Curtains by village women to adorn new hostel rooms at IITGN

Students spend a considerable time of their lives in hostels and are attached to this space where they build memories of a lifetime. The two new hostel blocks of the institute are all set to welcome its students with a special gift – home-made curtains stitched by the women of nearby villages! These women who will soon be adding more life, clour and vibes to the hostel rooms have been trained in stitching by NEEV, IITGN under its skill development courses.

Eight women from the Palaj and Basan villages, in close proximity to the IITGN campus, have joined this project with mentoring support from NEEV, a community outreach programme of the institute. These women had already learnt basic stitching in NEEV’s Summer Skills Courses and were provided further training for professional stitching of the curtains. After the specialised training and handholding support from NEEV trainers, these women were able to stitch about three to five curtains per day on their own sewing machine, as per their convenience, and from the comfort of their home.

IITGN always strives to support and empower the neighbourhood communities with various programmes and initiatives. So far, these women have prepared 219 curtains for the new hostels. Presently, the second lot of around 240 curtains is being stitched. IITGN provides them ready-to-stitch curtain material and the women are paid ₹60 per curtain. This project has contributed towards a new kind of capacity-building of rural women and has opened up livelihood opportunities for them, at the same time making them more confident. The women will be stitching curtains for the upcoming four blocks too. 

Snehalben A Bihola, 27, is a homemaker from Palaj village and has studied up to seventh standard. She said, “I had learnt basic stitching course by NEEV sometime back and had started blouse and saree-fall stitching work from home. In the beginning, I faced some difficulties but our trainer, Mamta ma’am, taught us with patience. I have stitched about 25 curtains. After working with NEEV, I feel very good that I can also do something and earn myself. I plan to continue my stitching work.”

Usha Vaghela, a 21-year-old high school pass-out said, “After learning basic stitching from NEEV trainers, I joined an advanced course for blouse-stitching, during which I came to know about this work opportunity. I have made nine curtains for IITGN hostels already. I began stitching at home for village women too and have started earning around ₹1000 per month. It feels great that I can shell out money my own expenses.”

Ambika B Vaghela, a 20-year-old girl from Palaj village, has stitched 17 curtains for the new hostels. “I already knew basic stitching and had joined the advanced course of NEEV. I have now gained confidence and am planning to start working on my own.”

Another homemaker, 36-year-old Bhavnaben Bihola, who had bought a sewing machine after doing two months of stitching course with NEEV said, “After learning to stitch, I started to take work from village women and earned around ₹500-1000 per month. This has increased up to ₹2000 after I joined this project. I have stitched around 33 curtains. It is so wonderful that I can now save and spend on my children’s education.”

NEEV Coordinator Soumya Harish said, “We are committed to provide skills that equip grassroots women to earn their own livelihood and assist their families. When NEEV was approached for this project, we were more than happy to connect the women trained by us. This is a great example of how IITGN proactively thinks about the welfare of the local community by providing such work to the immediate neighbourhood.”

Prof Madhu Vadali, Officiating Dean, Students Affairs, IITGN who provided motivation for this special initiative, said, “IITGN, through NEEV, has made tremendous progress in empowering women from the neighboring villages. This initiative will further aid their financial independence and add to their entrepreneurial growth.”