VEDANTA SAKHI FASHION SHOW- WHEN DREAMS COME TRUE
Hindustan Zinc rural women empowerment project
“Sakhi” was all glittering with fashion garments on a night when the designs
created by them were showcased on the ramp by Delhi and Mumbai professional
models and watched by none other than the home minister, women and child
development minister and a large gathering of top designers of the country and
fashion students besides many dignitaries...
After three months of meticulous planning, 45
days of hard work and immense brainstorming sessions on designs, look and
fashion trends, the city of Jaipur finally hosted the first ever fashion show
of garments made directly by rural and tribal women of Hindustan Zinc’s project
“Sakhi”, to a jam-packed 500 strong audience.
Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria, Women and
Child Development Minister Anita Bhadel, MLA, Sawai Madhopur and the brand
ambassador for ‘Beti Bachao’ campaign Diya Kumari and director Women
Empowerment Richa Khoda had specially come to the see the collection made by the
rural women.
Renowned fashion designer Jattinn Kochhar,
Rajdeep Ranawat, Gaurav Gupta and Anand Bhushan who attended the show were
mesmerized to see the garments made by the “Sakhi” rural women.
Miss India 2014, Koyal Rana enthralled the audiences as the show
stopper for the evening.
Fashion designer Jattinn Kochhar also had an
interactive session with these women who are all from Kayad and Gagwana
villages of Ajmer district.
Hindustan Zinc has been engaged in empowerment
of rural and tribal women of Rajasthan since 2006 through formation of
self-help-groups. Today, these SHGs are popularly known as “Sakhi”, and
the women associated with these SHGs as popularly called “Sakhees”. “Sakhi”
has developed product based clusters to strengthen the social and economic
conditions of rural and tribal women. Clusters of fashion garments, school
uniforms, home furnishing, candle making, spices, floor mats, pickle and papad,
paper craft etc. have already been developed and successfully bringing
sustainable economic empowerment among hundreds of these rural and tribal
women.
Hindustan Zinc also organized an exhibition
showcasing the products made by different clusters. People were cued to
buy these products but they were not for sale.
Under the Project “Sakhi”, 50
rural women of villages of Gagwana and Kayad in the district of Ajmer had been
working for almost two months to make designer garments. An exclusive training
in this regard was provided to these rural women, most of whom are educated, as
part of the development of “Sakhi” product cluster on fashion garments.
The show was directed and choreographed by
leading Asian choreographer Rashmi Virmani.
Pavan Kaushik, who is the Head of Corporate
Communication and also Head of Project “Sakhi” informed that the focus
is to develop a hub of karigars that can help fashion
designers, fashion students and other fashion experts from across the country.
“With this cluster, Hindustan Zinc is aiming to create a sustainable employment
for these women. This will also encourage thousands of rural women to take-up
this creative art”, Pavan said.
Akhilesh Joshi, President, Zinc Business,
Vedanta group informed “Sakhi” is making school uniforms and schools can
approach these rural women for making their school uniforms for a better price.
Currently the uniform cluster is busy in making school uniforms for the
Anganwadi children. Recently Hindustan Zinc has adopted 3055 Anganwadis and
the mats and school uniforms in these Anganwadis are being
made by “Sakhi” rural women. Vedanta has also signed an MoU for making
4000 Nand Ghars across the country to bring child care and
women empowerment under a single umbrella.”
The trainers, Zakir Khan and Rajni Kaur Khan
and his team of 6 people, were before being engaged for such training for the
rural women were also given a 6 days orientation program by Hindustan Zinc to
enable them to bring desired results. To strengthen designing and execution,
Hindustan Zinc engaged a Stylist from Delhi, Joyjeet, who spent a number of
days bringing finishing and styling to the garments. Asha Baxi the former dean
of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and perhaps the first
fashion faculty of India visited these women along with the students and
faculty of Fashion Design to give them tips and design sentiments.
