SETU organized a two-day training & development workshop for our handloom weavers of Mahila Bunkar Sahakari Samiti on 29th & 30th march 2012 at Surajpur, (U.P.)., for Capacity Building & Readiness for Export Market.

MBSS is a co-operative group of artisans who create some of our beautiful home décor items as well as bags. The cooperative aims to organize the weavers of different villages in western Uttar Pradesh, and to train women with marketable skills. To date, more than 242 women artisans are working with this organization, who originally belong to the Schedule caste and the Schedule tribe community.

The workshop covered 2 basic objectives:

1) Capacity Building & motivation of artisans
2) Preparing the artisans & upgrading their skills for export market

The objective was to provide the artisans with elaborate knowledge & tips that are important in their everyday manufacturing, designing, buying and selling of products, preparing the products for export level quality, packaging management etc. Some of the key factors were discussed are as under:

1. Importance of quality for exports and their timely deliveries.
2. Achieving consistent quality
3. Maintaining better customer relationships and customer specification record.
4. Importance of customer complaint addressal & efficient communication
5. Flexibility: incorporating changes in quality, design & production quantity as per change in customer requirements.
6. Managing finances, working capital and optimizing the freight costs
7. Avoiding rejections & dead stocks
8. Packaging quality: reducing packaging cost without compromising on quality
9. Importance of non-toxic & natural dyes
10. Updating latest international trends and making new samples for international market.
11. Understanding the regulations and documentation for export.

On day one; Capacity Building session was initiated and was followed by the following major topics:

- Market Research: understanding needs of the customer,
- Types of Markets (Domestic & Export)
- Sourcing, Logistics / transportation,
- Design & production quantity as per customer requirements.
- Importance of quality control, elements of quality control, Inspection (Raw material, In-line & Final) & Inspection loop.
-Importance of quality for exports & establishment of quality standards,
-Matching delivery times,
-Cost reduction & optimization,
-Consistent quality and compliance.

On the second day, some of the pointers discussed are as under:

- Production planning and record keeping
- Packaging (purpose of packaging, types of packaging material, types of packing, packaging quality and reducing packaging cost)
- Latest international trends
- Eco-friendly dyes & chemicals
- Regulations for export, export license, documentation etc, Inco terms, Payment terms

With this workshop, the artisans were updated about design development, Indian & Export market opportunities that they can look for, product value for export market, better packaging training, fine stitching techniques, motivation for the business and time management. How to build up capacity, bring discipline, save time, create quality products with reduced rejections & wastes, increase productivity with least possible resources etc. were also the highlights.

The attendees were also compensated for their daily earnings along with an issue of certificate for attending this workshop which can works as an authentication for their skills.

SETU organized a campaign on “National Awareness for plantation & Importance of saving the Trees/ Forests” at ‘Vikrampur’, a local village near the city, in association with EPCO.

The event was set up with an objective to enlighten the local population about global warming, how important the trees are to us, the actual ways of plantation along with the conduct in which they can be taken care of & can be retained for a longer time.

The following pointers were discussed with the participants in detail:

1)     Plantationof more and more trees can be a solution to Global warming.

2)      Gardening can be also done at a smaller scale to initiate. It ranges in scale from fruit orchards, to long boulevard plantings.

3)      Plantation (gardening) can be a way not only to promote greenery but it can also be a way to earn living, by growing seasonal vegetation or fruits perhaps and selling it in vegetable markets or ‘Sabzi Mandis’

4)      Simple steps to be followed before, during and after the plantation :

• Proper knowledge is required for planting a particular tree (including knowledge of particular tree, type of environment required, season etc)
• Soil tests are required to be done, to know the type and quality of soil and the type of plantation suitable for that soil.
• Right amount of water, fertilizers requirement is equally important.
• The plantation shall be done at evening hours depending on various factors, as daytime temperatures may harm the plant.
• The plantation of small plants and trees shall be done at certain distance to avoid damaging the roots.
• Trimming of a plant is also important.
• Extracting unwanted weeds around the plants and trees as they may harm the growth
• If the plants are bending on one side, one may take care of it by tying it with a stick.
• Save the trees from pesticides and insecticides by putting required chemicals or organic substitutes without harming the plants.
• Save the trees from extreme sun by making small huts (Green house plantation)
• To avoid animals to eat the plants, put tree guards wherever required.
• Regular maintenances are required up till two years.

