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3533

“From the Desert to the Ramp”, a short documentary developed by Community World Service Asia and PLUM Media Tank, showcasing the transformative journey of rural artisan women becoming the hands and heart of an urban fashion brand, was screened at an event titled “The Craft Journey”at the Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture (IVS) in Karachi last week.

The event celebrated the successful collaboration between Community World Service Asia (CWSA), the Danish Centre for Culture and Development (CKU), the Department of Textile Design at IVS, and the Women Enterprise Groups representing artisans from Umerkot and Thatta Districts of Sindh. It was this consistent year-long collaboration that made the journey of these artisans posible and conclusive.

Students and Faculty members of IVS, representatives from Community World Service Asia, Centre for Culture and Development (CKU), the artisans of Umerkot and Thatta participated in this event. They all witnessed the exquisite products that were produced through the mix of impeccable craftsmanship and design aesthetics of the merger between artisans and students.  Prominent fashion designers and popular fashion and home brands representatives such as Khaadi, Habitt, Tarzz, Nida Azwer Atelier, Mahwish Hassan and Saniya Maskatiya, attended the event.

The primary objective of this collaborative project was to empower marginalized women artisans towards taking an active role in decision making and represent themselves with the indigenous craft tradition of their region. The project also aimed at establishing sustainable linkages between the artisan community and the urban markets to maintain a continuous chain of demand and supply meeting current market trends, while upholding the handicraft identity. It also aimed at empowering the rural artisans to take control of their own business, thereby creating a strong, mutually beneficial professional relationship.

During the span of 12 months, various collaborative design workshops in selected villages of Umerkot and at the IVS campus in Karachi were conducted. They covered extensive data collection of artisans and various embroideries practiced in the region, initial sampling, designing of a cohesive project range, procurement of raw material, execution and finishing of the first collection of over 800 apparel products.

In a span of 40 days, 679 women artisans created masterpieces of art and skill combined for distinguished Pakistani designers within demanding deadlines. They worked tirelessly to produce 1700 products that are true specimen of tradition-meets-modernity. To introduce these handcrafted masterpieces to the fashion industry and clientele, a brand Taanka  at the reputable fashion platform of Pakistan Fashion Design Counsel (PFDC) in Lahore was launched, followed by a Craft Festivals, to further promote the brand and the Sindhi folk culture and handicrafts, was held at Dolmen Mall in Karachi.

A very significant step towards providing an entrepreneurial platform to the artisans has been establishing the link with well known designers and fashion brands through meetings and exposure visits. These experienced designers have been evaluating the skill and potential of the groups of artisans and planning possibilities of future long term collaborations with them. These meetings were arranged at Indus Valley School of Arts & Architecture through their Textile department where meetings between artisans representing WEGs in Umerkot met with Rizwan Beyg, Wardha Saleem (popular and very high-end fashion designers) and the crafts brand Tali, to have one to one sessions.

This collaboration has concluded with a new beginning for the artisans to emerge as successful entrepreneurs and showcase their brilliant skill under the brand TAANKA (Visit Taanka’s social media page to see the products produced and available for sale and order @ https://www.facebook.com/TaankArt/ )

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The success of rural development depends upon the willingness and active participation of the local people in the development process. To ensure this, NGOs carry out extensive social mobilization activities to raise awareness and create demand amongst the local people for particular sensitive issues that exist within the community. Social Mobilization is a cornerstone for participatory approach in rural development and poverty alleviation programs, it aims to create a sense of ownership amongst the people by involving them directly in the decision making process.

A third of its kind training, on Social Mobilization, was thus, conducted by Community World Service Asia under its Quality and Accountability program at Peshawar University this November. The workshop was targeted at training community mobilizers, social organizers and staff members representing small NGOs, in order to impart specific knowledge about community mobilization, participatory development, and various relevant and complementary elements. Twenty-three participants, including 8 women, representing eight organizations took part in the training.

The four-day event was managed by Lubna Hussain, Community World Service Asia staff, with Moazzam Ali, consultant trainer, as the lead facilitator. Mr. Rashid Iqbal who works for FLOWERS, a National Peshawar based NGO shared that this workshop was “very comprehensive”.

Brainstorming, individual exercises, lectures, role plays, group work and interactive discussions were a vital part of this training. All these activities were used as tools to enhance the intellectual capacity of the participants towards utilizing the different tools of Social Mobilization in various contexts and situations.  Mr. Ibrahim Jan from Civil Society Human and Institutional Development Programme said, “We are working in community from years but did not have much command on basic needs of field as required so I am really impressed with this training which has developed a good foundation for us to start with.”

The training also aimed on giving Social Mobilizers the right instruments to increase the level of awareness among poor and socially excluded communities through particular social mobilization and community development programs to improve the quality of services.

Participants Voices

  • “This training was knowledgeable and a good learning opportunity for me. It has improved my learning process. I thank Community World Service Asia for this opportunity I hope I will be attending more trainings like these.”

