Community World Service Asia organized a Crafts Festival to promote the handicrafts produced by rural women artisans of Sindh and to introduce Taanka, a brand launched to retail handcrafted products of women artisans from Sindh to national and international urban buyers. The festival was celebrated on November 26-17, 2016 at Dolmen Mall, Clifton in Karachi. It was attended by a large number of people who appreciated and praised the exquisite range of products made by the artisans of Thatta and Umerkot.
Archives
Mithal – a True Inspiration
Mithal, a 45-year-old widow and mother to a 13 years old son, lives in Phul Jhakro village located in Thatta district, Sindh. Her son and her live with her mother and brother, who is often unwell and unable to bring home a regular income. The family is therefore faced with severe financial crises throughout the year. As a means of income, Mithal worked in the agricultural fields picking chilies and cotton and grazed crops. The floods that hit southern Pakistan in 2010 destroyed those lands and its crops, shrinking the earnings of the family even further, forcing them to live in sub-standard conditions.
Responding to the floods, Community World Service Asia initiated relief and recovery projects in Phul Jhakro village and conducted Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) Trainings in 2011.
added Mithal.“Many villagers attended the DRR training and I was one of the participants as well. The trainings were very helpful as various exercises were conducted in order to minimize the devastating effects a disaster leaves behind. These trainings have made us more aware and prepared for any kind of disaster including fire, floods and earthquakes,”
Mithal proudly added that after the informative and life-saving DRR interventions, many of her fellow villagers started to become more open-minded and started welcoming new ideas and learnings.
“We established a school in our village in order to promote education amongst our children. The teacher belonged from our village as well. Disaster Risk Reduction Trainings are given in schools as well which has built an additional knowledge and has made our children more aware in relation to disaster management.”
Observing the keen interest and rapid learning of the people of Phul Jhakro, soon after, a vocational training center, conducting Adult literacy classes for women for the first three months, was established. Earlier, Mithal gave thumb impressions as her identification as she was unable to read or write. At the Adult Literacy Trainings, she learnt to read, write, and calculate basic mathematics. She could also sign her name now. Mithal was appointed as the monitor of her class which gave her even more confidence and motivation.
Mithal said that many women in her village were unable to read and write as most did not go to school for basic education but now things have changed.“This training enhanced my educational skills giving me the confidence to speak to other people and negotiate while taking handicraft orders.”
“The center conducted a three month Vocational training which focused on enhancing our stitching and designing skills. We were taught about family colors and how to use light and dark colors together to form vibrant designs which are both appealing and beautiful. A variety of new techniques were also taught, including appliqué work and cushion embroidery. Different stitches were practiced including Kacho Stitch, Lazy Dazy Stitch, Moti Stitch and Pakko Stitch. I enjoyed working on the cushion designs as it was new to me and I found the work to be very elegant.”
Establishing and promoting the indigenous and national handicraft industry has benefits for all. Not only does it provide additional employment locally but also raises the living standards of both rural and urban populations. As part of the livelihoods and Women empowerment projects supported by Community World Service Asia and its partners, exposure visits were conducted where rural artisans met with urban buyers of Bhit Shah and Karachi. Mithal was among those who were an active part of these visits.
Mithal also attended the training conducted at the campus of Textile Institute of Pakistan in Karachi, where she learnt how to make high fashion shirts, jeans and different designs of Kurtis.“The exposure visits to Bhit Shah and Karachi further developed my understanding and broadened my knowledge about the handicrafts market. In Bhit Shah, I experienced the work of block printing on Ajraks which was completely new to me. Initially we did embroidery on the neck lines of shirts only. The exposure visit to Karachi enhanced our perception and we learnt to do embroidery on shirt borders, waist coats, bags, cushion covers and other open pieces of cloth. We now know how to keep samples of our work for future use and display for buyers.”
The same artisans were then given an order of products to produce for a Fashion Show that would launch their handicrafts brand to the fashion and textile market in Lahore. Working on the production of those products was a completely different experience according to Mithal.
Mithal had never in her life gotten the chance to showcase her work and talent at such a high profile event which made her even more nervous regarding peoples’ expectation and response to her work. Mithal excitedly expressed,“We made laces with various designs of embroidery, Muko and Zari work. We were not aware of what the final product, using our designs and embellishments, would look like. On my way to Lahore for the Fashion Show, I kept wondering what our pieces will be used for and how it will look, what kind of response our work would get. When we got to the venue of the event in Lahore (the Pakistan Fashion Design Council), we saw the finished products for the first time; those included sarees, shirts, kurtis, lehngas (long skirts), long coats, waistcoats, trousers, bags and scarves. We were amazed to see the complete products and how the laces and embroidery pieces were used to make such a beautiful collection. We did this I thought to myself in disbelief!”
