Reduce, Re-use, Empower
Steph
Muston (UK)- Asst. Project Manager of Women’s Empowerment- Naddi – EduCARE
India
I arrived in Naddi, a small village nestled
in the foothills of the Himalayas, in early May. I initially applied to work on
women’s empowerment, however when I arrived I quickly learnt that none of the
projects I applied for were currently running. This meant that I had to work
out what I wished to pursue for the next two months. At first I was overwhelmed
as there were infinite possibilities of the direction that my project could go
in. In my first couple of weeks here I experimented with an array of different
projects, such as investigating women’s maternal health and working with young
girls in a local migrant camp. I felt highly motivated, but was struggling to
find the right direction for me.
Teaching Rena how to make recycled paper
In my first few days in Naddi I had heard about a paper making
project being run by two other interns which focussed on recycling waste paper,
to create handmade paper that could be used in an array of products. However, I
initially dismissed it as overly practical that was focussed on SWASH. As I
wished to focus on the empowerment of local women and on community engagement I
thought that it was not the right fit for me. However, after speaking with
Neha, an intern, and one of the project managers on the paper making project, I
was suddenly aware of the scope of the recycled paper project within the
community. I realised that I could utilise the recycled paper and its
subsequent products, as a microfinance project for the local women.
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Once I had decided to pursue community
engagement within the recycled paper making, the next challenge was to identify
women who would be interested in learning this new skill. I engaged with
several women to assess both their interest and their availability of time to
find an initial candidate to trial the microfinance aspect of the project. When
I spoke to Rena she demonstrated clear enthusiasm in the idea of paper
recycling, and she was able to devote time most mornings to the paper recycling
project. She was very keen to begin the project as soon as possible, which was
a pleasant surprise.
The next day Neha and I went to Rena’s
house to teach her the process of recycling paper. At first, Rena was uncertain
and lacked the confidence to produce her own paper. I decided to focus on
Rena’s engagement and began going daily to her house to make paper with her,
despite a lack of shared language. Our relationship has significantly grown and
I’ve seen the quality of her paper and her confidence in her own work build.
Other local women would often come over to the courtyard of her house where we
were making the paper to see what we were up to, and I could see Rena’s pride
as she showed what she had achieved.
Me and Rena making paper together
Over time it became clear that Rena was not simply satisfied
with manufacturing paper, and that she was keen to know what would become of
the paper that she made. A previous intern, JoJo, had developed notebooks
manufactured out of the recycled paper, this notebook making role was then
adopted by Neha. One day we brought some notebooks, that had been sewn my Neha,
to a paper making session with Rena to demonstrate what she was aiming for.
Rena was impressed by the product and became very keen to learn the process, so
that she could make a whole sellable item. The next stage for the project is to
teach Rena how to make the notebooks, so that she can create products for sale.
Also, this may allow Rena to take a leadership role in teaching other women in
her community the paper recycling and notebook making process. There is a range
of challenges in progressing this project to a form of economic empowerment,
however its rewarding to see the progress made so far, and the possible scope
of the project, even once I leave.
Our notebooks so far
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