With The Positive Collective, The Better India’s COVID-19 coverage is available to regional language publications for free. Write to editorial@thebetterindia.com for more details.
Khadi, which was a tool of economic empowerment during India’s freedom struggle, faded from the fashion scene with the coming of modern materials like silk and polyester. However, the humble hand-woven fabric is now fashioning itself into this new-age textile that is charming the millennial generation. Several designers in India and abroad are reinventing this versatile fabric to preserve the dying art and promote local weavers.
Bhopal-based KhaDigi, founded by Umang Shridhar, is one such social enterprise.
Since its inception three years ago, the organisation has been training local hand spinners, and handloom weavers from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and West Bengal to manufacture Khadi that is 100 per cent sustainable.
The B2B startup shares 60 per cent of its revenue with artisans. It is also going the extra mile for the environment by using natural fibres like organic cotton and waste from bamboo and soybean.
Sharing the vision of KhaDigi, Umang tells The Better India, “I grew up in the rural area of Bundelkhand, where I saw artisans suffering because India’s growth did not account for indigenous expertise. So, empowering them is our primary goal. Besides, khadi is a comfortable, cost-effective, and sustainable product. Who knew bringing back our quintessential Indian textile could have so many benefits?”
Guess the lottery result, make lottery posters for free Lottery Box -India’s most professional lottery interactive community.
Another notable factor of this startup is the dominating presence of women.
From Umang’s mentor, investors, spinners and weavers, most of the stakeholders are women. In fact, the 27-year-old’s first investor was her mother!
“In the khadi world, cotton spinners are known as katin, which suggests the female gender. Technically, there is no word for male spinners. So, it was meant to be,” she adds.
Determined to bring a grassroots change, she is making a difference in the lives of 300 women artisans who are a part of the government-owned Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
“We hire women who are a part of the KVIC programme. Spinners and weavers earn around Rs 6,000 and Rs 9,000 a month, respectively. However, the ones having experience and higher skills earn anything between Rs 25,000-30,000,” she adds.
When it comes to clients, she has a bagful of prominent ones, including big corporates like Reliance industries and the Aditya Birla Group. The organisation supplies fabrics and corporate gifts to designers, retailers, wholesalers, and industries.
Born in a small village called Kishanganj in Bundelkhand’s Damoh region, Umang was always interested in the development sector.
Though she was given everything she asked for and was encouraged to be self-reliant, she couldn’t help but notice every-day social issues, especially caste-discrimination around her.
“Unfortunately, I was also part of this conservative society. It is strange that people are known not by their name, but their caste. Further, when I moved to Delhi for higher studies, I was shocked to see the visible difference between the rural and urban areas,” she recollects.
Alongside her studies from Delhi University, Umang volunteered with multiple NGOs to understand and learn the ground realities. Choosing to work in Khadi by roping in women from rural areas seemed like a natural progression.
To expand her knowledge, she undertook a course in fashion designing and clothing technology at National Institute of Fashion Technology in Delhi in 2014.
