Hindustan Zinc embraces and celebrates National Handloom day restoring the age-old tradition of handloom textile of our country
The initiative will lead in helping the rural women venture into new business
On the National Handloom Day, one of the world’s largest and India’s only integrated producers of Zinc, Lead, and Silver, Hindustan Zinc extends its support towards the handloom weavers by organizing an exhibition of products by Sakhi, their flagship initiative. The Sakhi stalls will be set up at different locations including Kayad, Agucha, Dariba, Chanderiya, Zawar, Debri, and its Head Office in Udaipur.
Hindustan Zinc has always prioritized women empowerment and has come up with various initiatives to support and aid in the development of women. For the past three years, the company has been constantly engaging women from different parts of Rajasthan & Uttarakhand in training sessions to upskill their stitching instinct. The products are a result of premium hand-craftsmanship which preserves and celebrates the tradition. It also provides textiles with unique patterns and designs, a combination of new generation craft and classic embroidery. In a way, every buyer is a part of the journey for empowering women to lead a better life.
With India moving towards its mission of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, ‘Vocal for Local’ is the need of the hour and home-grown businesses are taking prominence. National Handloom Day is celebrated in remembrance of such a brave initiative and observe how India is still reviving the dying art.
As a part of this auspicious occasion, where local art is being celebrated, the hard work of 200 Sakhis involved in handmade production in and around Rajasthan was collated and showcased on a common platform. Sakhi Utpadan Samiti put up stalls across 6 locations to provide the locals with an experience of the feel and taste of some authentic flavors – pickles, pulses, spices, local produce, handicrafts stitched by them, etc.
Gudiya Kanwar from Kayad village, Ajmer, shared her experience, “When your hard work and dedication give good results, it gives a lot of joy and satisfaction and the entire credit for that goes to Hindustan Zinc.
Gudiya is incharge of the pickle making unit at Kayad and was unable to contain her happiness at the positive feedback received from people who had sampled their pickle.”
In a similar fashion, Jamna Khatik from Putholi village, Chittorgarh shared that joining Hindustan Zinc’s Sakhi project has changed her life. She is skilled enough to now stitch different types of garments including masks, clothes, bags, pillow covers which has made her financially independent. The products made by her and her colleagues at the stitching centre have gained recognition in local markets and shops which has motivated them.
The Sakhi products will be displayed for sale in the Hindustan Zinc locations of Kayad – Turnstile Gate, Near Mines; Agucha – Shopping Complex; Dariba – Near Dariba Cooperative; Chanderiya – Zinc Nagar, Shopping Centre; Zawar – Zawar Community Centre; Debari – Sports Complex, Zinc Colony and HZL Udaipur Head Office – Near Reception.
Sakhi is Hindustan Zinc’s flagship women empowerment project that helps mobilise rural women into self-help groups. The objective is to provide them with sustainable livelihood opportunities. We have set up micro-enterprise units to develop their capacities in leadership, skill development, finance management and entrepreneurship. The project involves 194 functional village organisations (VOs) and 5 federations with 27,245 women across seven locations.
This program is a one-of-a-kind platform that equips women artisans with the knowledge and resources they need to become financially independent. It is a CSR initiative of Hindustan Zinc Ltd. and implemented by Manjari Foundation. Sakhi has travelled a long way toward establishing a self-sustaining social enterprise. More than 150 women have been mobilized in nearly operational villages of HZL throughout Rajasthan and Uttarakhand as part of Sakhi and are directly involved in these enterprises.