Case Study- Habba Paintings Women Artisan Skill Enhancement Project

About 'Handmade Dil Se'

When our partner, Habba released a nation-wide campaign called ‘Handmade Dil Se’ supported by NDTV India via telethon and an assemble of filmmakers, designers, Handmade product entities and artisan representatives from PAN India, great opportunity for our artisans came about.

What was started a collaborative effort to bring back the business and artistic motivation post the push back caused by the pandemic, became a roaring success while touching the nerve of thousands for this
initiative. We received many orders, thus, more work for our artisans.

The main objective of this project was two-fold. First one being supporting people financially in rural clusters, post the dearth of job opportunities in pandemic and second, supporting the human cause of weavers and craftmanship by making Habba Hampers.
This project started in October and going strong in the Mahopoli avillage of Bhiwandi, Maharashtra with. Health of our artisans were given top priority.
All the activities were carried out in affirmation of the social distancing rules. The site in which all the training and skilling activities are carried
out is in the central location for convenience, the village school.
On an average these beneficiaries earned Rs. 2000/- 3000 per month for these masks as per orders.
When asked about the experience of working to the artisans they humbly obliged by saying that it has brought in much relief after the hard months of the pandemic.
With the acquired skills and connections, the artisans are positively motivated to contribute and make more opportunities for themselves.

Meet Sarita Gaikwad

Sarita lives in Mahopoli village, in Bhiwadi, Maharashtra.
She stepped into a new role apart from being a sister and daughter when she began contributing to Tisser India.
Before joining Tisser India, she took tuitions of younger children.
Though she has only studied till twelfth standard, she believes in the power of education and nurturing a mind, this value of hers was the biggest asset as a team member.
Once she learned about this opportunity she focussed her energy towards learning this new skill of Warli painting.

Impact as of Today

This opportunity has helped her become a student again.
She is able to provide for her family better and keep a part of savings for herself with her income.
Her dream is to save some money and impart this skill set to other children of village as a part of vocational skill.
She is working on starting awareness workshops in the village, where more and more women, young or old, learn about this skill and practise it. She has even proposed to the team, making of modules instructions and tips for new learners.
She earns around 2-3k per month, ranging on the number of orders we get.
In the course, she has worked on over 15 Warli paintings from start to finish. With the new network and upskilling, she is now a part of Tisser’s 18,000+ Artisan network. This has brought immense confidence and assurance in herself.
It’s often said that when women are educated, communities grow in wholesome. Our Belive in Sarita and her belief in us one such example

Meet Akshada Jadav

While many millennials in rural communities of India, to till day don’t have the fortune of finishing graduation, Akshada Jadav is an exception.
She used to work as a teaching contributor at an NGO, but it had come to a halt post the pandemic and she began taking tution at home.
While that might be assuring, she did not have a stable income until Tisser India approached the cluster of Bhiwandi for extending their support in sustaining livelihoods.
Especially in a pandemic stricken state of matter, it was difficult to find a job as a fresh graduate. It was then she realised the importance of learning a skill, which is employable.
She hopped on this opportunity of contributing as a painter for Habba Hampers, in an instant.
In her family, she has a father who has retired, a mother who works at home and brother who support
her endeavour to teach, study and upskill. One somedays even her brother accompanies to provide a
helping hand to artisans.

Impact as of Today

With diligent and consistent efforts, the hands of Akshada has been the most productive in the cluster of Mahopoli village in Bhiwandi.
She wishes that the opportunity she has had to learn a skill, her students get at a rather young age so they can polish it till the time they grow up.
The foundation of her graduation has helped the team in a much organized approach towards things which is innovative and collaborative.
She takes initiative in documentation of the project through pictures, proposing hacks for efficient packing, and checks for new designs on internet to adapt etc.
She aspires to get many more people in his network to start working for Tisser and pass down his experience to many others, as a lead.
With the monthly income of 2-3k rupees per month, ranging as per the order, She is able to support her family in some capacity.
She is now a part of Tissers 18,000+ Artisan network of Tisser that will further his opportunities.
This stint in Tisser India has turned out to be a life altering for her, where she has realized the importance of being ‘usefull’ for a skill to a community.