Hindustan Zinc also decided to show-case a
sequence of 12 uniforms with different combinations and textures. But it was
also decided to use only Anganwadi children to present the uniform collection.
12 children were selected from Ajmer to wear the collection. It was
amazing to see the children, who were only going to Anganwadis, to walk on the
ramp in presence of whistles and shouts of over 500 people cheering them. The
Home Minister and Women & Child Development Minister too were up clapping
and cheering them.
The group of 50 women worked passionately
round the clock to have finally made 62 garments including sarees,
salwar kurtas, kurtees, kaftans and school uniforms in a
record time of about 45 days. Furkana Bano and Kukum Kavar from the village of
Kayad had no experience of such work. The rural conditions had never exposed us
to such forms of art. Similarly Tabassum Bano and Ryaj Bano from the village of
Gagwana always wanted to do something like this but never got the chance for
such training as it was expensive. The women were of the unanimous opinion, “Ye
sab humari ummedon se uppar hai.”
I would like to congratulate and thank
Hindustan Zinc for empowering the rural women of Rajasthan. Through the “Sakhi” programme
Hindustan Zinc has taken an amazing initiative to make women financially
independent by assuring them market. The government too has been working
towards the upliftment of rural women but the results have been comparatively
slow. However, this innovative concept has captured the essence of what the
government has envisioned to do since a long time and has achieved results at a
much rapid pace by developing product based cluster approach. I would further
congratulate the entire “Sakhi” team for this innovative approach.
Gulab Chand Kataria, home minister, Government
of Rajasthan
I am grateful to Hindustan Zinc for
undertaking such a wonderful initiative. This concept and the entire programme
is a great confidence booster for the women of our villages. There are many
Self Help Groups and NGO’s that are working towards the empowerment of women,
but a concept like “Sakhi” is really unique in its idea and execution recognises
the women’s talents and more importantly gives them a market to showcase their
creativity and their products.
Anita Bhadel, women and child development
minister, Government of Rajasthan
Hindustan Zinc is doing some great work with
the Self Help Groups in the five districts of the state. I would be delighted
and strongly recommend if this programme also comes to Sawai Madhopur as there
are many women in the district and its villages that can be benefitted through
“Sakhi” association.
Diya Kumari, MLA, Sawai
Madhopur
I have walked the ramp for so many designers
but have not seen creations like these. These creations are at par with designs
made by renowned designers. Actually my today walk is dedicated to all the
Sakhees.
BUILDING ENTREPRENEURS OUT OF RURAL AND TRIBAL WOMEN OF RAJASTHAN
OUTLOOK I AUGUST 2015
Mention of rural Rajasthan brings
the memories of traditionally dressed rural women following each other to fetch
water. Catering to the cattle and helping in agriculture has been the synonym
for these rural women. The culture and practices in Rajasthan for many years
never allowed most of these women to get exposed to the other side of the
world.
It is also true that many creative
arts developed in India, and now globally making bench-mark, are driven by
these rural women of Rajasthan.
Hindustan Zinc, a company that was
dis-invested in 2002, and now run by Anil Agarwal the Chairman of Vedanta Group,
was expanding its base in Rajasthan and besides business, getting involved into
the community engagement through welfare schemes. Most of the social
schemes were developed taking forward the vision of the State Government and
the visionary Chairman of Vedanta Group.
“Whatever
you have earned, a portion of it should go back to the society. Before I start
the business, I should know the welfare of the community residing near our
business locations”, Anil Agarwal has been seen quoted many times.
It is said, when you empower a rural
women, you in-turn make a complete family socially and economically
independent, thereby energizing the whole village and ultimately contributing
towards the progress of a nation.
It was year 2006 when Hindustan Zinc
started formation of self-help-groups to give social and economic stability to
rural and tribal women residing near its business locations.
