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In an area stalked by drought, a livelihood initiative for Gond tribal women in Orissa's Kalahandi and Nuapada districts brings about female empowerment and helps alleviate poverty
For the Gond tribals of Orissa's Kalahandi and Nuapada districts, life is an endless nightmare of deprivation and hunger. The men leave their homes in search of employment, often ending up as bonded labour in far-off places. Left to fend for themselves, the women, the elderly and children have to eke out an existence or starve.
Now, thousands of tribal women have, quite literally, spun themselves out of the web of despair in which they were trapped. Thanks largely to a local livelihood initiative that employs Gond women to make handmade cotton fabric.
Aptly called 'Nuakala', which means 'new craft', the name also incorporates the first two syllables of the districts Nuapada and Kalahandi, where the programme is based.
With an ailing husband and ageing in-laws to look after, Chhamani Majhi most likely would have starved to death. Then she got employment as a spinner at Nuakala. Her first month she earned Rs 800, which was enough to buy her infant daughter baby food, a lantern to light her hut and clothes for her husband and in-laws. Since then, life for Chhamani has changed dramatically.
A supervisor at the Nuakala spinning centre in her village, Rukmini Majhi enjoys a far better quality of life today -- her husband has given up drinking and her children are getting food and an education.
Nuakala is the brainchild of Amitav Banerjee, a former marine engineer who worked in several multinational corporations before leaving his comfortable job in 2002 to do something in Kalahandi.
"The first time I went to Kalahandi in 1996 I was appalled by the acute poverty there. The idea of poverty alleviation through sustainable employment generation haunted me. There was substantial black soil suitable for cotton cultivation for which the water requirement is almost 20 times less compared to paddy. So I thought, crop failure and the resultant poverty could be avoided if cotton cultivation was promoted among small and marginal landholding farmers. Then, women could be engaged in spinning activities, followed by processing and weaving fabric of different designs, shades and utility."
Banerjee's idea was implemented by a local organisation, the Kalahandi Vikas Parishad (KVP) that was already involved in watershed relief and sustainable employment generation programmes in the district of Kalahandi.
Starting out with six villages, tribal women were employed to spin, process and weave. The programme only employs men for fabric dyeing and bleaching.
Currently, Nuakala operates 30 looms in Sunbaheli, Chatta, Jampada, Malpada, Malikimunda and Bilenjar villages; more than 100 tribal women earn their living from the initiative.
Nuakala is worker-friendly in more ways than one. Its female employees enjoy flexi-timings. "We could not have done the job had there been strict timings because we have family responsibilities too. We come in the morning, then go back, do our chores, come back to the centre in the afternoon and work till nightfall. If we work for six hours we are able to earn Rs 25-30 per day," says Chhabina Majhi of Bilenjar village where there is a central weaving centre.
Rabi Das of the KVP, who has been working in Kalahandi for two decades, says: "It has made a tremendous difference to family life, with women becoming the bread-earners."
Banerjee is immensely pleased with the empowering effect his idea has had on the local women. "I am very impressed with their work culture. They can change the face of Kalahandi if provided the right opportunity."
The basic approach of 'self-help through community participation' has definitely caught on here. The Gond women of Malpada village volunteered their labour to set up a work centre in less than two months, on land donated by local tribals. Now, 12 women work at the centre, supporting their families.
Nuakala's fabrics and garments have found many takers among urban women, especially across urban east India. Says Gayatri Das of Cuttack, who is involved with the project: "The garments are prepared keeping in mind the latest trends, as we have to reach out to all sections of society."
A proposal to set up a Rs 800,000 factory, which would ensure the expansion of the project thus bringing down raw material costs and generating employment for hundreds more women, has been pending with the Planning Commission for several years.
Despite the financial constraints, however, and judging by the obvious success the venture has enjoyed, in so short a time, the KVP is determined to repeat the model in hundreds of villages across Kalahandi and Nuapada.
InfoChange News & Features, March 2004 |