5)      Children’s contribution towards the plantation:

• Trees are being cut for many reasons one of them is making papers, pencils and erasers etc, Children to try to save on these i.e. avoid wastage .
• Recycling of paper, so that it can be used in for various purposes.
• School participation with guidance from teachers can also be fruitful
• Maintaining kitchen gardens

6)      Keeping the outer surroundings & water bodies clean and pollution free.
7)      Using of paper bags instead of poly bags.
8)      Recycle & reuse of water, where possible.
9)       Disposal of wastes into degradable (organic wastes) and non degradable for recycling.

For plantation, SETU distributed plants like Mango, Jack tree (Kathal), Manilkara zapota (Chikoo) trees etc, among the participants.Plantationdemonstrations were given to the crowd along with tips to maintain them for long term sustainability. Pamphlets/flyers were also distributed which covered all the related information. The reaction from the participants seemed positive and enthusiastic. They also contributed with more ideas of their own to address the issue.

SETU in association with the Environmental Planning & Coordination Organization (EPCO) organized a campaign on “Right disposal of household garbage and keeping the surroundings clean and hygienic)” at ‘Chuk Phatak,Tekanpur’, a local area in the city.

The campaign was set up with an objective of enlightening the local population about different types of wastes, proper waste disposal, pollution and its direct ill effects on environment and on their lives. The awareness level of the crowd on cleanliness was found to be quite low, therefore, our speakers enlightened the crowd on various key points including the harmful effects of improper waste disposal & unclean surroundings. Keeping their home surroundings & local periphery clean as far as possible and many more related points were also discussed with the participants.

Customary bad habits were pointed out, some of them in brief are as under:-

1) Garbage dumping: throwing garbage anywhere without caring that people might step on it. It also attracts flies and mosquitoes further spreading diseases.

2) Defecation & Urination: We throw the animal and human excreta in the open, spoiling the cleanliness, creating foul smell along with portraying a bad picture of our nation.

3) Spitting: Another bad habit seen in people is spitting anywhere.

4) Not maintaining self-cleanliness and hygiene.

How can we make our surroundings clean? Following points were discussed:

a) Defecate in a sanitary latrine and using enough water to throw into it keeping them neat and clean

b) People can get together and build a common latrine.

c) We can also make water-sealed pit latrines away from the source of drinking water and residential areas.

d) We can also make other toilets such as `Suvidha’ & ‘Sulabh Shochalaya’ at public places.

e) Using of dustbins and dustbins only.

f) If there are no toilets, then the place for defecations in the open must be selected which should be away from human habitation and from the source of drinking water. The stools should be covered with sand or soil to prevent the spread of germs.

g) After defecations hands and feet should be washed with soap and clean water also take regular baths to maintain self-hygiene.

h) Keep the food and drinking items always covered

Special focus was given on solid waste management:

Disposal of wastes into:

1) Degradable waste (dry waste & wet wastes)

2) Non-degradable waste.

Degradable waste can be further segregated & used to feed animals & as humus for plants and non-degradable waste can be recycled where possible. This can be done by putting two bins separately and segregating the garbage respectively.

The participants were also educated on RCH issues like:

- What type of Nutrition is needed & how to avail the best

- Free distribution of iron tablets among young girls & women

- Family planning

- How to avail best quality treatment at reasonable prices

- Vaccination for safe motherhood

- Vaccination of children for lifelong immunity.

The session also included an interactive ‘One Minute Competition’ for the crowd where the first to collect & segregate the garbage correctly was the winner of the competition.

SETU distributed cleaning tools (dustbins, disinfectants & broomsticks) to the participants. A small yet broad demonstration was made to the crowd explaining the effective use of the tools distributed to them. Pamphlets/flyers were also distributed which covered all the related information for their study & follow-up in future. The reaction from the participants seemed positive and enthusiastic. They also contributed with more ideas of their own to address the issue.

It has been known that contaminated water is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily. An estimated 700 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet, and 1,000 Indian children die of diarrheal sickness every day. With this distressing fact in mind SETU with help of (EPCO) the Environmental Planning & Coordination Organization organized a “Save the water & Save the trees” campaign at ‘Jakhara, Morar’ a local area in Gwalior.

The campaign was set up with an objective of enlightening the local population about the importance of water in not only an individual’s life but also of its existence on the planet earth. Another significant point of discussion at the campaign was saving the trees & forests.

