This was one other jam-packed week, beginning off with a practice journey to our subsequent location: Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala. The journey boasted beautiful views of the backwaters and it was the proper time to soak up the surroundings.
This week, our predominant focus was to work with the Kerala department of the all-female commerce union SEWA. The department, based in 1983, has over 35,000 members and focuses its efforts on pushing change for ladies members working within the casual sector. This sector consists of home staff, fish staff, reed and bamboo weavers, road distributors and craftswomen, all of whom earlier than changing into members of SEWA weren’t formally organised so couldn’t have their voices heard or push for change. The work of SEWA is invaluable to those communities, particularly as all management and members are ladies, so they honestly perceive ladies’s challenges, guaranteeing ladies recognise their labour as work. We had the chance to work with a few of SEWA’s key members, together with Nalini Nayak, considered one of SEWA Kerala’s founders. Her many years of intensive work in forming a feminist perspective on fish staff and shaping SEWA into the power of nature that it’s in the present day signifies that she is likely one of the most knowledgable, inspiring and albeit coolest ladies I’ve ever met and her perspective on patriarchy as intertwined with capitalism blew my thoughts.Â
The highlights of the week for me had been visiting items of reed weavers and pottery staff. The reed weavers had such fast talent in weaving baskets and followers in intricate patterns and I instantly might see the influence of incomes an impartial livelihood and group amongst the ladies, who weave collectively. What struck me was their pleasure and satisfaction of their work they usually had been so type and keen in educating us weave a easy sample. Regardless that we don’t converse the identical language, their heat, vibrant spirits and humour shone by means of. I’m so grateful for the ladies in sharing their tales, lots of whom discovered the talent from household or neighbours and continued to weave after marriage and in contrast to the material weavers, they actually took satisfaction of their work. They had been type sufficient to cook dinner us essentially the most scrumptious conventional lunch and I get used to consuming with arms!
The students with the superb bamboo weavers!
We additionally had the possibility to see how the pottery items are made. On a sweltering, scorching (nonetheless not used to the humidity) day, we had been proven within the pottery workshops how they use the potters wheel and I volunteered to present it a strive! I’ve tried to say sure to as many issues as potential on this journey and this was considered one of them. It was tough however a lot enjoyable to make it right into a form with the assistance of potter Vijay. We additionally met Suma, who proudly instructed us that her daughter has gone into craft, making souvenirs out of pottery. Her story exhibits how crafts may be up to date to proceed with the following era. 
Staff picture with the pottery artisans!
After a lot dialogue and convincing, we agreed that we might arrange a Instagram account @sewa.kerala. This was a giant achievement as they had been resistant at first, as a result of that they had reached so many ladies with out it, however as they needed to succeed in a youthful viewers, they agreed if we set one up for them. I created a brochure and product information for his or her reed merchandise, which was an enormous studying expertise as these could be despatched to companies who we thought ought to carry these merchandise. I developed abilities in advertising, storytelling and pricing and actually did get pleasure from being artistic and collaborating on the ultimate product, earlier than presenting it to the workforce! I’ve grow to be extra assured already in placing my concepts ahead and taking up suggestions.Â
It could be remiss of me to not point out the superb ladies working at our lodging, the SEWA Rural Centre, simply exterior of town. From cooking scrumptious, house cooked meals to creating paper of their recycled paper making unit, they had been at all times so heat and there was at all times laughter with them, particularly at meal occasions. They shared with us their achievements with SEWA, equivalent to protesting each night for years towards truckloads of garbage being dumped subsequent to the village, stubbornly laying on the bottom and refusing to be moved! The centre is eco-friendly, surrounded by nature and was so peaceable. Monkeys infiltrated considered one of our morning yoga classes, not one thing I had ever anticipated! The week ended with some free days, the place we acquired to discover Thiruvananthapuram‘s wealthy tradition and go to the seashore. 
Studying reed weave…
I’m full of gratitude in the direction of SEWA and the workforce for giving their time and vitality for us to be taught from them. Their management construction, from the grassroots upwards, signifies that any member can have their voice heard and the upskilling provided to the ladies is invaluable to their improvement and independence. I can not emphasise sufficient how a lot all of the superb ladies I met this week have taught me and I’ll actually be taking their resilience and combating dedication to vary.
The implausible workforce at SEWA and our CraftHER workforce!
