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Community World Service Asia, with the support of Christian Aid, is working to empower women in rural Sindh, Pakistan, by supporting them to earn an income through traditional handicrafts skills. Mithal talks to us about her involvement in the project.

Name: Mithal
Age: 37 Years
Village: Phull Jakhro
Occupation: Tailor, House wife, Artisan

Q: How much did you earn before becoming involved in this project?
A: Before, my monthly household income was around 1,000 – 1,500 rupees [approximately US$10 – 15].  I earned by sewing the clothes of villagers.

Q: How has this affected your life?
A: It was not enough income for me as i have a son.  Complete responsibility for him shifted to me after the death of my husband. So it was difficult to manage the household expenses.

Q: Tell us about how you learned these skills.  Do you enjoy doing this kind of work?
A: Before joining the Centre, I was familiar with some of the traditional skills which I had learnt from my mother. Yes, I enjoy doing this work, because for me it is like my ancestors’ custom, and I have to keep it alive by making embroidery which I know on different products.

Q: Why did you want to be a participant in this project?
A: Before this project, in our village, there was not any kind of literacy or vocational centre where I could learn both literacy and more embroidery skills. So the interest to learn more made me able to participate.

Q: What new skills have you learned at the centre?  How do find the teaching style?
A: I learnt more about ralli (traditional quilting) making designs and appliqué work at the centre. The teaching style of our instructor is very motivating.

Q: How much money have you earned through your handicrafts since becoming involved in the project?
A: I have earned 3,000 rupees [approximately US$30] since i have been involved in the project.  Orders were made within my village, and my friend made the order for me.  The order was for four embroidered shirts, and it took me one month.

Q: What was it like for you to fill these orders?
A: It created a hope for me that slowly, but now, it is going to be a source of income generation for me.

Q: What did you do with the money you earned?
A: I gave 1,000 rupees to my mother who is also a widow, and ill.  I gave 1,000 rupees to my elder brother. The rest is spent on food and clothing.

Q: What do your family think about the money you have contributed to the household?
A: I am a widow and stay with my elder brother and mother. My brother has his own family to feed, but he supports me too. He was also ill, so when I gave him the money, he became happy and felt proud of me.  I am very happy to feel that I can also contribute for my household.

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Sindh is known as the “breadbasket of Pakistan”, as the agricultural sector in the province directly supports around three quarters of the country’s population.  However, due to heavy rains, cyclones and sea intrusion, leading to rising water levels, as well as the flat topography of the land, the area is extremely vulnerable to flooding, and has suffered extensively from the effects of flooding, which causes extensive damage to the lives, health, livelihoods and homes of millions of people living around river embankments in low lying areas.

Community World Service Asia has been working to meet the urgent food needs of families displaced by flooding and residing temporarily in underdeveloped areas of Sajawal district.  The floods not only washed away their belongings, but also destroyed standing crops, leaving them food insecure and vulnerable to malnutrition and illness. To address the critical food insecurity faced by these families, Community World Service Asia provided food assistance through the distribution of wheat seeds to enable the affected farmers to sow for the coming cropping season. Each of the 1,470 farming families was provided with 100 kilograms of wheat seed, to cultivate two acres of land. The harvest from this crop would enable the families to meet their food needs until the next harvest.

Monthly food rations were also provided for a period of five months while waiting for the harvest. Rations were distributed to 2,100 families, including 70 kilograms of fortified wheat flour 70, six kilograms of pulses, five liters of oil and ten match boxes. All packages adhere to international standards to ensure that the needs of vulnerable people are respected and met.

Community World Service Asia believes in incorporating sustainability into its relief efforts, and in developing the long-term resilience of the communities with which we work.  This initiative therefore included the training of 1,470 farmers on integrated crop management, a holistic approach to sustainable agriculture based on indigenous knowledge, and the training of 419 community members on disaster risk reduction practices.

As part of the capacity building on disaster risk reduction, a tree plantation campaign, titled “One Family, One Tree”, has been initiated to protect the community from soil erosion, which exacerbates the risks of flooding.  The campaign supports the government’s efforts to minimize the threats posed by climate change and future environmental hazards, and was welcomed by the community.  With support and facilitation from the district administration and the Social Forestry Department, some 2,200 saplings for Eucalyptus, Bakine and Neem trees were provided at subsidized rates of just PKR 2 (approximately US$ 0.02) per plant.

Community World Service Asia is delighted by the enthusiasm and commitment to the campaign, and will continue to support efforts for a green future for Pakistan.

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Haseena, a 28 year-old-artisan woman, belongs to the village of Dadu Panwar near Thatta. She started working after the floods in 2010. Haseena says that prior to joining the center established by Community World Service Asia, she did not know many types of embroidery stitches. She says that it was at the center that she and her fellow artisans learnt how to read and write their names.

