From struggling to make ends meet to creating clothes for a fashion label and walking the ramp at Lakme Fashion Week last year Sunita, Santosh, and Raziaben were among 32 women who lived a dream through silai label
2006 brought Nithari, Uttar Pradesh, into the headlines and presented the world with one of the most convoluted and inhuman stories of violence and murder ever
USHA Silai Sschool is helping women in Nagaland carve out their own destinies through stitching and sewing
Men from rural parts of Tamil Nadu have enrolled themselves for the USHA Silai School programme and are now earning a stable income meet their household expenses
Women from four different zones collaborated with prestigious fashion designers and launched their own clothing line Silai that was displayed at the Lakme Fashion Week 2018. Here's their rags to riches story
The migration rate in some of the villages of Andhra Pradesh have seen a dip after the state partnered with USHA Silai school to set up training centres that not only improve the skills of rural women and men but also enable them to become financially independent
Despite being disabled herself and a wife of a mentally challenged husband, Rekhaben took charge of her family
Determined to uplift her economic condition and provide a better life to her family, Laboni turned her hobby into her profession and opened her own sewing school in 2016
Santosh Kumawat from Jaipur district has trained over 100 women in the last five years and aims to pass on her sewing skill to as many rural women as possible
Daily wage labourer Sunita kumawat dared to dream big and Silai School gave wings to her dreams
After the demise of her parents, Ayesha was left alone as her siblings either got married or moved out of their village in search of work
Determined to provide a better future to her children, A. Metildamary from Viluppuram district of Tamil Nadu, joined USHA Silai school in December 2013
From being dependent on in-laws for fulfilling family's basic needs to earning Rs. 20,000 a month, E. Iruthayamary from Pondicherry did it all alone
39-year-old Raziabens disability made survival a struggle till she completed her training from Silai School and turned over a new leaf in her life
From the grassroot level to the big stage of the fashion world, USHA Silai School women have come a long way. Right from the moment they boarded the plane, a first for all of them, everything about this journey has been a life changing experience for all the women
Under the guidance of Amit Vijaya and Richard Pandav of the AMRICH fashion label, Silai School women from Jaipur and Ahmedabad not only learnt new sewing techniques but was also part of the ideation process that established the Silai label
Two designers, Sayantan Sarkar and Sreejith Jeevan, worked their way to understanding their teams skills, training them in areas they lacked and preparing the women to create something they had never done before
Breaking age-old shackles and moving forward towards a bright new future, USHA Silai School women were introduced to the larger business dynamics of the fashion industry in India
Rural women trained in Usha Silai School from different parts of the country, work in collaboration with prominent designers from the fashion world to design trend-setting clothing lines and step out into the world of business
Designed for the Indian market and built on the government-supported Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Tez allows users, free of charge, to make small or big payments straight from their bank accounts
Hailing from a family of manual scavengers, Bhagwanta Bai and Anusuya were also forced to join the practice. However both the women decided to opt out of the family's profession and create a legacy of their own
When financial crisis didn't end despite migrating to Nepal from Bihar, Sangeeta Dhawan decided to brush up on her sewing skills and reinvent her life
Nagawani and Jermegini had to leave Sri Lanka during the Civil War and years later when they returned, they had to start their lives from scratch. Amidst poverty and lack of economic opportunities, the two women took up tailoring as their careers and stitched their own futures
Though digital transactions have jumped to 55 per cent in the past year, debit card usage has not been able to replicate the peak numbers of December 2016
Kushalta Ke Kadam, an initiative by NDTV and USHA, aims at empowering women from rural India and encourages them to become entrepreneurs by taking up sewing and training others in their respective communities. Since 2011 Usha Silai Campaign has trained more than 3.95 lakh rural women within five years, with 17,000 Silai schools, spanning over 9272 Indian villages in India.
Kushalta Ke Kadam in Season 4 has returned with new goals and vision. The new season will witness the establishment of the new cluster in Kashmir, apart from the existing four clusters setup last year. The women from volatile Kashmir will work with well-known fashion designer Rohit Bal and get an unique opportunity to learn from him and make clothes for him. The work done by the Silai School women will be presented at Lakme Fashion week 2019.
The charm of Kashmir's picturesque lakes, snow-capped mountains, and lush forests is matched by the richness of its cultural heritage. From handicrafts to the exquisite pashminas, the valley boasts a rich history of arts and crafts passed on through generations and yet the state and its craftsmen are yet to realise their full potential. In an attempt to tap into this immense pool of talent, in the year 2018, the USHA Silai Label set up a garment design and production cluster in Kashmir.
