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Dharmkot, Bhagsu (or Bhagsunag), Naddi, and
Baal are small mountain villages in the Himalayan state of Himachal
Pradesh. They are inhabited by a population of
half-nomadic Hindu shepherds, the Gaddis,
who speak their own language and have their own
traditions and occupations.
Since 1996, a group of women
from these remote mountain hamlets are working and learning together
in a local association, “The Gaddi Women's Self Help
Society." These are who women never had a chance to go to school,
widows in desperate need to support their family, newly graduated
young women in search of decent employment, and a French school
teacher on sabbatical leave, Isabelle Pompignat Mahendroo. At the
same time, the Society works to improve access for local
children to primary school.
The women draw a monthly salary for their part-time
work; part-time work enables them to do the domestic chores in the
farms. Decisions are made during the weekly meetings, where they
learn to purchase, produce, promote, deliver, sell, keep the
accounts, and write bills. As they work they get basic training in
writing, reading, arithmetic, basic rules of democracy, and decision
making. The donors who support the society help make the experiment
a growing reality, giving the women time to acquire knowledge and
self confidence. This project has given training
in different skills and created gainful employment for
Gaddi women and girls.
All the money used for running the
society comes through donations from friends or charitable
institutions. The only exception is the salaries paid to the women
working in the Food Processing unit, where they are paid with
earnings from the sale of their products. The money received for
funding goes into a common pool; from there it is used as and when
required.
The Food Making Unit, started in 1996, the
three Tailoring Schools, and the computer center seem to be reaching
out to more and more people. Isabelle says, "The fact that now I
have more help for my work encourages me to reach out towards those
interior regions where there is less access to educational
facilities for children or income generation programs for
women."
 Isabelle Pompignat Mahendroo, a teacher in
France, is presently on an extended sabbatical with the purpose of
educating and helping the tribal women of Himalayan regions to be
self-reliant. Married in India and blessed with a child, "Mridul
Jeremy," Mrs. Mahendroo has managed and run the Gaddi Women's
Self-help Society since 1996. Her husband, Alok Mahendroo, teaches
computer skills to villagers on a voluntary basis, as well as the
making of items to sell.
 The man
is a professional tailor, teaching the teachers for the tailoring
schools.It started with a conversation about how
useful it was to know how to sew and how expensive it was and how
far it was to the nearest place where one could learn. (It is a one
hour walk, followed by a one hour bus trip, one way.) The Gaddi
Women's Self-Help Society decided to open their own tailoring school
in Dharmkot. There was a potential teacher in the village, Vrikma
Devi. She had learned the profession when she was only 12 years old,
and is now the local resource. She is knowledgeable in modern
fashion as well in the craft of traditional Gaddi dresses, wedding
dresses, and men's outfits.
There are three tailoring schools, one
in Dharmkot village in Isabelle's home, one in
Baal, a very remote hamlet, and the newest in Naddi.
(See the links for pictures and information about each
school.)
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“Women ,
a majority of the world’s
population , receive only a small
share of developmental opportunities .
They are often excluded from
education or from the better
jobs , from political systems or
from adequate health care …..In
the countries for which relevant
data are available , the female
human development index is only
60% that of males.“ Human Development Report
1993 United Nations Development
Program |
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| We
not only want a piece of
the pie , we also want to
choose the flavour and know
how to make it ourselves.“
Ela Bhatt
(Self Employed Women’s
Association) |
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“Never
doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can
change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever
has.”
Margaret
Mead |
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Goals:
Women's education, women's right to
employment, skill training, and training of businesses run by
women. |
| Principles: Transparency, accountability,
decision-making on a democratic basis, a society directed and
governed by women. |
| Purposes of
Training: Training
is based on the students' convenience and interests, not the
teacher's.
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What and How Students Are Taught
 In order
to know the skill of cutting, one has to learn to count, make
drafts, take measurements, understand geometry, be able to use a
ruler and pen, and to sew with the machines. They must also learn
hand work, hand embroidery, and hand stitching. During the training
the women are also encouraged to learn to practice the skill
professionally. To that end, they need to read and write and make
use of basic arithmetic. Tailoring skills taught to students are
illustrated here.
They established rules, in order to run the school
on their own, while Isabelle returned to France to earn money so she
could continue her volunteer work. The rules stated the obligations
of the students, the teacher, and the Gaddi Women's Self-Help
Society, and set the curriculum and the number of hours of class per
week. |
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