About herkala

Access to opportunity enables equality…

 

I have had the good fortune of spending my childhood visiting various states across India and immersing myself in the local lifestyle, especially in rural India. This was made all the more possible since my father is employed with the Central Government.

 

Women in rural India find themselves with relatively more time from 10 AM to 5 PM when their husbands are away working. Since the patriarchal set-up does not encourage moving around alone, these women are largely house-bound during the day - except for some mobility within the village limits in groups (with other women).

 

Many women turn to handicraft work as a means of spending time and, over the course of time, begin to show tremendous promise through their artisanal skills. However, as they attempt to turn their work into some form of a livelihood, they face many hurdles. 

 

Firstly, the selling price of the work product does not reflect the time and effort put into it. Big business houses often pass on work to these women and eventually sell the finished product at phenomenal prices while the women responsible for the work remain not only obscured but also highly underpaid. Seeing no other alternate opportunity, these women do not take steps to assert their value. 

 

Secondly, the access to markets is controlled by middlemen. These middlemen fulfill the duty of providing all the raw material required at the doorstep of these women and similarly, collecting the finished product. While the women are comfortable with the on-going arrangements, the arrangement does not lead to financial upliftment since they are paid a paltry sum for their labor. 

 

In June 2021, I visited  four villages in the Kutch region in Gujarat along-with my family to purchase the famous handicrafts directly from the artisans at reasonable prices. I interacted with the female artists of the region closely and I was inspired by their ambition and commitment to their work. As I was trying to figure out how I can add value in this situation, I connected with our past next door neighbor in Bhuj, Atmani Dholu, and discussed about my takeaways from Kutch with her. We realised that we can start an online marketplace for these women at the first place. 

 

I developed this platform so that it can act as the window of opportunity that enables equality for women. 

 

As a first step, we are launching a website and assisting around 18 artists with various skills and supporting them through Atmani and Vijay bhai, another like minded local associate. These associates will engage with local artisans and ensure doorstep supply of raw material and pick up  / further shipping of the finished product. The money received during the booking of an article will be used for getting it prepared and shipped.