I am Ruma Devi from Gramin Vikas Evam Chetna Sansthan (GVCS) from Barmer, Rajasthan. I was born in Rawsar, which is 30 kilometers from Barmer. My mother passed away when I was 4 years old. Growing up without a mother was difficult for me. I envied my friends who came to school with packed lunch-boxes. I dropped out in grade 8th and at the age of 13, I was married. Even after marriage, the financial situation of my household was not stable as both my husband and I were not educated. When my first child was born, I thought that our conditions will get better, but God had different plans for us. 48 hours later, I lost my child as I could not afford the medical treatment for the rare condition my child had developed. I was devastated. There was no reason for me to live. However, I mustered courage and thought that I must work. I only had the skill of embroidery which I had learned from my grandmother. I took a needle and thread and started to work without a thought. Kasidakari work is done with a needle but stitching needed a machine for which we had no money. I mobilized a group of 10 women and collected INR 100 each for buying a second-hand machine and immediately started work. Then someone advised us to approach GVCS which worked with handicrafts. Their Secretary, Vikram Singh met us and we briefed him about our need for work. He told us that women are usually not ready to work but just because we had approached him, he gave us samples to work on. When we went back with the completed samples, he appreciated it and gave more work to complete within 3 days. We worked overnight and returned the next day. Vikram Ji was surprised and asked us how we managed it. We just said that we were glad to have gotten work and decided to finish it overnight. I realized there were many women like me who are not financially independent, I went from door to door to connect these women. The journey through these remote villages difficult but we kept on our path. In most of our interactions, we understood that social stigmas are still very prominent. We had to convince the families that the woman would not have to leave her home and that we would provide her with all the materials. In her spare time, she could work. Around the same time, we got an opportunity to work for an exhibition in New Delhi. We were apprehensive but equally excited for this opportunity. In Delhi, our role was to spread the message about Barmer Applique work through the show. Thankfully our stock was sold and we made almost INR 15,000. In the next exhibition, our sale was worth INR 11 lakhs. Exploring something new was essential as people do not always buy bags. Hence, we decided to enter the apparel genre with applique work. We made Kurtas and Dupattas and also tried our hand at saris. This was the first time was that applique was done on cloth, so people were still unsure about how it would look once worn. So, we decided to host a fashion show. When we requested the organizing committee of Rajasthan Heritage Week to let us conduct a fashion show, We had no idea about how to make costumes. We were nervous right before the ramp walk as no one would like our products when big designers would exhibit their excellent products. When our products were very well received. Soon after, we got an email from Germany saying that we have been selected as the only NGO from India to display our work at the renowned Hamm Textiles Fair. We asked around about travelling abroad and everyone advised us to carry our own food. We carried wheat flour and cooked our meals there and fed everyone there. We sold everything there too. When I started, I could never imagine that we could work like this or we could get rewarded in the form of appreciation and awards for our work. For Women, stepping out of the house is very difficult as the family doesn’t agree. Now, they are traveling to big cities like New Delhi and Mumbai to sell their products and also walk the ramp of the fashion show. The same people who used to discourage me from coming to their villages and homes are now telling everyone to do as I say. I started along with 10 women and today 22,000+ women are now working together. There are more than 1.5 lakh artisans who execute the whole process. To make these women independent is my dream.These women still work with a veil on their heads and do not share their difficulties with anyone. Today, these women handle the organization. Had I not started; these women would also not have been able to move forward in life. It is the rule of our organization to employ women from the local communities. With this, I would like to conclude by saying that to say that women should support and respect each other. Each of us has some talent hidden, so why not move ahead based on it. If we believe in ourselves then, be resolute and stand strong!
Read more about EDGE 2019: https://www.edelgive.org/edge-2019
For more details on GVCS, visit: https://graminsansthan.org/