Within 7 years, with 17,000 schools, spanning over 9000 Indian villages, the USHA Silai School has trained over 3.5 lakh rural women. In 2018, the garments made by the women from these schools, under the guidance of four designers were showcased at the Lakme Fashion Week. Since then their life has been transformed with the clothes now selling under the Silai Label at multi-brand outlet in Delhi.
2006 Noida serial murders shook the entire country, especially the men and women of Nithatri, who fear stepping out of their houses putting their lives on a perpetual pause. But USHA Silai School came as a ray of hope and provided them with a safe source of living.
West Bengal, India's fourth most populous state, is home to 91 million people, a fifth of which are poor. While people there were trying to make ends meet, USHA Silai School came in as a ray of hope for the underprivileged men and women in the eastern state of India.
With an aim to empower women, USHA Silai School makes effort to widen its reach and expand to every corner of India. With this thought as its driving force, the USHA Silai School programme has opened up an opportunity for women in Nagaland by starting a showroom cum sales center in Dimapur.
Along with reviving the traditional craft and providing employment opportunities to the underprivileged women all over India, USHA Silai School programme is providing sewing training to underprivileged men also. The latest extensions aim to help rural households in India improve their earnings.
Eight selected USHA Silai School women entrepreneurs got a chance to learn and work under the guidance of different designers. Designers Soham Dave, Sayantan Sarkar, Amit Vijaya and Richard Pandav, and Sreejith Jeevan along with USHA Silai School women curated a collection for Lakme Fashion Week 2018.
In 2015, the government of Andhra Pradesh partnered with Berkeley University to launch the ‘Smart Villages Mission' and the sleepy village of Mori emerged as Andhra Pradesh's first smart village. Later, government partnered with corporations like USHA International to create employment opportunities in the villages and curb migration.
Santosh Kumwat and Sunita Devi Kumawat from Jaipur are two of the eight selected USHA Silai School women entrepreneurs, who got a chance to learn and work under the guidance of designers - Amit Trivedi and Richard Pandav to launch a clothing line at the Lakme Fashion Week 2018.
Some of the Usha Silai School women, chosen from four regions of the country, went through an assessment. Then a select few got to work on the production of a clothing line, under their fashion designer mentors. These women were then flown to Mumbai to display their collection at the trendiest event on the year - the Lakme Fashion Week.
Bhagwanta Bai from Madhya Pradesh was forced to become a manual scavenger after her marriage by her in-laws. Unable to bear prejudices and ill-treatment from the society she decided to build a new life with skills of stitching and sewing
Jermegini, 26, had moved to India in 1990 due to the civil war in Sri Lanka. While in India, she stayed in a refugee camp at Kudiyatham in Vellore and learned basics of stitching and sewing. It was this skill that Usha Silai School later honed and helped her build a life from scratch in her home country.
Married to an opium addict, when she barely 15, Gomi Devi, lived a hard life with no stable source of income. When she had her first child at 16, she realised that she needed to find a job and become financially independent. At this juncture, Usha Silai School helped her take control of her life.
Haunted by the infamous 2006 serial killings in Noida's Nithari village, Rubina Begum and Soni's life had come to a standstill. Tired of constantly living in fear, both of them discovered the Usha Silai School programme and underwent training for seven days.
Madhya Pradesh's Kanha Tiger Reserve which is one of the most popular national parks is home to numerous tribal communities and villages. Livelihood of majority of the residents depends on the forest resources. There are not too many alternative sources of income available. To overcome this problem, The Corbett Foundation (TCF) tied up with the USHA International Limited to create employment opportunities for women. Phuliya Bai and Rekha Rahangdale joined the Usha Silai programme and soon they turned entrepreneurs and started their own training schools to teach stitching to other women.
Life may not be easy for women living in the interiors of India, especially if the women is trying to live independently and run a household on thier own. But these four women have made it possible. Residing in different corners of the country, the stories of these women are inspiring as they took their destiny in to their own hands, in the hope that their life will be as vibrant as the colorful threads they use for stitching.
After getting training under the Usha Silai School programme for seven days, Lajjawati and Poonam, both from a remote part of Uttar Pradesh, started their own sewing training centres. Both these women have gained respect of their fellow villagers for their hard work and stitching skills
Three inspiring stories of women in Maharashtra's Dhule district who changed their own lives and lives of other women with one small step.
© Copyright NDTV Convergence Limited 2019. All rights reserved.
© Copyright NDTV Convergence Limited 2019. All rights reserved.