“It was a wonderful feeling to see our work on the ramp. The zari, muko and embroidery work on the laces was immensely appreciated by the designers and guests at the event.”
As Mithal shared, the women of their area have always been entirely dependent on the men in their family to go out of their homes.
Mithal now receives many orders as the demand for her designing and embroidery has increased. She has received orders of various products including rillis, laces, shirts and jewelry.“This concept has changed and I now travel independently on my own. I have travelled to Karachi and Lahore. My first airplane trip to Lahore was one of the best experiences of my life. I was extremely excited to travel so far from home to promote my work further. My brother has been very supportive throughout my journey. Many villagers discouraged him not to allow me to travel on my own and promote my work. But my brother always encouraged me to move forward with my talent as I was working for a positive cause and change, for the betterment of our lives.”
Mithal also now conducts DRR trainings on her own in her village to expand and strengthen women’s knowledge, empowering them in decision-making processes at times of calamity.“My land was destroyed due to the flood of 2010. After receiving two orders of PKR 11,000, I utilized that money on replenishing the land and bought seeds to grow crops on the land again. My brother was very happy with this progress and we now grow wheat on our land which has increased our source of income further.”
Most women in the village are more encouraged now as they see Mithal’s courageous change by stepping out in the world to play a better role in the socio-economic development in her respective community.“The villagers address me as an officer as I have travelled to Lahore and Karachi to progress my hard-work. Even my son calls me a professional officer and proudly walks in the streets of our village.”
Taanka, a New Beginning
“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/ )
From the Desert to the Ramp
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.
Mustufa’s story of Resilience and Recovery
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.
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.“I earned PKR 8600 (equivalent to DKK540) by selling these vegetables”,
Gifts from Kalawanti – her story of success
“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.
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.“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 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,
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,“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.”
“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.
International Rural Women Day
The International Rural Women Day was observed to honor the rural women who make up ¼ of the world’s population. Improving the working conditions of rural women, and recognizing the important role they play in society is an important step in the sustainability of the system. Community World Service Asia is proud to be supporting the spirited rural women of Interior Sindh since 2012. Our aim is to support rural women by strengthening their livelihoods, while managing risks and creating opportunities at the same time.
Bringing back Joy to the people of Ranwatiyoon
Village Ranwatiyoon is located on bank of river Indus in district Thatta. The local population here is blessed with fertile land which is the main livelihood of the area. Being located on the river bank, the local population has recurrently been hit with natural disasters like floods and cyclones since 2010. This has continuously been affecting their livelihoods and lives.
These recurrent disasters have adversely hampered the livelihoods of the people living in the village by damaging their crops and fragile agricultural infrastructure, forcing a lot of people to settle for working for daily wages. This has lead to a decrease in agricultural production.
Due to the unavailability of a proper irrigation module on the main water course and the silting of unpaved irrigation channels, farmers were not able to provide sufficient water as requirement to their crops. On the other side, a lack of funds in the local irrigation department hinders construction in irrigation channels. With the fear of a breach of unpaved main water course, the irrigation department is also not allowing local farmers to allow sufficient water to come through as per adequate crop requirement.
This watercourse had been a source of life and livelihood for the people of Ranwatiyoon and was named “Khillan” meaning joyful when it was flowing in full volume. Local farmers were very content and at peace as the Khillan was source of supporting to their livelihood. However, a lack of financial resources of small farmers made them vulnerable as they could not reconstruct the irrigation channel on their own.
This water course runs up to four kilometers from the start up till its end, irrigating almost 355 acres of land of 155 small land holders. Farmers at the tail end of the water course could hardly irrigate their fields due to insufficient water supply and often indulged in conflicts among each other.
Observing the problems faced by these small land holders in irrigating their lands, Community World Service Asia with the support of Dan Church Aid and DANIDA, designed a project which included Cash for Work activities. Under this initiative, twelve water channels are rehabilitated to ensure a sufficient flow and access of water to a maximum number community members. The same scheme has also been selected for rehabilitation of uprooted farmers under the project.
Upon community identification, physical work on reconstructing the channel has been completed along with desilting of almost four kilometers of old unpaved water course. This scheme has directly benefitted twenty-six landless labors directly through cash for work. All direct participants received cash for work for almost four weeks in two cycles which enabled them to secure food for their families along with indirectly benefitting 155 small land holders. The local community is overwhelmed with the support provided to them.
