A day at Roooh is filled with discussions. It is less of a team in the traditional sense and more of a large family. People stick together, helping each other with their personal problems too. It’s what makes the place comfortable, re-assuring and empowering. The workshop is a second home, sometimes more loved than their own homes. It is a place where they can forget all that they have been through and just be normal individuals. Nobody looks at them with pity for what they have undergone; it is a sisterhood born of hope for a bright future.
11870711_999501333433242_8697204172984603100_n“It’s not just about providing them a skill or a job or an income,” says Shruti, “but about giving them something that will provide sustainable growth for years to come”. She has helped them get their Aadhar cards and enrolled them in schemes like the PM’s Jan Dhan Yojana. She’s also arranged for them to attend tailoring and design courses to sharpen their skills. The women now clearly understand the importance of being financially independent and being in control of their own lives. There’s also counselling to ensure team members do not fall victim to middlemen who might attempt to exploit vulnerable women.
Reena, a young artisan at Roooh, is somewhat shy when I tell her I want speak to her about her work. And yet, when she begins talking about her work and her skills, her voice is alive with optimism. She’s come a long way from the domestic violence she endured before she was abandoned by her husband. Reena was depressed for a long time after that. When she returned to her parents’ home, she was seen as a burden. A chance meeting with Shruti at a sewing centre was the first step to turning her life around. Even after joining Roooh, it took her time to move beyond the trauma she had endured. Today, she dreams of living on her own and marrying again though her brothers don’t want her to (she earns more than them and the family would lose out on her income!).
IMG_20150912_151112
One of the few female dyers in the male dominated industry
This is exactly the type of difference that Shruti dreamed of making through Roooh. In the long run, she wants to ensure that becoming self-sufficient and successful will bring about a behavioural change among the people she works with, that women artisans will be treated at par with men in terms of not just pay but also respect. And in doing so, she wants to bring the charm of locally made, hand-crafted products using traditional techniques – many of which are fast disappearing – to a larger market.
Online marketplaces provide them the right platform – RooohServe sells on many of them and has recently registered on eBay. These channels have helped women like Shruti to embark on her passion with a minimal capital of Rs 13,000 and a potential nationwide customer base.