In Dehradun, 'Project Purkul' Is Uplifting And Empowering Local Communities While Protecting The Environment

India is one of the world's largest textile producers and consumers. The Indian textile industry is known for its diverse textures, materials, colours, crafts and techniques. However, this industry also generates a significant amount of waste at various stages of production - pre-consumer and post-consumer waste. Pre-consumer waste refers to textile scraps, trimmings, and leftover fabrics from production units, while post-consumer waste refers to discarded garments and textiles. All of this waste ends up in landfills or incineration plants. But, there are people who are giving your clothes a conscience.

In the foothills of the Himalayas, lies Dehradun, a city known for its scenic beauty and tranquil environment. Amidst this picturesque landscape, an initiative called 'Project Purkul' aims to uplift and empower the local communities in the region while protecting the environment.

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Meet Sunita and Neetu, the driving force of this small enterprise located in a small village near Dehradun called Purkul.

The women of Purkul are artisans, skilled in applique and patchwork. But COVID cost them their jobs and they were struggling to make ends meet. That's when Sunita and Neetu decided to do something about it.

Calling Sunita and Neetu as her right and left hands, Amrit Burrett, Director of Project Purkul said,

When I saw that quilts or whatever products they made were of very high quality. The moment the COVID-19 restrictions relaxed, we took a place, tried to get them together and started this at a larger scale.

While recycling is about repurposing, here at Project Purkul, the women are using their skills in applique, patchwork, and quilting, a dying art, to upcycle waste clothes. Their design process has at its very core the purpose of sustainability.

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Detailing on the designing process, Mallika Roy, Head of Design, Project Purkul said, in some ways, it is limited by the materials that are available. When it comes to upcycling, often clients come to her with material that they have a vision for or that they are very attached to. She added,

They ask us to design something new from old material. So, for me, as a designer, that is actually really exciting creatively because having what others might see as constraints, for me, it actually enhances the creative process. It gives you a deeper meaning and a deeper sense of purpose rather than designing something completely from scratch. You are getting this intimate glimpse into people's lives through the textiles so you are designing around that emotional process as well as just an aesthetic.    

The little scraps of fabric left after a textile product has been made, the katran, your local tailor discarded are all pre-consumer waste. Project Purkul is using every bit of scrap it can get its hands on, including its own.

Explaining how the team uses bags and bags of scraps generated during production, Ms Roy said,

One technique that we use is called 'crazy patch'. It is about using small little pieces of fabric that are left over, laying them out on really thin fabric and then doing rows of stitching over all of those scraps so that becomes a textile in itself with a kind of mosaic of different fabrics that have been used in the last few months. And, that can be used as a product as well for designing toiletry bags or other textiles.

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Neetu Rana, Stock Head and Inventory Manager at Project Purkul said,

We mainly work with applique. The technique itself calls for smaller pieces of fabric to be stitched together using applique. Recently, we introduced a new product called the 'crazy patch' which was created by pasting or stitching together many small scraps of clothes. If we threw all that scrap away, it would cause pollution. So, we use all that fabric, rather than wasting the scraps.

Project Purkul recognises that true development lies in empowering individuals and communities. The project aims to uplift the underprivileged sections of society by providing them with opportunities for skill development, and entrepreneurship. Project Purkul has opened new doors for these women by making them independent and self-sufficient. While some women work at the workshop, some take the material home and bring back the final product.

Amrit Burrett said Project Purkul is taking employment to the doorstep and giving women the freedom to work from the comfort of their homes and in their free time. She added,

Because of this, more and more ladies are getting involved. What we show them is you got the skills. Not just the artisan or handicraft that we are talking about but we also have youngsters who know how to use the internet or social media and take pictures. All that is required to take the business further.

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Sunita Tyagi, Head of Production at Project Purkul said,

We make the decision for any and every product. We discuss with women what their pay should be for every product. So, all our decisions are taken together. Their opinions and views are considered, they are part of the decision. And as we do well, we want to do well also. 

Donating clothes is perhaps the easiest thing one can do to recycle them, but some clothes hold emotional value for us and are hard to give away. They are clothes we want to hold on to because of the memories attached to them. Project Purkul knows how to give those clothes a new meaning and purpose for you.

Amrit Burrett explained,

Our focus is on upcycling and not recycling. So, we have been encouraging people to actually bring their clothes which aren't useful for them. Instead of just giving it away, get a quilt or something made that they will actually use. Don't get something made to feel good about it but something which is more usable in daily life.

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Project Purkul team has been making memory quilts. Wondering what's that? Ms Burrett explains,

It is wonderful to see parents bringing in their children's small and cute clothes and getting them together. It was interesting to see how even artisans got involved because they never worked in this way. I consider this to be a big success because the biggest challenge is, they are so focused and conditioned to make the same thing over and over again and perfection was lying only with that. Even the prints they would think of, they couldn't think beyond those prints and colour combinations.

When a client gives their clothes to be converted into a quilt, they also give some ideas in terms of what they want and what importance those clothes hold. After that, the team of three -  Ms Burrett, Neetu and Sunita - sit and ideate on the design. Sunita Tyagi explained,

We have made so many quilts now that we are sure of ourselves. We were a little hesitant to start with, but we didn't give up.

In today's fast-paced world, where memories are short-lived, Project Purkul has found a way to capture cherished moments and transform them into beautiful keepsakes. These memory quilts are more than just blankets, they are tangible connections to our past. There are memories and emotions associated with each piece. The quilts are a timeless way to treasure beloved old clothes well past their own utility.

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