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 family as the opportunities are less, the agents are unable to provide them with the required volume of work, the wages are too less.. Consequently, the families are bound to live in poverty..

Diversified training on making other products for more than one livelihood option can improve the present condition of the artisan communities here. With this view, training was provided on designing & making of decorative items such as Wall arts, Door hangings, banderwaals, torans, dsecorative hair bands, bracelets etc. With festivals like Navratra, Dusshera & Diwali soon approaching, a huge market demand is expected for such products.

Training was provided under the expert guidance of our master trainers Mr. Layak Ram and Mr. Sunil. All the raw material for making the handicraft items like colorful beads, velvets, fabrics, laces, mirrors, elastics, bukram, glues etc. was provided by SETU ( completely free of cost).

In addition to making beautiful handicraft products, artisans were also given knowledge on how these products can prove to be a source of income for them. They were informed about how & where these products can be sold in the market thereby acting as a livelihood option. Details of vendors in the market where the products can be sold, were provided to the women. The participants very much liked the idea and were eager to try this out. The feedback on the training session was overwhelming. We hope to organize more such programmes in near future.