A five day Product Development workshop for 18 women artisans of Jammu and Kashmir is
undergoing in Government Polytechnic College in Jammu. The workshop is part of a five year project on ‘Culture and Conflict’ project being implemented by Yakjah Reconciliation and Development Network, a non -profit social innovation for peacebuilding. It is supported by the Gender Justice and Security Hub of the London School and Economics.
The workshop is being led by Amod Ranjan from Rangsutra Crafts India, a leading brand in
handcrafted products. The aim of the workshop is to impart training to the artisans for developing innovative products to reach different kinds of markets for their livelihood. The workshop will conclude on June 28, 2024.
The 18 women artisans are from Bas”oli, Jammu, Jagti camp of Kashmiri Pandits, Srinagar and Ganderbal in Kashmir. They are skilled in Basholi miniature art, Aaari and Sozni embroidery. The project was started in 2019. In the last four years the artisans were led through skilling workshops on design development, learning the art of printing, color
combinations, pricing, packaging and branding. They learnt how to use different mediums and work on diversity of textures, patterns and styles so as to cater to both national and international markets.
Dr. Arun Bangotra inaugurated the workshop on June 24, 2024. In his opening remarks and
interaction with the artisans he said that women have the ability to be successful
entrepreneurs and nothing can stop them once they start their own enterprise. “They are
resilient, determined, have the power to forecast, make decisions, and have critical
thinking acumen. Therefore when they enter any business, they tend to make it a successful story”, he said. He emphasized on the various government schemes like Umeed, Tejasvi scheme, PM Vishavkarnama scheme,etc. that are specifically aimed to
strengthen the women artisans. He appraised the artisans about various courses being offered by their institute. He also said that it is critical that the Rangsutra concept and model reaches every household.
Ashima Kaul, project lead in India shared the concept behind the project. She said that Women across cultures have coded tacit cultural knowledge, skills, and power of resilience to transform complex and multidimensional development challenges in favor of the well- being of their communities, families, and self. Intractable development challenges are multidimensional and complex challenges that have proven to be resistant to change, prone to fragmented responses, and that cannot be solved by a single organization or from one sectoral or disciplinary perspective. “Therefore different stakeholders like government, education, financial and technical institutions, NGOs and community of practitioners have to come together to meet the challenges”, she said and added that the project is aligned with Government of India’s vision to promote handmade products and develop women’s entrepreneurship for their livelihood keeping in mind the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030. She stressed that women can play a pivotal role in India’s financial growth. Present during the workshop are also Yakjah’s researchers and coordinators, Akshay Kumar Sharma, Anamika Bharti and Urzeeba Bhat.