Gujarat-based Bhu:sattva, India’s first organic designer wear brand in India, is preparing to bring 10,000 low-income women into its program through the inclusion of self-help groups as producers. The company plans to help train the women in “herbal dyeing, block printing, cutting and stitching, and embroidery among other traditional art forms. Bhu:sattva will also commit to guaranteed buy-back from the women so that there is a constant market for their goods produced. Bhu:sattva, a brand, owned by Ahmedabad based Rising Tradelink Ltd (RTLL), which is in to manufacturing of organic textiles and garments, is mulling to source its new range of organic textile products like apparels and home textiles from the handloom and handicraft sector by organizing Self Help Groups (SHGs) across different districts of Gujarat, involving around 10,000 women from the lower strata of society.
These 10,000 women would be deployed in various processes of organic garments manufacturing like herbal dyeing, block printing, cutting & stitching, embroidery, khadi art and revival of languishing art forms and will also promote handloom weaving sector through this noble initiative.
Bhu:sattva has been launched by a dynamic entrepreneur and a new breed visionary, Mr Jainam Kumarpal who came up with the idea of converging traditional organic clothing with herbal dyes with a touch of modern fashion design. Bhu:sattva is also the first ever organic designer wear brand in India. He expects to generate a turnover of Rs. 4-5 billion in a span of five years from this project through exports of organic products
Revealing details about this visionary and noble project to fibre2fashion which will help empower women from the lower strata of society, Mr Kumarpal said, “Bhu:sattva is known for its philosophy of doing business with human face and this project is another testimony to that philosophy. The project would be named ‘Suvarna Jyot’.
“We believe that if the woman of a family is uplifted, then the whole family would be uplifted. We feel that income generated by a woman would act as an additional source of income for the household and would be directed towards the education and nourishment of the children. So the impact of this project is multifaceted and wholesome.
“Biggest USP of this project is that Bhu:sattva gives an 100% buy back guarantee of the products produced by the beneficiaries and this would give them a ready market instead of beneficiaries searching for the market. The products to be manufactured under this project are organic designer garments, organic home furnishings like bedsheets, tapestry, curtains and organic spa range which includes towels, bathrobes etc”, he concluded by saying.
When quizzed about how many women will be given livelihood, the skills needed and what training will be imparted to these artisan women, he replied by saying, “The project would involve roughly 1000 Self Help Groups (SHGs), with each SHG involving around 10 beneficiaries. So the total number of women empowered would be 10,000. We have identified women artisans from regions like Surendranagar, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, Himmatnagar & Bhavnagar.
“These 10,000 women would be deployed into various processes of organic garments manufacturing like herbal dyeing, block printing, cutting & stitching, embroidery, khadi art and revival of languishing art forms. Bhu Sattva is also interested in undertaking handloom weaving via ‘Mission Mangalam’. Training to these beneficiaries would be provided by the fashion designers, artisans and the renowned craftsmen from all across India, whereby quality training is expected to increase the marketability of the products produced by the Self Help Groups”. Informing about the involvement of government agencies in this project, he informed, “Gujarat Livelihood Promotion Company (GLPC) which is an implementing agency of state of Gujarat named as ‘Mission Mangalam’, under the National Livelihood Mission of Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India has entered an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bhu:sattva.
“RTLL & GLPC will jointly identify the potential entrepreneurs/beneficiaries, possibly BPL women organized into Self Help Groups; GLPC shall arrange for financing, wherever applicable, in name of SHGs/entrepreneurs dovetailing it with existing schemes of the central & state governments and different agencies; GLPC will arrange subsidy for SHGs/entrepreneurs, wherever possible and the funding for training would be arranged by GLPC”.
Revealing the main unique selling propositions (USP) of this project he said, “We provide a 100% buyback guarantee of all the products produced by the beneficiaries, will help uplift 10,000 beneficiaries above poverty line, provide recognition to these women, create social harmony as women of different inter-faiths would work under one roof, enable increase in earnings and skill enhancement through skill based training of two months by recognized designer, artisans and craftsmen which will increase their chance of employability once they opt out of the project”, he wrapped up this very informative chat by saying.
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