    Abdul Aziz, Community World Service Asia.

  • “Overall the training was exquisite. I will share with my team whatever i have learnt here, I got a subtle chance of networking as well. I was practicing social mobilization but did not know the right terminologies. Now I will implement the learnings for the betterment of my organization and me”.

    Shamir Asif, Community Advancement Society (CAS)

  • “This was a good, informative & excellent training. I learnt so many topics which are new for me. The facilitator methodology was also easy to understand. The workshop & training sessions on different topics were very informative. I look forward to participating in other trainings and workshops as well.”

    Mr. Saif Ullah, Peshawar University

  • “Community World Service Asia is a leading capacity building organization in this area. The training on “Social Mobilization” was really informative. It fulfilled the needs of field workers who interact with the communities regularly, and showed us how to identify their needs and facilitate them in solving their problems. This training will facilitate us in our journey from welfare to development.”

    Mr. Syed Inam Ul Haq, Mercy Hands (MH)

  • “This Training was very interesting and informative. I would like to attend future workshops with them, this training give me professional experience.”

    Ms. Farheen Zahra CHIP (Civil Society Human and Institutional Development Program

  • “The methodology of training was very effective. I would like to attend more workshops in future, as I learned a lot in this training and enjoyed it.”

    Ms. Kausar Parveen (CHIP)

  • “Trainings like these should be conducted in the future as well, because such sessions really help organization such as ours in improving our staff capacity.”

    Mr. Sabz Ali (Flowers)

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A silent revolution is underway deep inside Sindh province; one that is turning the fortunes of local artisans around. World renowned for their aesthetic mastery, Sindhi women artisans are now seeing their intricately crafted products showcased at one of the top fashion platforms in the country.

“From the Desert to the Ramp” is a short documentary developed by Community World Service Asia and PLUM Media Tank  with support from the Danish Centre of Culture and Development showcasing the transformative journey of rural artisan women becoming the hands and heart of an urban fashion brand.

3109

Every year on 10th December International Humans Rights Day is celebrated all over worldwide to increase the awareness of rights for all humans.

This year Community World Service Asia Stands for the health rights of women and children on 10th December.

3107

“Community World Service Asia under its Capacity Institutional Program (CIP) organized a two day training on Ethical and Moral Responsibilities for NGOs for the students of the Social Work Program, at University of Peshawar, on December 1-2, 2016. In this training, a total of 21 students participated including 12 boys and 9 girls. These students were provided with practical knowledge about the Quality and Accountability principles and mechanism for NGOs’ program and staff. The focus was to orient the students on the accountability mechanism followed by local, sub-national and national NGOs in Pakistan.

The training aimed to promote conceptual clarity and practical approaches of NGOs structure and procedures and policies for safety of their staff and program participants including women, children and society’s vulnerable groups.”

Aaj, Peshawar, a local Newspaper also published news about the successful training at the University of Peshawar this Saturday (December 3rd).

2722

The Start Network officially launched the Start Fund Anticipation Window last week, which enables NGOs to prepare when they see a crisis coming and respond early to mitigate the predicted impacts.

By creating a systematic way for Start Network members to use forecasting information, and with funding to enable forecast-based interventions, the Anticipation Window aims to catalyse a more anticipatory approach to humanitarian crises.

Improved access to forecasting information, analysis and funding helps agencies shift from a reactive model to an anticipatory one, saving lives and costs in the process.

The Start Fund has already supported interventions in anticipation of crises in a number of countries – Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Uganda, Zambia and Mali – and now aim to make this a normal part of the Start Fund.

Community World Service Asia, being a Start member, was able to save thousands of lives by timely responding to the Heatwave Crisis in Sindh, Pakistan this year, by receiving funding through this Anticipation Window initiative.

To know more about the Start Network and the Crisis Anticipation Window, visit https://startnetwork.org.

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Today is December 1st, World AIDS day- a day for people all over the world to unite in support of the fight against HIV & AIDS. Today we also reflect on how far we have come in this battle, and how far we have still got to go. Starting from looking right under our nose here in Pakistan, we still stand with #HIVPrevention.

Have a look at a brief report we have compiled on HIV & AIDS cases in Pakistan currently and on the work we’ve done on the cause in recent years.

Download Report

Don’t forget to wear your Red Ribbon today!

2844

The Communications Office organized a two-day training on Photography and Videography to enhance staff capacity building this October in Sindh. Community World Service Asia staff from Karachi, Thatta, Badin, Jhudo and Umerkot participated in this interactive workshop. A total of 24 staff participated in the training.

3053

Mustufa and Zainab, parents to a young son and daughter, lived in Khamiso Dal Village located in Union Council Tando Hafiz Shah in Thatta, Sindh. The couple was living a troubled life since the floods in 2015 hit their house and their lands severely. The house was left totally damaged and all their belongings were washed away.  Zainab also suffered from a mental illness which made things further difficult for the family

Saving the lives of his family being the only thing on his mind, Mustufa, fled Khamiso village and the flood, and made it to Hameed farm. He stayed there for two and a half months with his family and was barely earning for the family by cracking stones.

