Oxfam in Nepal is engaged with Pokhara Women Skill Development Pvt Ltd (PWSD) to improve the socio-economic condition of 900 poor and marginalized women from Kaski district by promoting handicraft enterprise development project. The project targets marginalized (especially Dalits and Janajati), single, differently-abled, socially and economically excluded, highly vulnerable and those who suffered from gender based violence to develop their skills in making handicrafts and home-based jobs to improve their socio-economic status. These women are trained and employed to make a wide range of handmade woven products, such as bags, dolls, decorative items and accessories.
The Enterprise Development Programme is supporting PWSD to achieve 75 % growth within 2020, by improving governance, providing business development services, expanding market linkages and developing robust financial management.
Text and photos by: Swikriti Sharma/Oxfam
The raw white rolls of threads are dyed either with chemical colours or with natural colours.
The dyed threads are hung on ropes for drying.
The threads are then rolled and stacked like this.
Warping is a process where coloured yarns are arranged in a loom to form patterned piece of cloth.
After the threads are warped, they are woven in a different loom. Women producers can take away warped threads and weave the cloth at their homes.
Now the fabrics are designed and cut according to approved patterns.
The cut fabrics are stitched by hand and machine to make final products.
The finished products are sorted, labelled, and packaged maintaining quality standards.
Examples of finished products--handwoven bags.