• SEWA is a trade union registered in 1972.

• It is an organization of poor, self-employed women workers, who earn a living through

their own labour or small businesses.

•They do not obtain regular salaried employment with welfare benefits like workers in
the organized sector.

•They are the unprotected labour force of our country.

1
 An Organization & Movement

• The SEWA movement is enhanced by its confluence of three

movements :

1) the labor movement,

2) the cooperative movement
3) the women’s movement.

• Of the female labor force in India, more than 94% are in the
unorganized sector.

• However their work is not counted and hence remains invisible.

• Their tremendous economic and social contributions become

recognized after SEWA formation.

2
 SEWA IN THE GARMENT INDUSTRY

• Workers who work independently (subcontract basis) are paid piece wise for
which they are paid as low as 5% of the total garment cost.

• Workers who are members of SEWA, the organization helps them to get a
higher piece rate or minimum daily wages in fairer working condition with
welfare benefits & support form the company.

• SEWA has also helped garment makers to acquire new skills, improved
equipment & market information to keep pace with the local manufacturers.

• This included help them get loans for new upgraded machines & Gadgets,
electrical connections at home & trainings at NIFT for advance knowledge.

3
 SEWA Trade Facilitation Centre
• STFC (SEWA Trade Facilitation Centre) is the marketing arm of SEWA in the textiles and
handicrafts sector, established in 1998 with the mission of "empowering women through
traditional skills".

• STFC is a non-profit organization, where the artisans (over 3,200) hold stake in the
ownership and consequently in the decision making processes.

• It provides design, production and marketing facilities for apparel, accessories and soft
furnishings, with embroideries provided by more than 15,000 rural craftswomen.

• The company has a modern garment manufacturing and packaging plant, a fully equipped
design studio, latest IT and reporting systems, all designed to support product innovation,
commitment to quality and business growth.

• STFC has partnered with top design specialists and institutes like NIFT and NID to address
the need for continuous skill up gradation for its artisans.

• STFC operates in India with two retail stores and also has large garment brands as its B2B
clients.

• Currently it exports to 6 countries, to both premium brand retailers and specialized high
fashion boutiques.

4
SEWA – a response to the Social needs
• With an increase in requirement for Handloom fabrics, Hand Embroidery thread &
sequins & requirement from the local markets for garments has given these workers an
opportunity & means of livelihood

• Organizations like SEWA helps these workers to display their talent & skills without any
exploitation.

• Sewa Trade Facilitation Centre (STFC) held hands with the war-affected women of
Afghanistan to rebuild their lives.

• An initiative undertaken by STFC and Ministry of Commerce to train Afghan women has
reached the next level with Afghani women showcasing their creations at the India
International Trade fair (IITF) 2008, Pragati Maidan.

• 32 Afghani war victims who were given special training in garment making, eco
regeneration, food and fruits processing and packaging and accounting by SEWA have
participated in the trade fair with the soul objective of taking the Afghani economy a step
ahead.

• These women are the master trainers and train other women at Baagay-e-Zanana with
direct co-ordination and facilitation from SEWA.

• The women have now set up their own microenterprises.

5
TSUNAMIKA - A LIVING SYMBOL
• Tsunamika is a Tsunami related
project of Auroville .

• Auroville is a city in south-India,

dedicated to human unity, and based
on the vision of Sri Aurobindo and The
Mother.

• Auroville is actively involved in many

Tsunami Relief projects in Tamil Nadu.
Tsunamika is one of them.

• This project is conceived and executed

by Upasana Design Studio of Auroville
in the seaside villages of Auroville's
bioregion.

• Nearly 480 fisherwomen from 6

villages are trained and from them
around 180 are now creating these
little dolls called Tsunamika.
6
HOW IT ALL STARTED!

7
26th December 2004…

26th December 2004…

8
TSUNAMI

11,000 people
19 villages
5,000 families
2,000 devastated fishermen

were affected in and around Auroville

9
THEN….. 10
A helping hand came from Auroville

11
12
When the Tsunami hit , the whole world was getting together to help…

The Upasana Design team was brainstorming…

Once immediate needs of the people were taken care,

what can be done as long term solutions?
Especially for creating livelihood options…

13
It was decided to teach handicraft to the fisherwomen.

Handmade dolls using left over fabric and threads, was felt to be the
ideal handicraft to train the ladies.

…simple to construct and only bits of fabrics required as raw

material.

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 2ND FEBRUARY 2005 – 26TH MAY 2005

7 villages.
23 handicraft training modules ( 5 days / module)
474 ladies
30 Assistant Teachers from the villages

15
16
 From raw material …

… to the finished product.

