized by SETU Society for Empowerment and Trade Upl...Read More

Livelihood generation workshop for women (30th July 2013)

(30th July 2013) SETU Society is actively working to provide livelihood alternatives to the underprivileged and downtrodden sections of the society. In one such endeavor, a training workshop was organized for the women residents of the urban slums at Govind Nagar , Jaipur (Rajasthan). The women folks here come from low income groups and are not educated enough to get decent ...Read More

Free Health and Eye Check-up Camp for Wood Carving Artisans

Place: Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh Date: July 24th, 2013 For any artisan, the physical well being is of utmost importance. Their work involves a lot of physical labor and is largely dependent on their state of health, specially the accuracy of their vision! Ironically, due to lack of awareness and struggling financial condition, most artisans keep their health at almost the last ...Read More

SETU helps flood victims of Godavari, Andhra Pradesh

In the year 2013, Andhra Pradesh witnessed heavy incessant rains in many parts of the state .One of our partner artisan groups,crotchet lace making women artisans; are based in Narsapur, a tiny township in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. Consistent rains across the state led to drastic floods in the Godavari river. Our artisans went through a tough time as they fo...Read More

Sponsoring Education for artisans and their children

A lot of the jewelry making artisans associated with SETU are young girls who are either uneducated or are school drop outs. They live in the narrow streets of congested old Delhi and are mostly from poor Muslim families. Many had to leave school in between due to various constraints like lack of financial support, social taboos, lack of awareness etc. As they grow up and g...Read More

Empowering women..

Livelihood Promotion Workshop Venue: Sanjay Nagar (Chitrakoot), Jaipur Date: November 23-24, 2012 Every woman can play an important role in the development of the family if she is provided with awareness & training and given the necessary freedom. SETU has been focusing on livelihood generation initiatives for the women dwelling in poor slum areas of the city. Lot...Read More

Million Litre Water Saving Project

We are associated with artisans engaged in hand block printing of cotton fabric, especially in the desert areas of Rajasthan. This is their traditional art followed from generations and is their main source for livelihood. During printing of the fabric, ample quantity of water is being used & wasted depending upon the volumes. ( 5 ~20 million liters/ annum). This is a wasta...Read More

Quality Improvement Workshop At Bagru

Venue: Bagru, Jaipur, Rajasthan. (July 26, 2012) SETU team visited block printing unit at Bagru to review the quality of material being produced. In addition, the motive was to educate artisans regarding international quality standards. We interacted with the grass root artisans at their workplace, tried to understand their problems, analyze their working procedures & t...Read More

Quality Improvement Workshop at Tilonia

Venue: Tilonia, Rajasthan (July 19, 2012) SETU conducted a workshop with the artisans in village Tilonia to address the quality issues that the artisans were facing from quite some time. The artisans make beddings & other home decor products for us. So SETU organized a Quality Improvement Workshop for them. Ms. Raj Kanwar & Ms. Ganeshi Bai (senior quality checker...Read More

Skill Upgradation Workshop with Wood Carving Artisans

Venue: Bijnor, U.P. (June 13- July 2, 2012) The art of wood carving is prevalent from ancient years. Passed down from generation to generation, this traditional skill provides livelihood to countless no. of artisans & their families. However, with time it is being observed that the percentage of older people practicing this craft is increasing. Ageing & failing h...Read More

Ensuring Healthy Work Place For Jewelry Making Artisans

SETU works with many jewelry making artisans, working with sustainable materials like metals, wood, glass, natural seeds, bone, tree resins etc.A large no. of items go through electroplating process. Electroplating is quick and easy process for imparting illuminating fine finish to jewelry. This process can however release acid fumes and may be harmful to artisans if not taken ...Read More

Capacity Building And Export Market Readiness Training Workshop at ‘Mahila Bunkar Sahakari Samiti’

