1. Skill building for income generation.
For fulfilling this objective, training is imparted in :
Traditional Kantha work and Embroidery: Karma Kutir has been a pioneer in reviving, refining and popularising this folk craft of Bengal. The exquisite motifs and designs produced through fine Kantha stitching have become a well-known hallmark of Karma Kutir.
2. Welfare of children
Karma Kutir tries to extend opportunities for all-round development of under-privileged children through the ‘Dr. Phulrenu Guha Integrated Child Development Centre’, dedicated to providing crèche and day care facilities for children of low income working mothers. This is located in Karma Kutir’s premises in Kasba area, donated by a benefactor , at 119, Bosepukur Road, Kolkata – 700 039 . At the same premises, computer training classes are being held for young boys and girls from the locality – some of them school drop outs – in collaboration with Anudip, an NGO specialising in IT education. This course has proved remarkably beneficial as a number of trainees have found placements within a short time.
Through the initiative of Karma Kutir members and some young volunteers, our community children from Kasba area joined an educational project under the Teach India Programme launched by Times of India. They visit the well known Heritage School and interact regularly with students of that school , who usually come from very different backgrounds. This mutual exposure promotes a healthier and more inclusive learning environment that is beneficial for all children.
At its own small cultural unit Kala Kendra, children from the community learn singing, dancing, drawing and painting and grow proficient enough to be invited for public performance.
3. Allied and Parallel Programmes
For women :
Exposure to the concepts of product development, costing and marketing;
Literacy classes;
Personality Development;
Awareness building on Health and Nutrition needs and Atrocities against women ;
Counselling and Recreational therapy;
Educational visits to Museums, Workshops, Exhibitions etc.
For children :
Pre-school education , nutrition;
Exposure visits ;
Observance of important events in national life;
Special coaching for disadvantaged children in the community who attend school but find it difficult to cope with all studies on their own as they are first generation learners.
4. Post training support
After completion of training and earning the certificate of proficiency, women may join the Self Employment Centre at Karma Kutir premises, form self help groups functioning as production units or work on their own. Their products are offered for sale at Karma Kutir’s own Show Room ( at Karma Kutir’s main premises) and also through exhibitions and other market linkages that we organise periodically both in Kolkata and other places.
Training programmes are mostly conducted at Karma Kutir’s main premises near Gol Park in Kolkata , the building being donated by Lutheran World Service and renovated by GOAL India .There are a number of outreach centres also , for easy accessibility on the part of disadvantaged groups living in relatively remote areas. One such initiative has been the recent inauguration of a handicrafts training – cum - production project in an island village in Sandeshkhali Block II (South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal). Here the women from poor rural communities are keen to learn marketable skills which could form a basis for gainful employment and thus for much needed family sustenance.
