Usha Silai School Empowers Border Heroes: Stitching Strength with Armed Forces
Stitching strength across borders, Usha Silai empowers tribal women from Ladakh's rugged terrains and Assam's frontiers to award-winning entrepreneurs in Odisha and Rajasthan
In the remote village of Turtuk, Ladakh, nestled between towering Karakoram and Himalayan ranges near the Line of Control, 30 tribal women gather in a modest training center established by Samaarambh Foundation, NHPC, and Usha International. Amid Usha sewing machines and colorful fabrics, participants like Shakila Bano focus intently on stitching frocks and pillow covers during a 7-day intensive program, their expressions of newfound confidence reflecting the initiative's role in fostering self-reliance and economic dignity in this harsh, resource-scarce borderland.
Myank Khantwal, Founder of Samaarambh Foundation, interacts with tribal women trainees in Turtuk's Training cum Production Centre, surrounded by donated Usha machines and designer wear prototypes like laptop bags. As women practice advanced stitches under guidance, his emphasis on empowering underserved communities highlights the collaboration's impact, enabling regular income generation and social-economic upliftment through skills that transform homemakers into entrepreneurs in Ladakh's challenging terrains.
At Headquarters 8 Mountain Division in Khumbathang, Kargil, Shikha Krishnan, Chairperson of the Women Empowerment Centre, guides 15 women through a 25-day professional tailoring program in a vibrant training room filled with Usha machines and garment patterns. Amid the rugged Ladakhi landscape, participants stitch suits and baby frocks, embodying the Indian Army's initiative since 2002 to provide platforms for skill-sharing, professional growth, and economic independence in isolated border communities.
Women at Khumbathang's WEC blend tailoring with supplementary skills like soap-making and beautician services, their hands busy with fabrics and tools in a supportive group setting. As they transition from basic home stitching to professional earning, the scene captures the program's holistic approach, fostering creativity, leadership, and community bonds while preserving regional craftsmanship and expanding livelihood options in Ladakh's unforgiving environment.
In Dakhinkuchi village near Subankhata, Assam, along the Indo-Bhutan border, women of the Birgwshri Fashion and Home Accessories Unit showcase Bodo Aronai-inspired bags and accessories at the 14th Indo-Bhutan Friendship Fair. Amid bustling stalls and cross-border visitors, participants like Sunita Baro, trained at the Grameen Vikas Manch TCPC funded by HDFC and powered by Usha, demonstrate how collective entrepreneurship bridges cultural ties, generates sustainable income, and empowers women in this harmonious yet opportunity-limited frontier.
NDTV in partnership with Luminous has launched an awareness campaign ‘Be A Bijli Donor’ to promote the idea of ‘save power for more power’. The idea is to conserve energy today in order to get more power tomorrow.
We inherently know that saving energy results in low energy bills, but we also need to understand that a unit of energy saved today makes it available for people still living in the dark or facing regular power cuts.
Saving power or conserving energy is about knowing the sources of energy, and areas of wastage and thereby eliminating these through technology and lifestyle changes. For instance, a 100 W (Watt) incandescent (ICL) bulb can be replaced with a 9 W LED bulb offering similar performance in terms of light output, but at far lower consumption of energy.
While a 100 W ICL bulb, used for four hours a day, consumes 146 units of energy per year, a 9 W LED bulb requires only 13.5 units per year. Clearly, switching to LED is a smart choice as it provides the same output while consuming 90 per cent less energy.
The focus of the campaign is to instill the idea of ‘save power for more power’ and in order to do so, the initiative will create awareness about energy efficient products and services, smart ways to reduce power consumption, alternate sources of energy like solar energy and the need to conserve energy. The idea is to address the rising need for energy conservation in India.
As part of the campaign, we will highlight the stories of individuals and organisations who are championing the cause of energy conservation by switching to renewable sources of energy, adopting innovations to reduce energy consumption while enjoying the same output. The initiative will provide a platform for all stakeholders to share their ideas and work towards the common goal of, ‘Save power for more power’.