Venue: MBSS Surajpur, Uttar Pradesh (29-30 March 2012) SETU organized a two-day training & development workshop for our handloom weavers of Mahila Bunkar Sahakari Samiti on 29th & 30th march 2012 at Surajpur, (U.P.)., for Capacity Building & Readiness for Export Market. MBSS is a co-operative group of artisans who create some of our beautiful home décor item...Read More

National Awareness for Plantation Campaign 2011-2012

Venue: Vikrampur Vilage, Gwalior (March 12, 2012) SETU organized a campaign on “National Awareness for plantation & Importance of saving the Trees/ Forests” at ‘Vikrampur’, a local village near the city, in association with EPCO. The event was set up with an objective to enlighten the local population about global warming, how important the trees are to us, t...Read More

Campaign on right disposal of household garbage and keeping the surroundings clean: ‘Solid Waste Management’

(Date: March 5, 2012) Venue: Chuk Phatak, Tekanpur, Gwalior SETU in association with the Environmental Planning & Coordination Organization (EPCO) organized a campaign on “Right disposal of household garbage and keeping the surroundings clean and hygienic)” at ‘Chuk Phatak,Tekanpur’, a local area in the city. The campaign was set up with an objective of enlig...Read More

Save the Water & Save the Trees / Forests

A campaign on “Save the water & Save the trees” was organised at ‘Jakhara, Morar’ a local area in the city on Feb 28, 2012. It has been known that contaminated water is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily. An estimated 700 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet, a...Read More

Fair Trade Alliance Building Program: ‘Sustainable Growth Through Fair Trade Approaches’

Venue: Hotel Central Park, Gwalior (Feb 15, 2012) Fair Trade Forum-India and SETU Consortium together organized a Fair Trade Alliance Building Program on 15th Feb 2012 at Hotel Central Park in Gwalior. The theme of the program was “Sustainable Growth Through Fair Trade Approaches”. The basic objectives of this program were to promote Fair Trade in India & create ...Read More

Workshop on Spreading the importance of Health & hygiene for infants & Women

Venue: Amar Pradhar Lashkar, Gwalior (January 24-25, 2012) SETU organized an awareness program on “The importance of Health & hygiene and providing the knowledge of iodine & ORS for infants & Women”. The area selected was a local slum inhabited mostly by uneducated, migrated & poor population of mixed communities. The locality is quite dirty and the peop...Read More

Nasha Mukti (De- Addiction) & Education awareness

Venue: Mandari Ki Mata Village, Gwalior (January 11, 2012) SETU organized a Nasha Mukti (De-addiction) & Education Awareness workshop at Mandari Ki Mata Village in Gwalior Area. There were approx 100 attendees with mixed ratio of male and female. SETU team members began the seminar by introducing the guests & briefly explaining the audience the gist of intoxication ...Read More

International Day of persons with Disability

International Day of persons with Disability (December 3, 2011) Venue: SNEHALAYA- A Home with Love, Gwalior SETU organized a workshop at ‘Snehalaya- A home with love’ on “International Day of Persons with Disability”. Snehalaya is an orphanage cum care home for disabled and destitute children & adolescents with disorders or syndromes like Cerebral palsy, Tube...Read More

Save the girl Child

Save the girl Child (November 27, 2011) Venue: HFWTC,Gwalior ‘Child Right Observatory’ Bhopal (M.P.) organized a seminar on ‘Save the Girl Child’. The seminar was held at HFWTC,Gwalior, with the help of 15 supportive welfare societies, and SETU was one of the participatory members of the seminar. The members talked about an essential problem existing in the populace...Read More

Celebration of International day of elimination of violence against women

(November 27, 2011) Venue: Mayur Nagar, Thatipur and “Family counselling Centre”Gwalior(M.P.) SETU organized a local community meeting with women residing at Thatipur, Gwalior (M.P.) to draw attention to ‘eliminate violence against women’. These women belonged to the vulnerable section of society. Mr. L R Kaushal & Ms Gulmohar Matta (SETU team members) discussed...Read More

