“Strengthening efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger, through the global partnership for development” – the story of IISD’s path to success through Self-Help Groups and Micro-Credit

Nanoor is a backward area in West Bengal in India of artisan families living below the poverty line. Lack of opportunities and ignorance had kept the talented population away from a decent source of sustainable livelihood.

The Institute adopted the Nanoor cluster of handicraft artisans excelling in Kantha embroidery (art of design and stories on cloth by the village women of West Bengal in India and Bangladesh) after in-depth studies of the cluster stretching over months that involved data collection and trust building with the target beneficiaries in the year 2005.

 Based on the initial study, it was determined that the creation of Self Help Groups (SHGs) was the best option for the artisan families to come out of poverty. It was also understood that the existing skills needed upgradation and training programs needed to be conducted to create market–centric products that would be acceptable to the modern consumers.  There were more than 220 artisans in Nanoor who became the beneficiaries of the project. Overall, in the Bolpur subdivision, there were over 500 artisans who came under the project’s beneficiary umbrella.

The Institute held group meetings with 220 artisans in January 2006. The Institute announced the formation of Self Help Groups and additionally, affordable group insurance schemes at very nominal premium rates and relatively sizeable benefits offered by Life Insurance Corporation of India. The insurance scheme also offered educational scholarships for their wards. All this was earlier researched and negotiated with the corporations for the benefit of the artisan families under the newly formed Self Help Groups by the Institute.

The Institute provided the SHGs with capacity building training on skill upgradation through designs and technical development workshops conducted by Master Craft-persons and Designers and trained the artisans in the concept of Self Help Group, accounts maintenance and making of marketable goods. The Institute also helped the artisans gain access to markets at the local, regional, national and international levels in partnership with other organizations in different parts of the world.

The artisans, due to their collective bargaining power, now dictate the price of their wares collectively instead of the previous practice of being at the mercy of the middle-level traders. Market exposure is educating the artisans to understand the tastes of the consumers and guiding them to make such items which cater to the market.

The artisans, through their SHG Bank Accounts, now receive loans on affordable businesses from financial institutions. Working capital and contingencies are met with ease compared to earlier situations of falling into debt traps due to excess interest rates charged by private local money lenders. Their income has increased three-fold in about one year from less than Rs. 300-500 (US $6.8 - $11.4) a month to Rs. 1000-1500 (US$22.75 - $34.00) a month. The increase was also helped by recent design development workshops conducted by internationally renowned designers who made them use their kantha craft as value additions to small items of utility in today’s world.

Literacy and education is being welcomed by these artisans for furthering their development. The SHGs, comprising mostly of women, discuss social and family problems with their groups and solve problems collectively. Socially they are coming out of seclusion and improving their lives.

The ultimate goal of this project is to create a cluster with adequate enlightenment to handle and mingle comfortably with the global community without losing their identities and without forsaking craft practice as their source of sustainable livelihood.

Through various other related programs and exhibitions the Institute showcased and made presentations on the Handicrafts of India to the international community in New York to raise awareness and stress their importance in world culture. (The Institute participated in the Tribal Handicrafts Exhibition at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from May to July 2005 and again in a separate exhibition from March-April 2006).