“We used to give our thumb prints but now we are able to sign.”

Haseena feels that it was through the continuous efforts of the vocational teaching instructors and designers that opened up various aspects of local craft.

“We went to Karachi for a training. Previously, we didn’t know which products would be made out of our samples but once we went to Karachi and saw the market, we found out what our embroidered samples were being used for. When we went to the market again, we saw bangles, earrings, and bags that had been made out of embroideries similar to ours. If we work more passionately, we will be able do well,”

she says. 
Now that the center has been reestablished, Haseena says all the women in the village are very excited at the prospect of learning new skills and going to Karachi.

“We are very happy and are hopeful to learn further and move forward in life. If we get money from our orders, then we will spend that money in educating our children, running our homes.”

She feels that it should not only be the man’s responsibility to earn money for the house.

“This skill that we are learning will allow us to be independent and not rely on anyone else for financial support,” she adds.

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DurationOct 01, 2015 — Mar 31, 2016
LocationDistrict Sujawal of Sindh Province, Pakistan
Key Activities
  • Village Committee Formation
  • Monthly food distribution for five consecutive months
  • Agriculture inputs (seeds) distribution
  • Training on Integrated Crop Management
  • Trainings on CBDRM
Participants2,100 flood affected food insecure families

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DurationOct 01, 2015 — Sep 30, 2018
LocationUC Pangrio and Khairpur Gambo of Taluka Tando Bhago, District Badin, Sindh
Key Activities
  • Season long on farm training of 400 farmer families in sustainable agriculture
  • 3 exposure visit, organized at Sindh university of Agriculture Tando Jam, Wheat research institute Sakrand, Central Cotton research Institute Sakrand and agriculture training institute Sakrand.
  • 3 farmer festival to celebrate the harvests of crops and kitchen gardening vegetables produce
  • Arboriculture campaign by plantation of 11,340 plant sampling
  • Distribution of kitchen gardening vegetable seed and tool kit among 650 farmer families
  • Soil sampling of 650 farmer families
Participants650 farmer families

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Students and artisans look through design ideas together 01
Students and artisans look through design ideas together
Students and artisans look through design ideas together
Students share new creative patterns for embroidery 02
Students share new creative patterns for embroidery
Students share new creative patterns for embroidery
Students examine embroidery samples 03
Students examine embroidery samples
Students examine embroidery samples
The artisans and students had fun getting know one another 04
The artisans and students had fun getting know one another
The artisans and students had fun getting know one another
The artisans demonstrate their embroidery skills 05
The artisans demonstrate their embroidery skills
The artisans demonstrate their embroidery skills
Artisans were enthusiastic about learning new designs from the students 06
Artisans were enthusiastic about learning new designs from the students
Artisans were enthusiastic about learning new designs from the students
The artisans impressed the students with their traditional skills, including this appliqué work 07
The artisans impressed the students with their traditional skills, including this appliqué work
The artisans impressed the students with their traditional skills, including this appliqué work
The workshop provides a space for women to come together 08
The workshop provides a space for women to come together
The workshop provides a space for women to come together
The students and artisans worked productively together to produce samples 09
The students and artisans worked productively together to produce samples
The students and artisans worked productively together to produce samples
Handicraft skills have the potential to be a reliable source of income for these women 10
Handicraft skills have the potential to be a reliable source of income for these women
Handicraft skills have the potential to be a reliable source of income for these women

 

With support from the Danish Center for Culture and Development, Community World Service Asia is bringing together rural artisans from Thatta and Umerkot in Sindh, and design students from Karachi.  Through their collaboration, traditional skills will be combined with marketable designs, enabling these women to connect to the urban market and earn a sustainable income from their craft.  This month, students from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVS) and the Textile Institute of Pakistan (TIP) visited Umerkot and Thatta respectively, in order to meet the artisans with whom they will be working, and gain some insight into their way of life and conditions of work.

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Mir Hussain, a twelve year old resident of village Sher Muhammad Hallo in Thatta distirct encountered a foot injury while working in the agricultural fields. He accidently injured himself with his crop cutting spade while at work.  Mir Hussain’s injured foot bled heavily and the pain he was suffering was excruciating.

“I could not see my son in pain and bleeding that much. I was very worried as my husband was at work at the time and there is no hospital near our village”, expressed the worried mother of Mir Hussain. The mother was soon told about a Mobile health team that was present in the area, upon advice from fellow villagers and members of the Village Health committee, she immediately took her son to the Community World Service Asia Mobile Health team where Dr. Mujahid Ali Shah examined  Mir Hussain’s injury. Dr. Mujahid attended to his wounds immediately, first cleaning the wound and then stopping the bleeding by pressing it with a gauze bandage. When the bleeding ceased, the injury was properly dressed and Mir Hussain was given an antibiotic and pain killer for further relief. Mir Hussain’s mother was instantly relieved of her worry and expressed gratitude to the doctor and the mobile health team.