The rural
system has its own customs, traditions and social implications and thus
formation of self-help-groups was never an easy task. It was never easy to
convince these rural women to spare 4-5 hours daily and spend time with women
of different temperaments. The support of family members was also imperative.
With initial
hiccups the formation of self-help-groups started. These women were first
engaged in thrift savings and then linked with banks. Once they were through
with the process, these women were encouraged to get training in their areas of
interest.
Most of the women wanted to learn stitching and
tailoring and the company organized the same. With the time and growing demand
Hindustan Zinc has been engaging these women in different product making
Today, all these
women are known as “Sakhees” and their self-help-groups are known as “Sakhi” self-help-groups.
Training to these
women is not just a regular training. During the training, the trainers are
required to get the products developed by them. Most of the produced by these “Sakhees”
are on pre-order basis so they bring instant finances in the “Sakhi” Group.
“Sakhi” is at current engaged in formation of product clusters. The “Sakhi”
self-help-groups women, located in Udaipur, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh,
Rajsamand, Ajmer and Ringus in Rajasthan are now being trained in different
products. The company has already formed cluster of spices, papad, paper
crafts, pickle, home furnishing, candle making, darees, school uniform and
fashion garments. The vision is to draw at least 20 product clusters
amongst these women to further improve their economic status.
Hindustan Zinc
being a large corporate also has large consumption of these products. The
company has 10 locations spread across Rajasthan and each location has its
canteen that consumes spices, papad, pickle and other products. The related
clusters have assured orders coming from these business locations.
Similarly,
recently, Hindustan Zinc has adopted 3055 Anganwadis under a tri-party
agreement with the Rajasthan Government and Vedanta Foundation. Under this
project, facelift and infrastructure change would happen in 1000 Anganwadis in
phase manner. About 80,000 children which are to be benefited from this project
will wear school uniforms and sit on mats made by “Sakhi” group
women.
The company is also
working to make perfume candles seeing the upcoming Diwali. Though
in this case also the consumption would be large within the organization, it
would also make for the market.
“Sakhi” has brought
a significant change in their confidence and in their families. These women now
want their children to go to school regularly, care for health & hygiene
and follow good sanitation practices, says Akhilesh Joshi, CEO of Hindustan
Zinc.
Pavan Kaushik, the spokesperson of Hindustan Zinc
informed that our effort is to first cater to assured market for the “Sakhi” rural
women and be open for outside market as it comes. We are more into product
oriented workshops for these women and these workshops are conducted by
different professionals who have been associated with the campaign “Sakhi” with
their interest in doing something for the up-liftment and empowerment of these
rural women.
While speaking to one of the beneficiary, Shama
Banu from Chittorgarh, she informed that she is a mother of 2 children and her
husband is working as a tailor. As he is not that specialized in stitching
ladies’ clothes as per customer’s demand, he was unable to earn substantially
and sustain the family livelihood. Shama Banu came to know about the “Sakhi” that
provided skill based training to rural women. She instantly joined the “Sakhi”
and after some time received training in tailoring. After training she is
able to help her husband and her financial condition has improved.
Another
beneficiary, Asha married in a joint family. Her husband runs a grocery shop
but was not able to earn more than Rs 1000 per month. Asha too joined “Sakhi”
self-help-group and received fashion bag making training.
We reached out to
another beneficiary of “Sakhi” who was living in a remote village
Gudwa in Debari, Udaipur, were we met Kaise Bai. She was staying at a place
where going on a vehicle was not possible. Kaise Bai has a small house, which
has a gate of dry bushes and no doors. Though she might not have looked after
the infrastructure of her house, but she has brought economic stability to her
family. Kaise Bai now has few cows and goats that are providing her
family economic stability.
The rural women in
India have been proving their mettle and strength in every sphere of life; be
it house-hold work, agriculture, traditional crafts or liberal arts, rural
women of India have always been in forefront and have even dominated the global
fashion industry with their creativity and understanding of traditional art
& craft skills. These rural and tribal women are now more confident and determined
to manage their finances through banks while educating their children and
supporting families.
