Yes, We Can

1
Yes, We Can
AWAG and AWAG-EKTA,'AWAGKunj',Bhudarpura,
Ambawadi, Ahmedabad - 380 015Tele.
079-26442466 / 079-26441214E-mail
awagbox_at_yahoo.com
2
AWAG and AWAG-Ekta Industrial Co-operative
Society
Devastating riots in 1985 The riot-stricken
women demanded income generating work . AWAG
responded. 1986 The income generating unit
established 1992 The income generating unit
registered as AWAG-Ekta Industrial Co-operative
Society, It worked closely with parent body,
Ahmedabd Women's Action Group - AWAG.
3
Initially started with production and marketing
of products.Marketing was more than we could
take on.1999   Shifted to sell services of
stitching done by well trained women. We
trained women in upgrading their skills in
stitching and procured work for them. Thus
AWAG-Ekta was established as a dependable
stitching unit and competed with others in the
open market.
4
The system followed
(1) AWAG provided training to large number of
women in 2002-04 after the riots of 2002. Some
women were also provided with stitching
machines. (2) Women trained by AWAG and others
who were self-employed, stitching garments at
home asked to get work from AWAG-Ekta. (3) Each
woman had to come to AWAG-Ekta personally to get
work and to deliver it back. (4) Ordinarily her
income from stitching sundry garments acquired
from open market is Rs. 25/- to 40/-. AWAG-EKTA
gets them almost double payments by exercising
strict quality control.
5
(5) 421 Muslim and 216 Hindu dalit women come to
take work to their homes.Of the Muslim women 246
come from those families which had received
stitching machines from AWAG. But they had not
been able to access work from open market. They
eagerly come to get work . (6) When these women
bring the finished products they wait first to
get quality of their finished product checked,
approved and paid for.(7) Then they get fresh
stock as per their demand. Delivery date is fixed
at the time which is usually honoured.
6
Gains made by the workforce in 2006
(1) 67 women paid fees which have been pending,
in schools for their children. (2) 33 dalit women
used to pay 12 interest on loans taken by them.
They could repay the loans. The loans had to be
incurred because their husbands had overspent on
liquor. (3) 8 women lived in rented houses and
paid Rs. 1500/- per month as rent. From these
earnings they bought houses, each paying
Rs.25000/- cash and to pay installment of Rs.
1500/- per month for five years to own the house
fully.
7
(4) 13 women became so confident with the income
that they decided to file complaints against
their husbands who tortured them.(5) 17 women
bought better quality stitching machines and
sold off old ones.(6) 18 women fitted electric
motors to their stitching machines.
8
Gains made by AWAG in 2006
(1) AWAG gained a large workforce which
worked from home. (2) Through its system of
insisting on the woman herself coming to
get work AWAG could empower young
women. (a)  It made women venture out
of their homes and get themselves
acquainted with AWAG. (b)
This provided opportunities to young
women to understand the accounting
done for the labor they had put in.

9
(c)  They had cash put into their hands which
empowered them they had to decide how
to use it. This happened for the first
time in their lives. Usually men go out to
get work, get money after returning the
finished products and spend it the way
they like, the laboring woman was never
consulted about utilizing her earnings. So
when young women themselves handled cash
they felt empowered and released from
their bondages.
10
(3) The empowerment of these women was
shared by AWAG persons fully. The women
were led to savings and a self- help-group
was also formed.
11
Harmony and Empowerment
As women come to collect material or to return
finished products they speak to one another as
their turns at quality control desk or despatch
desk is awaited. So it becomes a get-together, of
young and middle aged Hindu and Muslim women.
They sit together, take nutritive inputs
together, speak to one another, make friends and
are happy. For AWAG persons also this is time of
happy sharing despite pressure of work, of
maintaining dateline, of hurrying with dispatch
etc.
12
Conversations of these women bring out scattered
information about them. Interspersed with 'hello'
and 'how do you do ?' were complaints of misery
undergone in domestic relationships, or of
depression, or of excessive tiredness felt or
inability to see clearly black thread in black
material. AWAG persons then, provided the
following.
13
(a)   Counseling to some young women.(b)   9
women were depressed owing to domestic
violence. They were treated in AWAG's
Mental Health Centre. Of these three women
were supported with psychiatric treatment
and medicines. (c)   Hemoglobin of 197 women
was 8 or 9 points. These women were
provided with grams and jaggery during
their visits. (d) 68 women suffered from bad
eyesight. They were counseled to get
their eyes checked and provided with
glasses at concessional rates.