Friday, Apr 19, 2024 | Last Update : 05:00 PM IST
A ray of hope for blind craftsmen
Making the project successful, two visually impaired craftsmen have been employed with a monthly salary of Rs 7,470 each.
New Delhi: Students of Dyal Singh College (DSC) are working on Project Vasan, through which they provide an opportunity to the poor, blind craftsmen to recycle old and used clothes into various useful items, thus making them economically independent.
The word ‘Vasan” connotes cloth or attire. But for DSC, ‘Vasan” is not just a mere piece of clothing. It’s an idea, a thought to bring about a change in society with the simple steps of recycle, renew, and revive.
“With the help of entrepreneurial and social skills, our project aims to empower not only the poor, blind craftsmen but also the unskilled poor people who are willing to work to become economically independent in their own work in the long run. Not only will this project improve the livelihood of the workers, but also play a role in saving the environment by focusing on reuse and recycling,” the team said.
Initiated in 2015, DSC conducts collection drives to collect used and old clothes from households. These clothes are then washed and sent to the craftsmen and blind people with whom the project is associated. They convert these into different kinds of bags in various sizes and other handmade items. The end products are then sold in different college fests and market areas.
After travelling to various corners of Delhi NCR, the team was able to locate these poor craftsmen in need. They also associated with the “Blind Relief Association”. The members, who visited these people on a regular basis, created a learning environment. They learnt their craft and in return taught some new and innovative techniques to the craftsmen.
So far, five blind persons have been trained in skills such as stitching, candle making, soap making, and chair caning in addition to English-speaking and basic Mathematics operation skills.
Making the project successful, two visually impaired craftsmen have been employed with a monthly salary of Rs 7,470 each. Moreover, the association is given 10 per cent of the sale proceeds at the end of every month.