Workshop on Fair Trade/ Campus Out Reach Program

VENUE: Institute of Hotel Management, GWALIOR (M.P.) (October 17, 2011) SETU conducted another ‘Workshop on Fair Trade’ on Oct 17, 2011 to spread awareness about Fair Trade among students. The campus was `IHM University’,Gwalior a renowned University in the sphere of Hospitality, Catering and Tourism. Our audiences were the future hoteliers, Managers and chefs hence o...Read More

Workshop on Fair Trade

HELD ON: (October 11, 2011) VENUE: Maharaja Pratap College of Technology, GWALIOR (M.P.) SETU conducted ‘Campus outreach program’ to spread awareness about Fair Trade among the students of `MPCT University’, which is one of the renowned Universities in various sphere of edification including Engineering, Dental & Management. The audience was young crowd of sixty-s...Read More

Workshop on Capacity Building & Self-development for our artisans

Workshop on Capacity Building & Self-development for our artisans of Kutch, Gujarat (October 8, 2011 to October 10, 2011) Venue: Bhuj, Kutch, Gujarat A total of three workshops were organized by SETU for the artisans of Bhuj, Kutch with the help & co-operation of our partner NGOs viz. Khamir CRC, Qasab & VGS. The venues chosen were the artisan facilitation Cent...Read More

Workshop on Capacity Building & Self-development for our artisans of Kutch

Workshop on Capacity Building & Self-development for our artisans of Kutch, Gujarat (October 8, 2011 to October 10, 2011) Venue: Bhuj, Kutch, Gujarat. A total of three workshops were organized by SETU for the artisans of Bhuj, Kutch with the help & co-operation of our partner NGOs viz. Khamir CRC, Qasab & VGS. The venues chosen were the artisan facilitation ...Read More

Tailoring Workshop

Tailoring Workshop (24-27 September) , Ashok colony Gwalior A four-day tailoring workshop was organized for the residents of `Nadi Par Taal’, Ashok colony,Gwalior. The people come from the underprivileged and downtrodden sections of the society who make a living by working as seasonal wage laborers and thus fall short of employment all the year round.The training programme...Read More

Providing livelihoods training to the women artisans

(5-11 September) In the series of vocational training programmes for the urban poor, another week long livelihood training session was conducted for the residents of Mehra slum, an urban slum located in the suburbs ofGwaliorcity. The artisan families here are indulged in embroidery work and make a living through it. But, the embroidery work alone is not sufficient to run a ...Read More

Training workshop on Tailoring skills

(6-8 August 2011) Location: Barmer, Rajasthan Artisans produce beautiful designs, straight from their heart, sometimes unmatchable with even the classy fashion designers. Their designs are characteristic of the innocence and purity of their dedication towards the craft. Artisans are excellent at the artistic part of the product but to increase the market demand, it is essen...Read More

Free health check up camp for artisans

Venue: Gwalior, M.P. (16 September 2011) A free health check up camp was organized by SETU on 16 September 2011 at Birla Nagar, Gwalior for the carpet weaving and embroidery artisans residing in the nearby slum areas. The underlying aim of organizing the camp was to extend basic healthcare services to the artisan families who are otherwise devoid of it and consequently...Read More

Free health check up camp for artisans

Venue: Gwalior, M.P. (16 September 2011) A free health check up camp was organized by SETU on 16 September 2011 at Birla Nagar, Gwalior for the carpet weaving and embroidery artisans residing in the nearby slum areas. The underlying aim of organizing the camp was to extend basic healthcare services to the artisan families who are otherwise devoid of it and consequently...Read More

“Say no to Polybags”- SETU observes World Environment day

Venue: Gwalior, M.P. (5th June 2011) World Environment day was observed at SETU with the theme “Say no to polythene”. On the occasion, a session spreading awareness about environmental issues was organized in City mall at Gwalior. In the event, SETU team members made people aware of the ban on polythenes in Gwalior and asked them to share their views on it. Most of t...Read More

Generating awareness on sanitation and hygiene

Venue: Gwalior, M.P. (20 May 2011) Poor sanitation is the root cause of many diseases like typhoid and cholera which can sometimes prove to be fatal. But not many people are aware of this and consequently suffer from a range of health ailments which can be easily prevented by taking a few precautionary hygiene measures. Thus, with a view to create awareness on the importanc...Read More

Making the world a fairer place!! Celebrating World Fair Trade Day!!!

