Indira, 18, belonging to village Thahryo Halepoto of district Tharparkar, has become a home-based industry worker as part of a small and medium cooperative enterprise model, which saves her from any exploitation including middlemen.
"Go a few months back, we were earning a livelihood in a mainstream industry through a middleman, who were paying us a meagre amount but after the Thar Coal project, we are sewing school uniforms for Thar Foundation Schools and earning cash for our families," says Indira.
Motivation and joy manifest in her face as she adds, "I can see my days changed for good. This is our journey to prosperity," adds Indira, part of the poor Bheel community.
Indira's male family members are employed at Thar Coal Project and she opted to stay back at home so that she could train and learn skills and earn livelihood for her own.
Twenty Thari women like Indira have been selected and trained by the Thar Foundation under its Khushaal Naari program, a women empowerment initiative, and to develop Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the region of Tharparkar, where literacy rate among women is not more than 7 percent.
The broader scope of the initiative involves improving life standard of the local communities by generating economic activities. Thar Foundation is planning to enroll 5000 children in its schools and shall be providing 10,000 school uniforms to its students. Another trainee, Durpatta, a mother of 5, says, "I have already started saving up for my kids, and the project is helping our family with a good source of income; it has doubled."
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