There were approx. 53 attendees, comprising mostly women and children. The awareness level of the village on environment sustainability was low, due to lack of education & exposure. The surroundings of their water sources i.e. the hand pumps & wells were found contaminated and unhygienic, hence the area was chosen to demonstrate the ways of saving & cleaning natural resources & focus on the importance of this important issue.

The discussion was continued by quoting-

“A drop of water is worth more than a sack of gold to a thirsty man”

&

“Plant a tree & get air for free”

Our speakers enlightened the crowd on various key points; some of the key pointers are elaborated as under:

• Water conservation- The goals for water conservation include sustainability, energy conservation and habitat conservation.
• Save water and trees, secure the future- “Water for the future generations is priceless”
• Agriculture and water- A google fact was conveyed to the crowd that some researchers have suggested that water conservation efforts should be primarily directed at farmers, in light of the fact that crop irrigation accounts for 70% of the world’s fresh water use. The agricultural sector of most countries is important both economically and politically, and water subsidies are common.
• Water-saving technology for the home includes-

1. Saline water (sea water) or rain water can be used for washing their surroundings, toilets etc.
2. Waste water reuse or recycling systems
3. Rainwater harvesting
4. Pouring water as much as you want to drink, do not waste by throwing half away.
5. Save water, save life; not to keep the taps open while brushing the teeth or washing the utensils.

• No substitute to water- No soft drinks, tea, coffee or juices can satisfy the thirst of a human throat.
• Endless uses of water
• Contaminated water cause diseases- always keep the water surroundings clean, still and contaminated water nearby the house can call for diseases such as cholera, jaundice, diarrhea, typhoid, malaria and many more diseases that are dangerous.
• How to clean and purify water for drinking- If one is not able to afford expensive filters available in the market, then the best way is to boil the drinking water or add the water purifying medicines.
•  Save trees and forest- if you cut one tree plant two to bring a balance
• Water & trees are the wholesome source of living beings to survive.

At the conclusion of the session, an interactive discussion with the crowd was conducted, and some more useful tips were explained to them. SETU distributed chlorine tablets and solution that helps in cleaning the water and for the children present at the campaign sweets were distributed to acknowledge their presence.  The completion of the seminar was done by cleaning the nearby hand pump area, which is also the water source for local residents of the area. The reaction from the crowd seemed to be positive and acceptable; they did come up with some doubts, which our speakers were able to clarify. They also contributed with more ideas of their own to address the issue.

Fair Trade Forum-India and SETU Consortium together organized a Fair Trade Alliance Building Program on 15th Feb 2012 at Hotel Central Park in Gwalior. The theme of the program was “Sustainable Growth Through Fair Trade Approaches”.

The basic objectives of this program were to promote Fair Trade in India & create visibility of Fair Trade, to develop networking & partnerships, market for the members associated with craft & food trades and strategies on using Fair Trade approaches for achieving Sustainable Growth.

The program provided an opportunity for a dialogue to understand the similar initiatives and explore a common platform to go forward together where all the like-minded organizations, NGOs, Corporate, Govt. officials & Educationists can take part and identify some potential alliance for near future. They also got opportunity to share about their own initiatives & experiences on a national platform.

To achieve the objectives, eminent persons & intelligentsias, key people who can be important agents of change & policy makers were invited from different spheres such as NGOs (local as well as others), Industries and Corporate, Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Chamber of Commerce, Management & Technical Universities, Government Officials, FTF-I officials & members.

The program was divided into three sessions. A kit (including a Jute bag, folder, Journal, pen and important brochures) made by our various artisans groups was provided to all the guests. All of these were handmade & completely sustainable.

The chief guest & Guests of honours for the program included Prof. Dr. P S Bisen, Mr. Sanjay Bindal and Mr. Devendra Chouhan respectively.

The first session began with the keynote address from Mr. SC Mittal (Sectary FTFI), who enlightened the crowd on History of Fair Trade. This was followed by few words from the chief guest.

The next session had the following eminent speakers;

Ms. Rashmi Dhariwal (Founder & CEO SETU)
Dr. Yogesh Upadhaya (HOD, School of Management, Jiwaji University)
Mr. Sanjay Bindal (Plant Head M/s SRF Ltd, President CII, Chairman QCFI )
Dr. Nidhi Deoskar (Associate professor, ITM University)
Mr. O P Yadav (Official, FTFI)

The presentations by these speakers were very useful and motivating on achieving sustainability & implementation of different strategies to achieve the objectives of Fair Trade. They talked out about how comprehensive sustainability for the people at the bottom of the economic pyramid can be achieved by self-sustainable models of Social Enterprises, the viable organizational forms to achieve equitable distributions and about ethical consumerism and the difference between CSR and Fair Trade Practices, yet how they can bring successful results if they go hand in hand.