(14th May 2011) On the occasion of World Fair Trade Day, a workshop explaining the ethical Business Model Fair Trade and its scope was organized for the students of Jiwaji University,Gwalior. The students were all from the stream of MSW (Master of Social Work) The session aimed at introducing the concept of Fair Trade to the young audience whose lives otherwise remain unt...Read More

Celebrating International Women’s day 2021 at SETU

In today’s scenario, when everything is virtual and online and just a click away, being computer savvy is an essential need. A lot of underprivileged & poor women are forced to take a back seat due to lack of computer knowledge.  The anxiety and fear associated with the lack of computer awareness is even more detrimental for them. And so, on the apt occasion of Intern...Read More

Food and nutrition workshop

(7 April 2011) On the occasion of “World Health Day”, a health and nutrition workshop was organized by SETU on 7th April 2011 at Huravali,Gwalior; for the residents of a slum area inhabited by people living below the poverty line. The workshop was conducted by Mr. L.R. Kaushal, social welfare manager at SETU. The workshop was aimed at spreading awareness about healthy f...Read More

Vocational training Course for Amar Jyoti kids

“Talent needs to be recognized and nurtured”. With this vision, SETU aims to organize vocational training workshops for the deserving and needy. As one such endeavour, vocational training is being provided as part of their routine curriculum to the physically and mentally challenged kids at Amar Jyoti,Gwalior. The aim of the workshop is to bring out inner creativity of the ...Read More

“Illuminating lives” – Solar Light Project

(24th March 2011) Installation of solar lights in 100 households in the desert areas of Rajasthan (near Indo- Pak Border) Our much awaited solar light project took final shape on 24th of March 2011. It was way back on our last visit to Rajasthan when the project was initialized.Under this project, 100 households were provided with solar lanterns in the remote villages of Ra...Read More

Workshop on Self development and Quality improvement

Barmer Rajasthan SETU organized a “Workshop on Self development and Quality improvement” for our wood Block printing artisans in the desert areas near Barmer, Rajasthan on 23rd March 2011. Artisans here specialize in Ajrakh block printing, a form of block printing on cloth; characteristic of this region. These artisans belong to the Khatri community and are engaged in th...Read More

Celebrating womanhood- SETU observes International women’s day

(8th March 2011) SETU believes in empowering women for a dignified living and with this view on the occasion of International women’s day, SETU organized a “tailoring workshop for sustainability” for the underprivileged and marginalized women of an urban slum at Gwalior. The workshop was attended by 42 women of the community. SETU team member L.R. Kaushal presided t...Read More

“Health and nutrition workshop” at Barmer

Venue: Barmer, Rajasthan (February 18, 2011) An ill-fed child with his ribcage prominently on display, along with weak limbs and a pale dark skin is no eye candy but a reality for many of those who are suffering from Malnutrition, a nutritional disorder arising due to lack of balanced diet. Malnutrition results from taking an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients a...Read More

“Health is wealth“ Free health check up camp for our wood carving artisans

Venue: Bijnour, U.P. (13th-15th Feb 2011) With a view to aid the artisans in healthcare, SETU organised a series of 2 free health check up camps for our wood carving artisans of Bijnour, U.P. on the 13th and 15th of february 2011.   Following facilities were provided in the camp: Free health check up Free medicine distribution Free eye check up Sp...Read More