17
TRAINING MODULE - DAY 1
Introduction to Handicraft workshop

18
What is Tsunamika made of?

• She has been hand-made from fabrics left over from other creative
works in Upasana.

• The project team, who trained the ladies, now supplies them with raw
materials to continue producing the dolls

• All dolls produced are bought from them in bulk and are gifted
unconditionally worldwide by Upasana. It is always gifted never sold!

• Entire project became a demonstration of “gift economy”, with

donations coming in from around the world sufficient to run the project
19
on its own income within a period of just 18 months.
Merely threading the needle was a new and difficult task for most of
the ladies...

DAY 1

20
DAY 2

21
Few simple steps to make the doll…
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

22
… and, Tsunamika is ready.

23
DAY 3
Thrilled at their own creativity.

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DAY 4

25
Now the ladies try and make Tsunamika without a trainer’s guidance.
PRODUCT CATEGORIES - GAMES

PEN CLIP

PENCIL CLIP

HAIR PIN

KEY CHAIN
Tsunamika has many variations to suit different uses.
She comes as a hair clip, or book mark, paper clip etc. 26
MORE PRODUCTS JACKET ACCESSORY

WALL HANGING

RAKHI

PIN HOLDER

27
SCRIBBLING PAD
Gift Economy in action…

When thousands of Tsunamikas were given out as gift

the people who were touched by her, helped the project to
grow by:

• distributing Tsunamikas

• offering their talents and time

• financially supporting the project
• finding innovative ways to use Tsunamikas
• by telling her story…

Now the entire project is run by the donations that are coming!
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 Schools used Tsunamika
for education….

…in Singapore
…in Spain

29
 Industries used Tsunamika
as New-year gift…

…in Denmark

…in Spain

30
Tsunamika is a living symbol,
A symbol of love and hope,
A symbol of joy and unconditional giving…

31
 Anti - fur
• Common animal sources for fur clothing and fur
trimmed accessories include:

– fox, rabbit, mink, beavers, ermine, otters, sable, seals,

cats, dogs, coyotes, chinchilla, and possum.

• The import and sale of seal products was banned in

the U.S. in 1972 over conservation concerns about
Canadian seals.

• The import, export and sales of domesticated cat

and dog fur was also banned in the U.S. under the
Dog and Cat Protection Act of 2000.

• China produces 85% of the fur on the planet and Fur coat in a fashion show
has no animal welfare laws to protect animals.

• Fur animals in China suffer one of the most cruel

and savage practices This fur coat, made in 1975,
was produced from dyed blueback hooded seals.
• The hideous cruelty is hidden from consumers who
may not know that each fur article comes with an
unimaginable amount of agony.

• All this in the name of fashion.

Red Fox Fur 32

 Cruelty!
• Fur-bearing animals are killed by:

– gassing, Fur animal being

– neck breaking,
Paolo trap stepped upon
– electrocution, and
– injection with poisons.

• On ranches (fur-farm), they spend their

entire lives in tiny, filthy cages and
suffer tremendously, many become
deranged until they meet with brutal
deaths. They beat them to death
Dog Being electricuted

Half skinned
dogs Being skinned
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Anti-Fur Coalition
• The International Anti-Fur Coalition is a
worldwide group of organizations, working
to end the atrocities of the fur industry.

• Since 2006 it has been organizing anti-fur protests to

hold demonstrations simultaneously all over
the world.

• Brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, Ann Taylor,

Gap, Esprit Benetton, Mango, Liz Clabourn &
International Designers like Calvin Klein, DKNY,
Tommy Hilfiger, Kenneth Cole have stopped
using fur in their collections

• Artificial Fur is now promoted as a replacement for actual

fur

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 SHAHTOOSH
• Shahtoosh - a Persian word meaning "Pleasure of Kings" - a specific
kind of shawl, which was woven with the hair of the Chiru or Tibetan
Antelope, by the weavers of Kashmir.

• It took very skilled artisans to weave the delicate hair (9 and 11 Chiru
micrometres).

• These factors made Shahtoosh shawls very precious, one shahtoosh

shawl costs over $1000.

• They are so fine that an average size shawl can be passed through a
wedding ring.

• They live in one of the harshest environments on earth, at an altitude

of over 5,000 metres.

• Their fur, which is both very light and warm, allows them to survive in
the freezing conditions of the plateau.

• The nomads would hunt the antelope for all that it provided them -
hide, meat, bones, horns and fur pelts - in short, everything that the
nomads needed to sustain them through their journey.
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• Multiple Chiru must be killed for a single Shahtoosh shawl. shawls
 SAY NO TO SHAHTOOSH & YES TO CHIRU!
• When the British (of British India) traveled to Kashmir, they realised
the worth of Pashmina and Shahtoosh shawls and introduced them
to the world, which led to greater demand for these products.