The session was quite interactive as the participants (from the audience) also shared their views on the subject and suggested some great thoughts on how the youth can be motivated to bring a major change in the social upliftment, how Govt. aid can be utilized for the livelihood generation of people in slums and how grants from NABARD can be utilized for trainings & micro-finance loans, etc.

In the post lunch session, speakers from NGOs mostly took active participation to share their experiences & initiatives about Fair Trade & the workings of their social organizations. They also shared their struggles and positive experiences with the crowd. We learnt that even though these organizations are different yet they could help and cooperate with each other directly or indirectly.

Partnership possibilities for creating marketing opportunities between the present members were explored along with networking between the NGOs for generating livelihood options for their beneficiaries was also created.

In all, it was a successful program which was appreciated by all the participants with requests to organize more such programs in the future.

SETU organized an awareness program on “The importance of Health & hygiene and providing the knowledge of iodine & ORS for infants & Women”. The area selected was a local slum inhabited mostly by uneducated, migrated & poor population of mixed communities. The locality is quite dirty and the people here were observed to have poor sanitary habits. The awareness level is low and the prevalent of diseases is high. Girl child education is low, contributing to further lower level of living standards. Most of these people have unreliable sources of regular income and are mostly laborers, artisans or are unemployed.

About 100 families attended the workshop.

Some of the points discussed in the program are as follows:

• The ill effects of poor sanitation, that becomes the root cause of many diseases like typhoid & cholera.
• Keeping the house & the surroundings clean & healthy
• How to purify the water if someone is unable to afford the regular filters available in the market
• Washing the hands before & after the meals
• Cutting their nails regularly & keeping them clean
• Brushing the teeth twice a day to keep teeth & gums health
• Steps to be take for a person suffering from diarrhea and the importance of ORS.
• Importance of iodine in our food.
• They were explained about the nutritious food carry iodine and other important elements.
• Importance of girl child education

Printed pamphlets containing information of the same were distributed among the crowd to make them well aware of healthy habits. The women & children were enthusiastic and they interacted with the speakers to clear their doubts about things they come across in daily life. Small health & hygiene kit comprising of toothbrushes, toothpastes, nail cutters, soaps, napkins, ORS pouches etc. were distributed to all the attendees who participated in discussion. Sweets were also distributed to all the children in the crowd as incentive. Some of the mothers decided to become strict with petty bad habits regarding self-cleanliness and explaining their children them about. It was encouraging to have a good feedback from the participants present as they expressed their wish to have such awareness programs every now and then.

SETU organized a Nasha Mukti (De-addiction) & Education Awareness workshop at Mandari Ki Mata Village in Gwalior Area. There were approx 100 attendees with mixed ratio of male and female. SETU team members began the seminar by introducing the guests & briefly explaining the audience the gist of intoxication and its effects on human mind & body.

They spoke about, how in this contemporary world, a man for his corporeal satisfaction, falls for abhorrent and dangerous lifestyle like addiction to intoxicants in desire to acquire some peace of mind, to escape worldly troubles, to get an ecstatic feeling or to get rid of social embarrassment leads people to the use of drugs.

Nasha or in layman’s language – drunkenness, inebriation or intoxication is an impermanent state resulting from excessive consumption of the following:

Alcohol (Yellow): all types of alcohol products like country liquor, beer, wine, laththa etc.
Nicotine (Red): products like bidi, cigarettes, mava, tobacco chewing, snuff etc.
Drugs: this consists of Opium, Marijuana,Cocaine, Charas, Ganja, Bhang, Brown Sugar and so on.

An elaborated discussion on the evil effects of addiction on human body took place; some of the pointers explained to them are as follows:

• Alcohols have poisonous effects on the nerves, the heart as well as the digestive system.
• Nicotine is explicitly described in medical dictionaries as a powerful and active poison.
• Smoking brings in nicotine, as well as the highly poisonous gas, carbon monoxide, into the lungs. That is why even a pack of cigarette holds a statement saying “SMOKING IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH”
• Nicotine causes increased discharge of adrenalin and noradrenalin into the blood stream, which leads to hardening of the blood vessels.
• The arteries also become crammed and frail, resulting in hypertension to angina pectoris and heart attacks.
• Persistent use of these drugs leads to severe damage to the liver, the heart, the kidneys, the brain and the nerves.

