Swawlamban (self reliance) – for skill development and income generation

Successive Plans have emphasized the need for creating employment opportunities for women. For this purpose a number of programmes have been taken up by the Central and State Governments but earlier efforts have not achieved the desired results primarily because of lack of proper linkages between training, supply of raw-materials, quality control, assured market and managerial skills. The industrial policy of the Government of India has also been emphasizing the need for setting up of industrial units in the backward areas of the country. It is against this background that NORAD assistance (later renamed- SWAWLAMBAN) assistance started to be utilized. This assistance mainly aims at providing skill development training to rural & urban women & girls for employment generation leading to income generation.

Incidentally a survey was conducted by Dept. of ICDS in the red light areas against the background of Supreme Court notification which advises the government bodies to assist, to intervene so that the marginalized classes, the stigmatized ones specially the women-in-prostitution can live a life of dignity. The survey result shows that many women in prostitution are interested to start an alternative livelihood given the environment needed to start a new profession.

In this background with the assistance of West Bengal Women's Development Undertaking (WBWDU) a 4-month beautician course was started with 14 trainees.

OBJECTIVES OF THE SCHEME

The scheme has been observing the following broad objectives:

• Developing skill leading to generating of income of the women & girls in crisis situation and from the under privileged section of the society ensuring economic participation of women in the family.
• Providing ‘Entrepreneurship development training' for making them capable for taking up bankable projects after the training.
• Influencing small & cottage entrepreneurship with a motive to create viable markets in the domestic as well as overseas.
• Converging different facilities available with the Local Government for all round development of the women & girls.
• Creating scope for alternative source of employment to women & girls in tribal areas, closed tea gardens, hills, islands and slums without any overlapping of similar programme.

Location of Project :
Sonagachhi Red light area in Kolkata-(Azad Hind Sporting Club 2C, Imambox Lane, Kolkata – 700006.)

Target beneficiaries : 20