• Where we sheer or comb other animals in order to harvest their

wool, the hairs of the Tibetan Antelope need to be individually
plucked from the skin.

Just imagine, three animals are killed for every shahtoosh shawl

• Poachers kill around 20,000 Tibetan Antelope every year, many of

which are pregnant females moving with their flock to their
preferred birthing grounds.

• With fewer than 75,000 animals left, now they are listed as an
endangered species

• This also led to the demise of the skill of the Kashmir weavers, who
were the only ones in the world who could handle the fibre.

• The selling or owning of Shahtoosh was made illegal in all countries

that signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species.
36
• Although Shahtoosh is banned under the agreement, illegal hunting
and selling of Shahtoosh is still a serious problem in Tibet.
How can we contribute!

Consumers can help save the chiru by :

• not buying any shahtoosh products.

• discouraging others from buying or wearing shahtoosh by spreading the truth;

• reporting any suspected sightings or sales of shahtoosh

• buying and encouraging alternative products such as pashmina (combed from goats) and
yak wool that do not require animals to be slaughtered;

• relinquishing any shahtoosh products in their possession (even samples are forbidden);
and

• discouraging shahtoosh traders and buyers from indulging the demand.

37
• PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals is the worlds largest animal rights
group.

• Founded in 1980 ,Headquarters in the US it has

affiliates in Germany, England, India and other
nations.

• The organization is a nonprofit corporation with

187 employees, funded almost entirely by its
members.

• It focuses on four core issues:

– factory farming, PETA provides dog houses and
– fur farming, straw bedding for chained, backyard dogs.
– animal testing, and
– animals in entertainment,

and also campaigns:

– against fishing,
– the killing of animals regarded as pests,
– the keeping of chained backyard dogs,
– cock fighting,
– dog fighting, and
– bullfighting.
• It aims to inform the public through:
•advertisements,
•undercover investigations,
•animal rescue,
•special events,
•celebrity involvement,
•protest campaigns.

Its slogan is "animals are not ours to eat,

wear, experiment on, or use for
entertainment”

39
THEIR PRODUCTS!
They atrongly advertise thought their range of apparel
& acessories range which carries a message or slogan.

It can be purchased in their outlets or through internet

at reasonable rates
Sweatshirts
Fitted tees with slogans

Hoodies &
long jersey tees

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ACCESSORIES RANGE
Aluminum bottle

magnetic

neckpiece

Water mug
wristbands
Shopping bags

stickers

41
Key chain
 Cluster Initiative
Programm of NIFT

• The Craft Cluster Initiative of NIFT is a carefully developed formula for integrating the
crafts sector of the country with the mainstream.

• NIFT, with active support from the

– Ministry of Rural Development,

– Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts & Handlooms) and
– National Centre for Jute Development is developing and implementing a craft cluster initiative
towards the overall progress of craft, the cottage industry and vocational activities.

• The intention of the project is to involve NIFT’s professional capabilities in the areas of
design, technology, marketing and management along with external expertise, and
synergize all developmental activities by various government and non-government
agencies

42
 Role of NIFT
• Overall project direction, strategy, management and coordination of activities and schedules.

• Overall implementation along with specific tie-ups and networking with various stakeholders.

• Expertise of enhancement and conversion of knowledge through multidisciplinary research,

across design, management and technology.

• Assessment and enhancement of capacities and capabilities through knowledge transfer

programmes.

• Mapping opportunities and potential markets, branding and promotional strategies and
networking of potential commerce patronage.

• Products, processes and tools innovation through design and development.

• Technical know-how enhancement, trend studies, quality norms and sourcing.

• Information sharing and creating grass-roots technical support systems for intelligence
development and market accessibility.

• Integration of academic activities to provide real life learning opportunities and employ
students’ creative abilities towards various initiatives
43
 I.M. a NIFT initiative
• In order to create their own identity, NIFT has brought all the products made by
the clusters under one umbrella, by launching brand i.m. a NIFT initiative,
which is a symbol of 'being Indian', 'self reliant', 'the feeling of swayam', ‘self
confidence', and 'oneness’.

• It symbolises that crafts can be identified only by the 'karma' and not by any
caste and creed.

• In the process of exhibiting and retailing the products developed in these

clusters, NIFT in collaboration with DC (HC) has opened a retail outlet at Rajiv
Gandhi Hasta Kala Bhawan, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, New Delhi.

• The store houses everything from apparel to home and lifestyle products to
handcrafted accessories. A perfect blend of ethnic and modern, it makes an
interesting mix and a great place to shop.

44