Best of Kushalta Ke Kadam, a concoction of the last four seasons and the journey of the USHA Silai School program which was started in 2011. Over the last nine years, this program with the help from different partners has empowered more than 5 lakh women, across India. In this series, we will talk about the impact of enabling and empowering women and how the USHA Silai School program has transformed their lives. USHA Silai school program launched the 'Silai' label, a once in a lifetime opportunity for the Silai women as it not only gave them an identity but also many unforgettable experiences. Today, the Silai School program is not only limited to giving sewing lessons and a silai machine to women to open their own Silai school, but has evolved to uplifting both men and women through various means.
Kushalta Ke Kadam, an initiative by USHA Silai School and NDTV has entered its eighth season. The aim is to empower more women across rural India by teaching them sewing skills and helping them open new doors of opportunities for themselves. The initiative encourages rural women to become financially independent and entrepreneurs by taking up sewing and training others in their respective communities.
Since 2011, the USHA Silai School initiative has trained more than 12 lakh rural women through over 33,000 Silai schools, spanning over 20,751 villages across India.
The women earn Rs. 4,000 – 5,000 per month on an average, with the highest recorded monthly earning being Rs. 84,000 in a month. This earning works as a catalyst towards building their self-confidence, reducing gender inequities, and raising their stature within their families and in society at large.
Rebari girls grow up learning traditional embroidery, which along with their new found sewing skills developed at Usha Silai Schools, is helping them earn a living.
Usha Silai School has empowered many rural women to support their family and send their children to school.
The Usha Silai School, established in a small nondescript village that goes by the name of Kottai, is helping empower people from varied communities.
The all-inclusive Usha Silai School Programme covers the entire nation from hamlets tucked between hills to villages cast by the sea.
Vegetables farmers from the Mizoram hills earn very little given the topography of the area. Usha Silai Schools have played an important part in this region by skilling women to financially contribute towards their households.
Usha Silai School learner Lucy has trained seven other women in her community, helping them to become financially independent.
Women like Kaviben from the nomadic Rebari community are finally laying down their roots as they begin to gain financial independence and thereby stability through Usha Silai School.
Usha Silai School, located in the Gujarat's Bhuj village, is enabling rural women to earn as much as Rs. 2,500-4,000 each month.
Usha Silai School, in association with a Gujarat based NGO called Kala Raksha, is trying to bring about a Silai revolution in Bhuj.
Besides training other women from their community, many Usha Silai School learners have become entrepreneurs in their own right.
With sewing becoming easily accessible and lucrative, the silai schools are also helping revive traditional motifs and designs.
The women of the Toda tribe practice an ancient form of embroidery which is deeply intertwined with their culture and heritage
To keep Khneng embroidery alive and empower women, the Meghalaya State Rural Livelihoods Society (MSRLS) has joined hands with Usha International Limited
The East India Fashion Week featured over 30 designers, which gave the women of the Usha Silai school an opportunity to connect with industry experts, helping them get a sense of the fashion industry
USHA hopes they will be able to capitalise on this advantage and that their continued intervention will turn Puducherry into a strong contender in the silambam circuit of India
USHA has been persistently promoting local traditions and culture around the country, whether through traditional forms of art and craft or indigenous forms of spor
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