Free Health Check up Camp

Venue: Reshampura Badnapura, Gwalior (13th Feb 2011) Healthcare is still a luxury for many! It sounds rather obsolete but is a hardcore reality!! Even the basic medical facilities are not available to some; here we are talking about the underprivileged and marginalized people who can’t afford the highly priced healthcare services and consequently suffer from various healt...Read More

Unleashing inner creativity as a therapy

Workshop at Amar Jyoti 12th Feb 2011 Nothing is more powerful than the smile on a child’s face. Now multiply this by 129, and you will get a small sense of what SETU staff and volunteers experienced on February 12th! In order to interact with the kids and to help them discover themselves, SETU team conducted a workshop for the Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust’s kids on ...Read More

Food and nutrition workshop

(7 April 2011) On the occasion of “World Health Day”, a health and nutrition workshop was organized by SETU on 7th April 2011 at Huravali,Gwalior; for the residents of a slum area inhabited by people living below the poverty line. The workshop was conducted by Mr. L.R. Kaushal, social welfare manager at SETU. The workshop was aimed at spreading awareness about healthy f...Read More

Community development for Artisans at “Jagnapura Laghedi”

an urban slum at Gwalior (2nd Feb 2011) Life is sometimes too harsh for some people. Food and water which are life’s basic necessities are not an easy affair for many. This is true for the people of Jagnapura Laghedi, an urban slum at Gwalior where SETU team made a visit. The sole source of income for the residents here is embroidery on sarees which women of the family...Read More

Helping artisans overcome product rejections

As part of our efforts to bring about artisan development, we decided to provide training to our wood carving artisans in a bid to lessen their product rejections. These artisans make beautiful products but fall short on certain parameters of product design and quality, leading to rejections. To solve this problem and to polish their skills, we invited them at SETU. They were a...Read More

Eye refraction camp-II for the artisans of Tilonia

Venue: Tilonia, Rajasthan (20 December 2010) As part of our efforts to provide artisans with basic medical facilities, last month on 20th December 2010, another eye refraction camp was organized for our women artisans at Tilonia. Tilonia is a place of traditional craft where people practice embroidery, stitching and similar craft work requiring intense use of eyes. With inc...Read More

Visit to woodcarving artisans

SETU team also visited our wood carving artisans of HSSS. Our beautiful earring stands, wood eyeglass holder and many other wooden products are made by this group. We interacted with the artisans and tried to found out their problems while working. Most of the artisans are quite happy with their work reason being now they have more orders, i.e., more & regular work whi...Read More

Guiding the artisans for quality improvement – visit to jewellery making and wood carving artisans of Moradabad and Bijnor

(8-9 December 2010) In an effort to implement our vision of overall artisan development, SETU team visited our jewellery making artisans at Moradabad and wood carving artisans of Bijnor. Visit to Moradabad: SETU team, consisting of team head Rashmi and product development manager Archna, visited the artisans. The group houses our jewellery making artisans. Our beautifu...Read More

2nd International Conference on Climate change and Sustainable Management of Natural resources

2nd International Conference on Climate change and Sustainable Management of Natural resources (5- 7 December, 2010) SETU team co-organized a conference on climate change and Green marketing with ITM Universe, a prestigious management school of Gwalior. The conference span over a period of 3 days from 5-7 Dec. 2010 In the session, SETU team head Rashmi explained the basic...Read More

Green Marketing Session

(6 Dec. 2010) “Going green is the need of the hour” was the topic of discussion in the Green Marketing Session. In the present scenario, where customers re not much aware about the green concept and therefore show less inclination to buy green products; green Marketing has a long way to go. The speakers stressed on the fact that the future of green marketing is entirely ...Read More

Reinforcing artisan talent!!

