Cash Push To Revive Tailoring Business

Cash Push To Revive Tailoring Business

Twenty-seven year old Indu Devi from Jonka village in Sitamarhi used to sew clothes to support the family. She used an old sewing machine. Her husband, a migrant labourer, lost his job and returned home during the lockdown. Even her business suffered a serious setback as shops were closed during the lockdown. To make ends meet the couple ended up taking loans from private moneylenders but the day to day condition worsened. Her three children—a daughter and two sons—were enrolled in government school but that too stopped with the lockdown.

Indu Devi happened to attend one of the Village Development Committee (VDC) meetings held in the village and raised her problem. After discussions it was decided to support Indu Devi through Project Utthan, an Oxfam India-HDFC Bank initiative. After interacting with her to understand her requirements, the team decided to support her with conditional cash transfer to revive her tailoring business.

Indu Devi was provided with INR 15000. She used the money to re-launch her tailoring business. She purchased a new sewing machine along with raw materials. She named her shop “Divanshi Tailors”.  All this has led to mass promotion. Customers from her village as well as from nearby villages started reaching out to Indu Devi.

Now, Indu Devi does full-time tailoring work and earns Rs 300-400 per day which is a big supports to the family. She also trains other women and girls. She is able to earn Rs 10,000 to 12,000 per month which is using to pay off her loans and investing in her children’s education.

Oxfam India-HDFC project—UTTHAN—has been working in 15 villages in Sitamarhi since March 2021. HDFC’s CSR initiative Parivartan aims to ‘Create Sustainable Communities’ by enhancing sustainable livelihood options and improving access to essential services, especially of women and girls, from the most marginalised and vulnerable communities.

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