On November 8, 2016, a “sudden” address to the nation by Prime Minister took India by storm. That night, Narendra Modi declared, through a televised and radio address, that at midnight all existing currency of 500 and 1000 will become invalid; and in the next few days the government will begin to replace the old…
Four members of the DEF Research Team attended a four-day capacity building workshop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from November 22-8 November, 2016. The workshop was organised by The Association for Progressive Communications (APC); and aimed at refining strategic thinking around alliance and movement building towards organisational or project objectivesl and working towards short, medium, and long-term…
Project Chanderiyaan in Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, is looking towards diversification of its products. The cluster that is known for making beautiful silk sarees is now expanding its horizon to include a range of products such as home furnishing, apparel, clutches and laptop sleeves to ensure optimum market reach and branding. The cluster is also on…
A little survey that we carried out in Tiruchirappalli district of Tamil Nadu tells us why it is extremely crucial to improve the livelihood of weaver communities to ensure that the handloom industry continues to stay exist and thrive. Natraj Nagar is home to 130 weaver families. However, only 30 of those families still depend…
Information as a means is transforming India into a knowledge economy. The level of awareness in Indians is improving as they are accessing desired information through various digital and non-digital sources. However, there is still a large section of society which is living in information darkness. To digitally connect and empower such vulnerable communities with…
Celebrated journalist Sir William Mark Tully visited Baank-e-Loom in October 2016 to cover a special story titled ‘70 Years of Independent India’ for BBC World Radio. This segment of the show, which will be aired worldwide in February 2017, will present interviews with weavers and digital literacy students to understand the changes, if any, the…
An ICT capacity building workshop for grassroots organisations was held in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, on October 10, 2016. Organised with the support of Mission for Anath Development & Welfare Society, the workshop saw participation of 25 organisations that learnt about ICT and digital tools, digital content creation and crowdfunding. The aim of the workshop was to make…
It’s been a very productive year for DigiKala, an initiative of DEF and Microsoft India under the former’s Digital Cluster Development Programme (DCDP), in Barpali and Nuapatna villages of Odisha. From digital literacy, community mobilisation and enabling access to government schemes to creating self-help groups and shifting traditional weavers to computer-aided design software, a lot…
Last month, a workshop for adolescent girls and women was held at the Baank-e-Loom centre in Saidanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Women from various backgrounds and age groups participated in the workshop that was led by a gynaecologist. It is said that five out of 10 women in rural India suffer from kind of vaginal infection. Further,…
Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation (BRLF), an independent society established to upscale civil society action in partnership with the government, has initiated a programme to take students from nomadic tribes of central India on a unique study tour across 13 states of India. During this tour, the students will get a chance to visit multiple NGOs…