Reinforcing artisan talent!! (December 2010) Nurturing talent is as important as recognizing it, only then the true mettle of an artisan can come out. With this view, in December 2010; SETU sponsored awards to the student women artisans of Kalaraksha Vidyalaya (a venture of Kalaraksha, one of our partner NGOs). Awards were given for showing excellence in respective art forms...Read More

Developing the craft skills of artisans- Trainer for artisans development

Developing the craft skills of artisans – Trainer for artisans development (November 2010) Artisans are experts in their various traditional art forms but sometimes lack efficiency in design skills, especially for contemporary & functional product development and need training to upgrade them. Keeping in view this fact, we at SETU has appointed a master trainer to deve...Read More

Free Health Check up Camp

Venue: Reshampura Badnapura, Gwalior (13th Feb 2011) Healthcare is still a luxury for many! It sounds rather obsolete but is a hardcore reality!! Even the basic medical facilities are not available to some; here we are talking about the underprivileged and marginalized people who can’t afford the highly priced healthcare services and consequently suffer from various healt...Read More

Medical benefits for the artisans – Meeting basic health needs

SETU is working with over 20000 artisans spread over various regions of India. Many lack access to potable water, electricity, and other basic services. Their villages are sometimes in hostile environments (such as deserts), far away from metropolitan areas. A major challenge of living in a remote location is the lack of health care facilities. Our goal is to provide this ...Read More

Eye Refraction camp for the artisans of desert area

Venue:Dhanau, Barmer, Rajasthan (28th Nov. 2010) We organized an eye camp for our artisans of Dhanau, Barmer, Rajasthan on 28th Nov. 2010. It was in association with `Viva Terra’, one of our special customers based in USA. It was organized for our artisans at `Social work and Research Centre’ (Barefoot College), social activity wing of our partner artisan Cooperative `H...Read More

Design workshop for artisans of Bijnour

(October 2010) Design is the soul of a product. Updating artisans with contemporary trends in designs is essential for creating / maintaining the demand of a product among customers. This not only enables the artisan to make products in accordance with customers taste but also introduces them to latest techniques in the marketplace which is necessary for their overall develo...Read More

Celebrating Fair Trade month “Carry the torch forward”

(21 October 2010)   October being a Fair Trade month is special for all Fair Traders. Throughout this month, series of activities took place at SETU. Recent being our workshop session titled “Carry the torch forward”. Underlying purpose for choosing this theme was to spread the word Fair Trade among the youth; as despite being a sustainable and ethical business c...Read More

Safety kits distribution to Copper Bell Artisans

(September 2010) As part of our ongoing commitment to artisans’ health and safety, more safety kits were distributed to the bell making artisans of Kutch region in association with local NGO Khamir who is working towards revitalizing this craft since long. Need for safety kits arises due to nature of this art form. The bell making art involves heating of iron structures...Read More

Team head Rashmi speaking at TEDx JNTU Kakinada

(21 Aug 2010) TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas worth Spreading. TED Conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. It has many versions in India under the name of TEDx One such event was organized at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh accompanied with the theme “awakening young India” in Jawaharlal Nehru Technological Universit...Read More

Workshop at SABALA – updating the artisans with latest color trends and enhancing their craft skills

(August 2010) SETU organized a technical workshop at one of our artisan groups `SABALA’ in the arid villages of Bijapur, Karnataka. It is an all women’s organization dedicated to the empowerment of Women and Children. With a view to improve the skills of artisans and to update them with the latest colour trends a workshop was organized at SABALA. Highlights of the ...Read More

Vidya Archana

A compound word, “Vidya Archana” stands for worshiping knowledge. Its meaning is derived from the Hindi language words “Vidya”, which means knowledge, and “Archana”, which means worship. We believe that education is the key to a better life and a better society. Therefore, Vidya Archana was started as an effort by SETU to share and spread knowledge. This progra...Read More

World Environment Day

Venue: Gwalior, M.P. (5th June 2010) This year, the World Environment Day was celebrated at SETU with an exciting theme “Know & save your environment” which is selected with a view to generate awareness on environment related issues. The whole activity took place in Dindayal city mall at Gwalior where the target participants were store owners, small shopkeepers/reta...Read More

