Craft Support
and Development

You Can Make A Difference, But Together We Can Make A Change

Matching grants against embroidery wages.

The belief underpinning this simple program was that women are mature and capable of making intelligent decisions about how to use money. This is in opposition to the widespread practice of doling out "tool kits" consisting of a set of items determined by someone else to be the needs of the artisans, and which in most cases doubtfully total to the amount allocated for purchage of the items.

After six months of the matching grants program, we had the women themselves assess it. We were unprepared for how successful in fact we had been! Women overwhelmingly told us that they used the money to eat better. "Look at our faces- can't you tell?" One woman exclaimed. They bought more fresh vegetables. (We used to listen to your nutrition classes and say, 'sure,' they said. Now, we actually buy what you have recommended- because they can afford it!.) They buy better quality dry goods, rather than the ration quality. They purchase without having to worry and calculate.

Aside from that, in each village they told us the following:

Sumrasar Sheikh- women put money in the bank for reconstructing and expanding homes, used the money to run the house when a member was unable to earn. One woman quickly had a cataract operation. She said her eyes were valuable to her now. Others bought ornaments without havng to take loans- for their daughters' dowries ( a community requiste) and for their own pleasure, and they started to think about sending their sons to boarding schools for higher education. Asked what they would do if the grants continued, they said they would build kitchens, bathrooms, and actually send their boys to the boarding schools.

Kukadsar- women paid off loans, avoided further loans, bought better quality clothes, purchased carpets to sit on, purchased fodder for the herds, planted their fields, sent their boys to private school in the city, bought dry goods in quantity- to save time in shopping, took medicine regularly, rather than sporadically, and went to private doctors rather than govenment clinics- not because they believe them to be better, but to save the time of waiting in line! If grants continue, they plan to avoid loans, start farming, rebuild their homes, and put money in the bank.

Vandh- women repaired their homes, paid off loans, bought better clothes, bought fans, tape players, and a mixer (electrictiy came to this village only last year) bought ornaments for their children's marriages (again, a community requisite). One woman with severe back pain was able to hire a girl to fetch water for her. In the future, they plan to use extra income for sons' education, to build bathrooms, paint their homes, make cupboards, and for savings. Jatwali

Sumrasar-women avoided loans, purchased goats, cows, buffalo, camels, camel carts- in order to "revolve" their funds, paid for relatives' medical expenses, purchased ornaments as investment for their children's marriages- and to fulfill their own desires, and put money aside to rebuild their homes. One woman bought an autorickshaw for her son! If grants continue, they will begin to pay off loans, use money toward farming, purchase camel carts, save in the bank. One woman plans to start a vegetable shop in the village, and one would like a refrigerator.

What this exercise has made clear is that women indeed know what to do with their income. Further, the fact that they do not spend on better food or invest does not mean that they do not know how to use money, but simply that they do not have enough to use. Earning more has enabled women to value their work seriously, and to dream. It is only when there is a hope of earning more that women can dare to raise their standard of living and dream of what they want. Once they have goals, they can think of how to achieve them. The incentive of matching grants has enabled women to realize increased capacity.

Asked if once the grants are over they will go back to less production or maintain their increased capacity, women said they would defintely work more than they had in the past. Kala Raksha itself has realized increased capacity with the help of the series of workshops sponsored by CARE. We held three product design workshops with professional designers, a workshop on production efficiency, and recently began a three month course in tailoring for novices and our own tailor team. CARE also supported a trip to the US to participate in the San Francisco International Gift show, which resulted in several new orders for Kala Raksha.

Stone Soup funds have also been used to date to reconstruct the exisiting community center in Vandh, as grants to artisans with destroyed homes in Sheikhvali Sumrasar, and as a grant/loan package to our adjunct tailor in Bhuj, who lost both parents, two brothers, shop, home and vehicle in the earthquake. Our two volunteers from AIF's pilot program, Minakshi and Thanvi were, as hoped, a welcome boost to Kala Raksha. They used their combination of professional backgrounds in public health and knowledge of Indian culture and language to contribute to our social welfare component. They assisted in planning and implementing an 8 day awareness training camp for women of the four above mentioned villages, including follow-up in each village. The women, wary at first of approaching taboo subjects, in the end requested our team to teach more of their adolescents next time!

We are planning workshops to train local teachers in methods for relevant basic education. Looking ahead to completion of construction in Jatwali Sumrasar, we also hope to implement our own dream of a design school for artisans.

Please contact us for more information

Please use the links below to learn more about our projects and how you can help!