One of the things I enjoyed most about my recent textile
tour to India with the retreatrecreate group was the interaction with local
women. We visited formal textile cooperatives as well as women working in their
villages and were welcomed so generously everywhere by the women and their
curious smiling children. They all gave us small cups of masala chai while we admired
their work as they showed us the techniques they use and answered our questions
about their work and lives. All the members of our group were craftspeople so
we appreciated the work being done and were genuinely interested in the details
of the techniques.
At the Sadhna group in Udaipur we learnt how the group
trains and encourages women in local crafts such as embroidery, applique and
block printing. Over 600 women work on a piece work system and are given the
materials they require as well as access to sewing machines. We joined some of
them in a workshop where they showed us how to embellish fabric with shisha mirrors,
how to work fine applique and how to make small round fabric buttons. I was
delighted my teacher praised me for my neat stitching in the applique work as I felt
I’d passed the test!
At the Sambhali Trust in Jodhpur we joined the women in
their workshop to see their embroidery for cushion covers and fabrics for soft toy
making. They were a lively group and were very interested to see photos of our
children and grandchildren and to find out about our lives. The Trust is a non-profit
charitable organisation which provides free education to women and girls and
trains them to earn their own living through stitching. After our time in the
workshop we joined some of them for a cookery demonstration and a delicious
lunch.
At other times we visited women in their villages sitting in
the shade working on their embroidery together in sociable groups. These
settings suggest a simple life with no cares but the reality is that these
women are supplementing the family income as well as carrying out all the
responsibilities women have throughout the world – their life is not easy. They
all had stocks of beautifully made crafts for us to buy at what we hoped were
reasonable prices and most of us bought pieces at every place we visited. At
least the money goes straight to those doing the work and it places a value on
women’s work and gives them some status as breadwinners in their villages.
It also allows them to work in their homes while keeping an
eye on their children, rather than having to travel to find work or to labour
in the fields. Hopefully, the fact that we had travelled specially to see them
also raises their status within their community. Despite the differences in our
economic circumstances I felt that at the end of the day we empathised with
each other as women and stitchers – I hope they felt the same.
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