Safety kits for Bell making artisans

(June 2010) Bell making is a traditional craft of the Muslim Luhar community residing in the Kutchh region of India. One section of the Luhar ironsmiths specialized in making copper & brass coated iron bells for cows, buffaloes, camels and sheep. Due to consecutive droughts, the cattle breeders could not buy bells regularly for their cattle over the years. The demand for...Read More

World Fair Trade Day Celebration

8th May 2010 Fair trade is market-based approach to alleviating poverty and promoting sustainability through ethical practices. It aims to educate and empower disadvantaged producers in the developing world and connect them to a market, so they too can participate in global trade. To know more about Fair Trade, click here. World Fair Trade Day is observed annually on the ...Read More

Eye check up camp for women artisans of the desert areas

(May 2010) For artisans, art is their soul. It assumes the highest priority for them not only because it is their source of income but also something very close to their heart, being an inheritance of their forefathers which they cherish throughout their lives. Art is their identity. A majority of the art, be it embroidery, appliqué work, hand block printing, bell making or...Read More

Earth Day

Venue: Gwalior, M.P. (April 22, 2010) Planting trees not only reduces environmental pollution but it calms our minds too. With this view, SETU celebrated the 40th anniversary of “Earth Day” by doing plantation in a dilapidated park at Gwalior.. In the present scenario, where the environment is full of pollution and no. of trees are reducing day by day, it’s one of the...Read More

General Health check-up Camp at Gwalior

18th April 2010 SETU organized a health camp for the marginalized and downtrodden sections of the society at Gwalior. The target population consisted of below poverty Line people, Carpet weaving artisans and the like. Basic motive behind the camp was to lend a helping hand to the less fortunate people who otherwise are not able to get even the basic medical facilities. L...Read More

Taking Guard of artisan’s health

Artisans are experts in their respective skills but they do not care much about their health; one of the reason being that they can’t afford it and the other is their ignorance or lack of information on these matters. Working with a large number of artisans, we are aware of their sufferings and therefore consider it as our responsibility to support them. In one of our visit...Read More

Lending a helping hand to the differently abled

Lending a helping hand to the differently abled: (Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust) Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust is on of our partner artisan groups which work towards the rehabilitation of physically challenged people. We are very proud to be associated with it and always try to help them in their endeavors as and when possible. In one of such efforts SETU sponsored microscopes a...Read More

Amar Jyoti

Development & Education Project: The [candle] flame that never extinguishes This project revolves around the organization whose main purpose is to provide education and health care to underprivileged children. The school also provides vocational education to help them become self-sustainable when they grow up. The school raises some income by making the newspaper &...Read More

Workshop on Health Safety and Quality

SETU, as part of its policy, organizes workshops for the artisan groups on a regular basis. These are an effective way to interact with artisans and know about their problems in a short period of time. In one such effort, a workshop was organized for our artisans near Bijnour (U.P.). These artisans are basically wood carvers. The three basic topics covered in the workshop wer...Read More

Kala Raksha Vidyalaya

“Kala Raksha” means “Protecting art”. At SETU consortium, we greatly value the conservation of handmade, cultural and artistic talents. In our experiences, we have noticed that many art forms are becoming extinct. Unfair trade practices make artisans go out of business, provide mundane work at factories that doesn’t require artistic skills, and ultimately stop th...Read More

A step forward towards preserving the environment

Pollution prevention day is observed annually on 2nd December with a motive to create awareness on environment related issues. SETU, going by its green policy, observed this day by holding a workshop among the management students of Jiwaji University, Gwalior. The session started with a power packed presentation by our President Rashmi, explaining the various contributors in po...Read More

Spreading the word “Fair Trade”

Fair trade is market-based approach to alleviating poverty and promoting sustainability through ethical practices. It aims to educate and empower disadvantaged producers in the developing world and connect them to a market, so they too can participate in global trade. To know more about Fair Trade, click here. As part of our commitment for spreading awareness on Fair Tra...Read More