“Sakhi” campaign
has given Hindustan Zinc a unique opportunity and edge to further scale-up and
strengthen self-help-groups and encourage millions of other rural and tribal
women to come forward towards their socio-economic empowerment.
“Sakhi” is a
voice of these rural and tribal women and the campaign is destined to improve
their social and economic life.
HINDUSTAN ZINC - PLANT VISIT - TEAM OF 38 PEOPLE FROM PTI VISITS "SAKHI" AND "SK MINES"
A team of 38 people from PTI including journalists and Bureau Chiefs visited Hindustan Zinc on 19th April 2015 from Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. As part of Branding exercise, the Corporate Communication team screened “Partners in Prosperity” film and also “Sakhi” and “Khushi” film. Myself gave presentation on Hindustan Zinc – Business and CSR and spoke about need for utilization of natural resources in India. Mr. CSR Mehta briefed them about Hindustan Zinc’s focus on health, safety and environment and how these key values are driven across Group.
Hindustan Zinc had organized an exhibtion of “Sakhi” products which was keenly seen by PTI team, who also purchased a number of items of “Sakhi” brand. Each member of the PTI team was also given a handicraft made by “Sakhi”.
Post this, PTI team went to see SK Mines and the team at SK Mine first gave them an extensive safety briefing and then took them inside the mine in 2 batches of 16 each. This was the first time any of the member had seen a mine from inside and got acquainted to modern mining technology. It was a memorable trip for them.
Showcasing few pictures on the visit….
“PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN TO ACHIEVE THIS FEAT”, BHAKTI SHARMA
Bhakti to join “Khushi” and “Sakhi” campaign of Vedanta Hindustan Zinc“It was chilling cold water at Antarctic Ocean and I could see small and big ice-bergs moving. The ocean was not clear. This was making the passage for my swimming difficult and challenging. At this juncture the ship helped in moving the small and medium ice-bergs and my passage was some-what clear. Second was to ensure that there are no ‘Leopard Seals’, a large fish that can eat whales. My distance was set to be travelled towards the ship. Before entering the water, I thought of my country and I realized this is the day I can make my country India proud”, said Bhakti Sharma who has just returned to India after setting world record in open-water swimming.
Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta Group company in zinc-lead-silver business in Rajasthan had supported and sponsored Bhakti Sharma for this venture. “I had lost all hopes and that is where Hindustan Zinc came forward and instantly agreed to support me. Had I not received this support, I would have never been able to achieve this success’, said Bhakti Sharma.
Bhakti travelled 1.4 miles in 1 degree temperature in Antarctic Ocean on 10th January 2015. She is the first women of India to achieve this feat, beating the record of British open water swimming champion Lewis Pugh and American swimmer Lynne Cox. She is now the youngest citizen of the world and the first Asian girl to have achieved this success. Bhakti Sharma has now conquered all the 5 oceans of the world and she has broken this record after 12 years.
“The crew members on the ship found it difficult to believe an Indian coming to attempt such a feat as the Indian climate is extremely different from those conditions. We do not have such chilling cold in India and thus our bodies are not tuned to handle such cold water”, said Bhakti.
On what next Bhakti said, she would now work for the malnourished children and towards women empowerment in Rajasthan and would be joining Vedanta’s Hindustan Zinc campaign “Khushi” and “Sakhi”. Campaign “Khushi” is a non-funding campaign by the company that is spreading message towards care for the underprivileged children in India, for their nutrition, health and education. Campaign “Sakhi” is towards socio-economic empowerment of rural women. “I have spoken with Mr. Akhilesh Joshi, CEO of Hindustan Zinc about my interest and he has readily agreed’, said Bhakti.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Akhilesh Joshi, C
President and Prime Minister too lauded open water swimmer Bhakti for her accomplishment of setting this world record.
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