The SEWA Cooperative Federation was promoted by the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in 1992. The Federation envisages a business environment where women-run social businesses can efficiently compete with the traditional companies. Its vision is to continue facilitating the development of women artisans from rural and backward areas through marketing outlets, strategies and programs that will showcase their talent for creating vibrant arts and crafts to the world.
SEWA ni-Haveli
Sewa ni Haveli - a heritage house located at Dhalni Pol in Ahmedabad, India was restored a few years ago, and is now a center that helps preserve, nurture and promote heritage art forms and crafts. The Abodana cooperative, an all women-artisan’s member of the SEWA Cooperative Federation, engages here in a variety of crafts such as block printing, patchwork and appliqué, tie and dye, jewellery making, beadwork, badla work, puppet making, crochet and hand embroidery, etc.
Women tailors at work creating beautiful garments
They recently tied up with the National Institute of Design (NID), India to develop a Khadi Collection – choosing Khadi for its connection to Gandhian values, the backbone of SEWA’s ideology, and also since it further empowers weavers along the value chain. The women artisans of Abodana worked with 12 NID students to create a collection of 25 designs. Each student chose a design theme, from the magnificent indigo of Kutchh to the intricate designs of the Taj. The designs have contemporary styles with embellishments of traditional crafts including block-printing, applique-work, ajrakh-printing, mukesh, embroidery and aari-work. With guidance from the NID students and master tailors, the women artisans realized the designs into beautiful garments over a period of three months.
NID students with the SEWA staff.
During this period, both the students and the artisans learnt about the history and the importance of the Khadi fabric in its true sense. The students on one hand learnt to work with practical constraints such as the artisans’ family responsibilities, variations in shade and texture of handwoven cloth, and the translation of contemporary designs in the hands of traditional artisans. This helped them become more classic in terms of the designs created, more realistic in planning timelines. The artisans also gained technical expertise and exposure from this experience. They learnt new techniques of stitching, contemporary styles, and a professional focus. From a design point of view, they learnt various technicalities in terms of shades and weaves of fabric, design nomenclature, etc.
This collection thus weds youthful and contemporary design to traditional crafts, in a fabric that lives & breathes ‘India’. The collection is available for sale in Kalakruti, Federation’s outlet in Ahmedabad, and can be ordered upon request at info@sewafederation.org.