Creating AIDS awareness among youth

Youth are the present and future, they are the ones who can bring an era of change. Therefore it is very important for them to be aware about AIDS. India is a conservative society where children are not given proper education on STDs like AIDS. Whatever knowledge they gain is from the outer world like from their friends, media etc. but this information is not sufficient as it m...Read More

Universal Children’s day at Madhav Bal Niketan

SETU had organized a two days program on the occasion of Universal Children Day / Child Rights Day. These were conducted on 18th & 20th November’09. Children’s Day is an event celebrated on various days in many places around the world. Universal Childrens Day is on November 20 (although other countries celebrate a local childrens day on other dates). On 20th November, U...Read More

HIV/AIDS awareness camp for sex workers at Reshampura-Badnapura

12th Nov. 2009  The villages of Badnapura and Reshampura are inhabited by the people of Bedia community. Bedia is a traditional sex worker community. They have been living here for more than 50 years. The history of this community shows that in olden times, the Royal families and local lords, promoted this community for their entertainment because of their expertise in sign...Read More

Promoting abilympics

Abilympics are vocational skill competitions for persons with disabilities to enable them to showcase and enhance their talent. Abilympics empower the contestants and help create public awareness about their abilities. National Abilympic Association of India is the official organizer for the event along with Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust, one of groups working with us. It is a me...Read More

Health camp for orphan children in Arunachal Pradesh

Children are tomorrow’s future. Most of the kids have their parent’s unconditional love to take care of them but there are some unfortunate ones who lack such support and require a helping hand from the privileged society. SETU team clearly understands this and on a timely basis tries to help these little angels. In one such effort, SETU sponsored a health check up Camp f...Read More

Dolls & Toys Distribution – Mercy Kits

SETU distributed dolls and toys to children in different orphanages in India. Most of these kids are girls. This is a sad reality in India & many Asian countries, where families rejoice when a boy is born but mourn the birth of a girl. Many kids have suffered from malnutrition or severe illness since before they got there. This has affected them to the point where they ha...Read More

Solar Panels Illuminate Desert Villages – Meeting the energy needs of rural, desert villages

The artisan group that creates all of our appliquéd products is scattered throughout several desert villages, far away from cities. Living away from modern infrastructure is challenging because there are no energy plants or cables for distributing energy nearby. This means that our artisans in these areas have no access to electricity. SETU consortium has an ongoing project...Read More

Girl child awareness programme at Dahod, Gujarat

SETU sponsored an educational awareness program for the education of `Girl child’ amongst tribal community the villages of Dahod District. The program was brought into action through one of our artisan groups in Gujarat. In the program, the campaigning team interacted with various girls where the team explained the benefits of girl child education not only to the girls b...Read More

DSS Flood Relief

Towards the end of October, 2008, there was massive flooding due to heavy rains in the Mahanadi basin in Orissa and Chhatisgarh. The flooding affected mostly the districts of Puri, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Nayagarh, Boudh, Kalahandi, and Rayagara. 2 million people were displaced as a result. SETU consortium donated money to their cause and arranged for m...Read More

Free distribution of groceries & sanitary napkins to flood affected artisans in Orissa…

With the onset of pandemic, this year has been very unfortunate for many people, especially the daily wage laborers, artisans and the poor. A lot of artisans have been hit by multiple calamities, like pandemic & lockdowns, cyclones and then floods. A group of such artisans is associated with DSS Orissa, one of our partner artisan groups. Whatever was left with the artisans ...Read More

Hunger Alleviation Food Project during Covid Pandemic: Over 22,000 people fed till date…

With the outburst of Covid pandemic, millions of poor workers are now jobless….with no money and resources to feed themselves and their families. They are not beggars, but the poor daily wage laborers who have no one to support them at this time. These include immigrants who cannot even go back to their villages. They are trying to survive somehow… fighting hunger, fear and...Read More