Learning to bring about disaster resilience in local communities
It is unfortunate to realise that many countries in the world are still not investing enough in prevention and preparedness of disasters.. From a development perspective, disaster risk reduction is vital for building a more equitable and sustainable future of vulnerable, at-risk communities. Investing in prevention and preparedness is vital to the systematic efforts of increasing disaster resilience. In this very attempt, Community World Service Asia works towards disaster risk reduction (DRR)as a cross-cutting theme in all its programming to strengthen the resilience of rural communities. Recently, we facilitated an exposure visit of a group of volunteers from Indus Resource Centre (IRC), Dadu to experience some DRR related activities executed in Thatta by our project staff. Eighteen participants visited the Emergency Operation Centres (EOC) set up by us, in three separate villages..
The Indus Resource Center team commenced their visit from Achar Khaskheli Village where a meeting was conducted with the Women Enterprise Group (WEG). The artisans of the WEG shared their experience of receiving a training on Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM)which was very helpful to them during the 2015 floods. The team was further taken to the Emergency Operating Center in Nooh Waliro Village where Mr. Hanif Nooh Waliro, the Local Support Organization’s President, gave a briefing on the process of the formation of the Community Organization (CO), Village Organization (VO) and the Local Support Organization under the livelihood projects. He added,
“strong efforts are put in the development of the village by the members of these organizations and the people of the village are appreciating the progress made through different activities.”
At Phul Jakhro Village, the team visited the Emergency Operating Centre where Phul Jakhro, LSO President, shared his thoughts about the productive utilization of the equipments used at the centre during emergency situations. The EOC’s shelter was also visited where a questions and answers session was held and the queries of the team were effectively addressed. Phul Jahkhro also briefed the visitors on the information charts they have put on the walls. A fire drill was performed by the Phul Jakhro community where a manual siren call was made and a woman called for help on a mega-phone. The community people reached at the scene with buckets and fire extinguishers, carried rescue efforts and extinguished the fire.
Qurban Ali Mallah, President LSO Union Coucil Gozo shared that they are grateful to Community World Service Asia for hosting such a fruitful exposure visit.
In another occasion, Rashid Chandio, IRC representative, said that,“The interaction with business women from the WEG reflected empowerment and confidence building. The EOC and the installed equipment were new for them at this level therefore they learnt a lot.”
Rukhsana, an IRC volunteer, added that they would replicate such activities in their area to increase women participation.“women participation was laudable. The trainings on DRR have really brought magnificent changes into their lives.”
Improving life standards- a mother steps up
Koshlia, a mother of five, three daughters and two sons, lives with her husband Chatoon at Kharoro Charan Village in district Umerkot. She is a born artisan, belonging to a humble rural background. Koshlia struggled to meet the survival needs of her family everyday as their family had no regular source of income.
Hope was raised when the training center was set up in Kharoro Charan. Koshlia believed that the centre encouraged the women of her village to promote and refine their handicrafts skills and culture to make them financially independent, helping them resolve their household issues. “I felt that I could change my life with new ideas, skills and exposure.”“My husband is a mason. He does not earn on a regular basis. I am an artisan and have been crafting products at our village and nearby areas. As our income is insufficient, it becomes difficult to solve emergency situations and unforeseen daily crisis.”
In the developing world, there are thousands if not millions of rural artisans that are living in vulnerable families and communities. There is little coordination with the outside world and as a result there is a lack of learning and skill development. An important way to strengthen and develop the talent of these artisans is to help them interact with professionals and built market linkages. While it is good to network in meetings and events, often the best way to learn is to visit and see with ones own eyes. Koshlia shared that her happiest moment was when she visited Karachi.
“It was my first time going to Karachi. I was very excited to see the products sold in the big cities and meet new people. I met with the students and designers who were crafting similar products as we did back in our village. We learnt about designing and the usage of different colors. We came to know about the vast variety of patterns that can be used to make our products unique and appealing. I feel I was very lucky to be part of such an interactive and communicative visit.”
Rural women contribute to the income of families and the growth of communities in a multitude of ways which makes them resourceful economic agents. However, due to lack of resources and interaction, and restricting gender norms they face persistent discrimination. This hampers the use and achievement of their full potential. She gladly expressed,
“I am happy to be an artisan which is also our identity. It is true that the rural women can be meaningful economic agents but limited resources have lessened our growth opportunities. I am thankful to the training centre for providing a platform of learning and development for me and many like me. I will further engage with other rural artisans to share the knowledge I gained in this exposure visit so that they can benefit as well.”
Koshlia is currently earning well as she has received more orders as her products have become more trendy since her exposure visit to Karachi.
Women like Koshlia are striving to build a better life for their families and to bring in economic, environmental and social change in order to maximize access to better standards of living, health care and education.“I have been very fortunate as now I am contributing to the income of my family. I now see my children growing in a better and healthy environment. We purchase drinking water on monthly basis and I occasionally purchase livestock fodder for our goats as well. I intend to fully support my children in acquiring education.”
Prev