The crowd was also enlightened about how addiction not only leaves a negative effect on human body of the addict but the families of such individuals also suffer. This could lead to an unharmonious relation between husband & wife and in some cases their children too. We all have heard stories from our neighbors or our house cleaners for that matter that their husband beats them brutally after coming back home in a drunken & a state of intoxication. It puts a huge scar of depression for the whole family. The children are neglected, emotionally scarred & witness the vulgar & violent nature of an addict (in this case, their own parents or related adults) and often fall prey to criminal activities. Such families suffer from economic crises and ultimately from social & financial stigmas, as they tend to splurge money on their addiction leaving them to struggle in making everyday’s expenditure along with hampering the basic need of food, health and education for their children.

Local volunteers were motivated to spread the word of knowledge whenever possible. Some of the wives decided to put an end towards this evil habits of their spouse and husbands took pledge to cope up with their problem of addiction towards alcohol & drugs.

SETU organized a workshop at ‘Snehalaya- A home with love’ on “International Day of Persons with Disability”.

Snehalaya is an orphanage cum care home for disabled and destitute children & adolescents with disorders or syndromes like Cerebral palsy, Tuber sclerosis, psoriasis, epilepsy and AIDS. The total strength of such children is sixty-three with mixed age groups. Snehalaya also runs a regular school for the poor children of the local vicinity with more emphasis on girl child education.

The workshop involved `painting’ as a therapeutic activity for these children. The regular kids also took part in the activities. The main motive of SETU behind organizing the whole event was to experience & interact with children, give them little happiness by spending time with them and pore over the problems that they undergo, so that we can be of help in any way they might necessitate in future. They were provided with sheets, painting colors and fresh vegetables cut into various shapes so that they could be used as blocks. The kids took part in the activities with a lot of enthusiasm, as for them block painting with vegetables was completely new; with this they learned new shapes, designs and colors. Students from the Nursing College of the city volunteered and helped us in conducting the competition. Various sweets, chips & Fruits were distributed among them at the end of the event.

Snehalaya on the other hand organized a small cultural program in the honor of SETU. In this event, kids suffering with Down Syndrome & Hepatitis- B with speech difficulties and CP with knee & ankle deformities gave an astonishing performance by dancing on the tunes of Bollywood film songs. It was heartening to see the kids so happy and the smile on their faces was simply precious.

‘Child Right Observatory’ Bhopal (M.P.) organized a seminar on ‘Save the Girl Child’. The seminar was held at HFWTC,Gwalior, with the help of 15 supportive welfare societies, and SETU was one of the participatory members of the seminar. The members talked about an essential problem existing in the populace, the seminar enlighten the newly wed couples about the evil practices prevailing in the society in reference to female feticides & infanticide.

Conversation also included Gender Equality & other related issues. At the end lag of the whole seminar, the results seemed fruitful as the attendees took a pledge that they will make sure that will do their best to put a halt to this ill will in their surroundings and shall spread the word of wisdom in their vicinity and locality.

SETU organized a local community meeting with women residing at Thatipur, Gwalior (M.P.) to draw attention to ‘eliminate violence against women’. These women belonged to the vulnerable section of society. Mr. L R Kaushal & Ms Gulmohar Matta (SETU team members) discussed the impact of this on the mental structure on women as well as on their children. They also enlightened them about some ways & solutions that can be thought off. Reasons on why the women are forced to suffer were discussed in details. Some of the points discussed were:

• How apprehension of speaking out and confronting the society makes her suffer more.
• Motivation to share and speak about what’s going wrong with one self or perhaps in one’s neighborhood.
• To stand against such violence and those people who are committing crime
• The ill effects on family members, etc.
• How to seek professional help and support available from various Govt. & Non-Govt. Agencies.

SETU team also visited “Council Centre” Gwalior to interview some brave women who had guts to be bold enough to fight with their problems. These women are now combating for their rights and the government organizations are helping them with their court cases, schooling, clothing, and food along with training them to learn vocational trades so that they can be self-sustainable. SETU hopes to provide them with livelihood opportunities to make them self-sustainable.