Author: Sharmi Adhikary
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: August 13, 2006
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/iep/sunday/story/10446.html
Introduction: Some of the finest clothes in
Kolkata are being created by a group of school dropouts, courtesy a city project
The way to the catwalk and Fashion Street
lies through these dingy bylanes.
Eight months ago, 22-year-old Joanna Barua,
a school dropout had no job and a daughter and parents to look after. Krishna
Ghosh, another school dropout made barely Rs 20 a day sewing blouses. But
that's all in the past now.
Barua and Ghosh and many more like them earn
Rs 2,500 a month working for companies like Passport Jeans, Frontier Apparel,
Amrit Exports and other acclaimed designers. Together they create some of
the finest patterns and embroidery found in the city.
The journey they make from the dingy bylanes
of Anandapally, Baganpara and Tha-kurpukur to their workplace miles away is
tiring but it's certainly worth every mile.
It all started when Sparsh Foundation, a non-government
organisation, devised a unique module to tap the potential of talented school
drop-outs.
"Our programme was centred around the
garment industry, which needs skilled workers. These young girls were already
breaking their back sewing garments for the local tailor or learning to stitch
in some local tailoring school,'' he says. So Sparsh Foundation decided to
train these youngsters according to industry requirements. "Initially,
we had former students of the National Institute of Fashion Technology teaching
the girls. Now there are people who are equally good in the business,'' says
Suman Bhowmick, secretary of Sparsh Foundation.
This is the first time that an endeavour has
been certified not just by the state government, but also by the central government.
Sparsh Foundation conducts classes in a few
non-formal and technical schools for the underprivileged. This course is certified
by the West Bengal State Council of Technical Education.
"The girls get a morale boost once their
training is certified by the state government. But the training does not end
there,'' says Bhowmick. The best among the batch are sent to the Apparel Training
and Design Centre (ATDC) affiliated to the Apparel Export Promotion Council
to sharpen and improve their skills. The courses taught here are centred on
pattern making, quality control and machine operating. The girls get a certificate
from the Union Ministry of Textiles and are recruited by companies during
campus placements. The first batch of students passed out in December 2005
and bagged jobs with some big names in the industry.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT has now also come from NIFT.
"We have empanelled with Sparsh Foundation whereby the institute will
prepare a fixed set of modules for the teachers and the students so that they
are kept abreast of the latest trends in the industry,'' says Jayati Mukherjee,
assistant professor of design, NIFT.
Ranjan Dasgupta, principal of ATDC, the centre
that gives the final touches to these girls' training, feels the programme
is sustainable because the industry needs such skilled workers. "I have
complied with the programme because I know that the industry needs workers.
Here craftsmanship and efficiency is more important than formal education
hence it doesn't matter if the girls are school dropouts. Sparsh pays for
their training and we prepare them to meet the industry demands,'' says Dasgupta.
And the industry is welcoming these girls
as well. Says Chetan Shah, production manager of Passport Brands Clothing
Co, where one of the girls from Sparsh, Anuradha Das, works as a quality control
expert: "We saw that Anuradha had an instinct for quality. Hence we recruited
her.'' He adds: "That she is a dropout does not matter because we are
concerned with how fast she can do her work. In fact, we have asked Suman
Bhowmick to give us more workers soon for the factory.'' That's good news
for the girls. But if there's anything that's bothering them, it's the pay
packet. "I am happy that at least now I am working in such a big company.
However, I wish we could be given some more money,'' says Anuradha.
Bhowmick admits the money's not too great
at the moment. "Since they were the first batch we could not bargain
with the companies. But the way the girls are learning the trade, the companies
will soon have to cough up the amount they deserve,'' says Bhowmick.
sharmi.adhikary@expressindia.com
