An exciting, fulfilling week working with Archana Women’s Centre was sandwiched between a devastating loss for England in the Euros (which I’ve got over now, don’t worry) and a magical excursion into the mountains of Vagamon. The week certainly ended much better than it begun.
Aside from England’s loss (no really, I am over it), the week begun with a visit to Archana Women’s Centre, where we had the amazing opportunity to speak with members of their team, including founder Miss Thressiamma and Shruti. Archana Women’s Centre began as a project to increase women’s skills, with the aim to become as financially independent as possible. In 1989, Miss Thressiamma found through speaking to women construction ‘helpers’ found that they were being paid HALF of what the men ‘helpers’ were being paid for the exact same job. Furthermore, all of the skilled construction workers were men and women were not at all encouraged to become skilled. They accepted being paid 25 rupees, compared to the men’s 50 rupees a day, because other traditionally women’s work, such as cooking, paid much less than that. These women were seen as double deviants, as they had a job and were working alongside men, considered to be ‘enjoying’ men’s company too much. The women did not even wish to become skilled, as they would become further excluded from society. After 8 months of building trust, the women decided to pursue the free training, offered alongside a stipend so they could still provide for their families.
12 women masons were trained, some of the first women’s to be trained in this skill in India! And so the Jeevapoorna Women Mason’s Society was born, later in 2004 becoming Archana Women’s Centre.
Working in the centre, almost entirely built and designed by women, I could feel the history and stories pouring out of the walls. Each and every element was so beautifully crafted, from the bamboo technology to the painted walls to the immense statue outside the building. Every single woman we encountered across the week was so driven, decisive and dedicated to the cause of women empowerment and challenging norms and stereotypes. It was incredible to hear stories of women riding scooters to work and staring their own enterprises, things that I may have before taken for granted that are somewhat accessible to me. But these women are continually smashing cultural and economic barriers.
Throughout the week, we visited some of Archana’s enterprises: rural mart, e-mithram centre, carpentry workshop, mill, bakery, fish farm, beauty parlour, coir weaving and home crafting point. So just a couple! What stood out to me at each location was each woman’s pride in themselves and their enterprise, which was so joyful to see. Many of the women had completed education until age 16 or 18, with lots having degrees in areas such as economics and social work. However, it is custom for the women to stop working or studying after marriage, although becoming increasingly less common. Therefore now, the women are proud and appreciative to become skilled and are grateful for the opportunity of the job they have.
I could go on for days and days about each woman, their stories and aspirations, as they deserve to be shared with the world. One woman who particularly had an impact on me was Omana, a home-crafter who at 72 is still creating and selling her own products. She designed a folder made of cardboard and fabric, woven together using her skills in stitching and basket weaving and was so kind in welcoming us into her home. Her advice to us was to be brave and courageous, as she had been throughout her life.
At the end of the week, we sat down with ten members of the Archana team to present our output for them. We had taken many photos and videos throughout the visits to the different enterprises in order for them to be used on their social media pages, alongside information and notes that could be collected together into social media post captions and marketing materials. I created two flyers to be handed out at Archana’s groups and to the public for their e-Mithram centre (for government documents and printing services) and rural spices mart, with Ellie. I loved getting to be creative and also giving even something small back to the women and the organisation for their time and energy they spent with us! Detailed recommendations, a social media bank of posts and captions and a post detailing their enterprises’ addresses was also created by our wonderful CraftHER team.
The women we met and worked with this week are only a fraction of the women supported by Archana and it fills me with hope and happiness that so many women are accessing their potential. Archana’s approach to women employment differs from other organisations we’ve worked with, as they promote non-traditional jobs for women and extensive training, with a more individual approach. It has been so interesting to be able to see how feminism is interpreted and applied across organisations and how this has shifted my own perspective of feminism, which I have completely welcomed.
I have so much gratitude to Archana and the amazing women we met, and for their continued efforts in challenging norms and stereotypes.
CraftHER is a proprietary project bringing scholars from around the world to study the intersection of traditional craft, feminism, and women’s amplification in Kerala, India. Created by Swara: Voice of Women, the project was established in 2024 with a cohort of 6 scholars but hopes to expand in forthcoming years. Follow @craftherbyswara on Instagram for more details and to follow along on our journey!