When the flood water left, Mustufa returned back to his village with this family. Nothing was left of the village though. It was a land of ruins. No house was left undamaged and there was no land left for cultivation. Everyone’s life savings and belongings had gone too. The flood had taken everything along with it.

With nothing else left to depend on, Mustafa started to cut wood and sell it off for a living. As soon as the water in the village fields dried up, Mustufa started to think about re-cultivating his 4 acres of land. Before the floods, he used to produced cotton and chilies on his fields.

“I started to have some hope when staff of Community World Service Asia came to our village and distributed various vegetable seeds for sowing and harvest. I was hopeful that the golden days of my life would return and I began to cultivate those seeds in the back yard of my home,” narrated Mustafa.

As his land had become saline, the harvest result was not as good as it was expected. Mustufa, then went to his landlord and asked for his permission, to cultivate the remaining seeds on his land. The result of the second harvest was amazing. Only in thirty to thirty-five days there was produce in the lands. Spinach and coriander leaves were the first to sprout.

Filled with content and gratitude, Mustufa and his family cooked the first produce and had a good meal. They also distributed some among neighbors as a gift of happiness. Mustufa started selling the vegetables too. He sold 45kgs of spinach for 70Rs/kg and 15 kgs of coriander for 40Rs/kg. After a few days, okra, ridge gourd and bottle gourd were also produced. He sold 30 kg of newly harvested spinach for Rs.70/kg and earned a profit of PKR 2100. Whereas, the total profit he earned from selling 25kg of ridge for 50Rs/kg and 30kgs of bottle gourd for 50 Rs/kg were PKR 2750.

“I earned PKR 8600 (equivalent to DKK540) by selling these vegetables”,

says a proud Mustufa. With the profits earned, he bought Eid dresses for his family along with fruits and meat to eat. He used some savings of that revenue for the treatment of his wife as well. Mustufa has now planned to set up a tomato nursery and has high hopes for a good income generation of it.

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“In handicrafts there is a continuous swing between utility and beauty. That swing has a name: pleasure.”

Octavio Paz (Mexican Poet)

To provide a solution to both rural and urban employment, it is important to encourage artisanry goods production, especially those made by the youth and women in rural areas, giving them an opportunity to contribute to the economy. Kalawanti is a perfect example of one such artisan as she has been fortunate to have made the highest earnings amongst 417 artisans in Umerkot. She has successfully earned PKR 10,500 in the month of September alone (this year), with timely completion of all her orders. Needless to say, this gifted and hardworking artisan was very content with her earnings as it is the highest income she has ever earned from her handicraft business.

Kalawanti, a 33 years old mother of two, resides at Khariro Charan Village, located about twelve kilometers away from Umerkot city. She is a project participant of the Connecting Creativity project in which skills between rural artisans and design and textile students are exchanged in an attempt to create urban market demands.

“I use to earn from regular orders that I would avail locally but the average income did not exceed PKR 1,500 per month.”

Kalawanti’s achievement has not only encouraged her but other women in the village to produce diversified, trendy and better quality products as well as completing orders timely. They see this as an effective and honorable way out of persistent poverty and low standards of living.

Kalawanti’s outstanding quality of work, neat finishing and quick learning abilities were widely acknowledged by project staff, the trainer, students and fellow artisans alike. She produced beautiful Saari borders, sitara (sequin) embellished Saaris, short kurtis, laces, shirts with different embroidery patterns, fashionable shalwars, and aplique work scarves. All of her products were ranked of high quality. She devotedly took upon assignments which were new to her to build on her diverse experience and to further enhance her crafting skills.

“We were working on very limited number of designs and color combinations earlier but interaction with the students from Karachi opened doors to new designs, stitches, cuts and trends currently demanded in urban markets.”

Kalawanti’s family is very pleased with her progress she has made through these handcrafted products. Her husband supported her throughout, saying,

“If you can earn in such a way, it would be encouraging and relaxing, and it will be very beneficial for us as a family.”

Kalawanti purchased clothes for herself and her children from the earnings and bought books for both of her children enrolled in grade 1 and grade 2. She was happy to receive the payment before their religious festival, Diwali which was celebrated later in October. She also bought some kitchen utensils for her home. She delightfully said,

“That moment was very precious when I came home and shared my shopping with my husband and children. The smile on my husband’s face was very motivating and gave me mental peace.”

Kalawanti is currently working on additional orders received. She assists other fellow artisans in understanding new designs and improving on their quality of work. She commits five hours of her work day  to her crafting daily, including the two hour class she attends at the training center for production. She is still enthusiastic to earn regularly and to utilize her skill for improving future prospects for her children and her family.

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