Belonging to an underprivileged family, Mir Hussain shares a home with his eight siblings and parents. His father is a fisherman who goes fishing to the nearby lake on a daily basis.  In the summer of 2015, their house and village was severely affected by the floods that hit parts of Sindh.  “All the residents of our village were moved to safer areas when the flood was approaching. We were moved to embankments as well. No one has assisted the flood affected villages with medical aid since the floods hit us. Community World Service Asia is the only organization that came to our medical assistance. It will take us two to three months more to further settle back into our normal lives”, narrated Mir Hussain’s mother.

The Health unit established by Community World Service Asia in Thatta, has so far conducted 5,745 medical consultations. Two hundred and seventy Ante-Post Natal consultations have been delivered, while 148 hygiene sessions have been conducted. Two village health committees consisting of twenty four members have also been formed under the current project.

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After completing training, participants receive an emergency kit, including a radio, a torch, a safe documents bag and a battery cell

This month, Community World Service Asia has conducted disaster risk reduction sessions for 150 men and women from six Community Organizations in the hazard-prone area of Thatta, Sindh province.  Community Based Disaster Risk Management trainings are conducted through our innovative Mobile Knowledge Resource Center, which engages community members in disaster preparedness skills.  These trainings are bringing vital knowledge to vulnerable communities, and empowering them to build their resilience:

“It was great and fruitful training for us because we never received any training about DRR by presenting simulation models, we never knew about our village’s vulnerabilities, historical hazards, evacuation and emergency equipment.”

  • Gul Hassan, member of Rahim Dino Thaheem Community Organization

“The early warning system is a very informative method to mitigate any future disaster.  It will help us with updates of natural disaster.  The phone number provided to us it will help us to remain in contact with government body and NGO. We never know before where we get updates.”

  • Yar Muhammad, member of Haji Talib Bijoro Community Organization

“I would like to thanks Community World Service Asia for coming here and conducted training especially for women, because we are neglected at any walk of life.  I learnt how to take safety measure in a fire disaster; I know about the reason of fire and how to keep away unused grass from kitchen surroundings.”

  • Ms Meemi Member, member of Basar Charan Community Organization

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Kamla is a resident of Surto Oad village in District Umerkot.  Kamla’s father, Mr. Mukesh Kumar, is the sole earner for her family, and was scarcely able to earn enough to support his household of eight people.  Women in these villages in rural Sindh are largely dependent on male family members for financial and social support.  It is extremely difficult for them to overcome cultural and social barriers to earn an income.  For Kamla, who is living with a disability, those barriers are especially difficult: “A I’m a physically disabled woman, I can’t go out for labor in agricultural fields as most of the women do.”

In spite of these difficulties, Kamla is resolved to support her family and help them to build a resilient future free of any financial worries.  “I have the art of embroidery. I can do embroidery work at my home also, and I can help my family to reduce financial burden.”

She believes that lack of education, ignorance of health issues and gender discrimination are the major obstacles to women’s empowerment in her community. She stated that when she was informed that an NGO (Community World Service Asia) was establishing an embroidery center at her village, a ray of hope was rekindled for her. She already knew the art of embroidery, but her work was never acknowledged and she did not receive due wages for her laborious work.

Despite having no formal vocational training, she is very skilled in embroidery and produces high quality work.  However, as she has been unable to properly market her products, her work remained underpaid.  “After taking the artisans’ skill test, I was informed that I have qualified the test and team selected me for the embroidery learning center. I was really glad to hear this news and was highly excited that now my skill will be improved and my work will be recognized with fair wages.”

Kamla explained how participating in the project will support her to earn a real income from her work: “After a three-month course on embroidery, and then an additional three months for production, I will be able to get an idea about marketing those products and what are the rates of market.  Then I can assist my father in terms of contributing income.”

Her father will also be engaged in the project activities as a gender activist.  Kamla shared how he is working to promote gender equality in the community after participating in Community World Service Asia’s TOT workshop for gender activists: “Since the training, he is delivering lectures on a regular basis with my neighbors and my relatives and motivates them to educate their daughters as well.” She is quite hopeful that the difference between male and female which society has created will now be reduced; women are now talking about their health issues with their male counterparts.

For Kamla, the most important impact of the project has been that she is now empowered to support her family.  “Around the clock, I remained in tension, wondering when I would be able to do something for my family. Now I have trust in myself that I can also help my family financially. Despite my physical disability, I can also be independent and can contribute my due share for the betterment of both my family and my community as well.”

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