When a tailoring machine helped Lalita stitch her life

Singrauli: Who knew that the four walls, which once confined Lalita Saket to the daily rut of domestic routine, could become her portal to economic liberation, only with the addition of two sewing machines?

All hell broke loose when Saket's husband lost his job, leaving his family in a quandary on how to make the ends meet. The entire responsibility of running the household now fell on Lalita's able shoulders, who found vocational training sessions run by NTPC Vindhyachal and the NGO SEWA in her search to become financially independent.

40-year-old Saket, who is raising four children with her husband, joined the tailoring and stitching vocational course in October 2018.

After completing her training, Saket managed to earn Rs 3,000-5,000 every month by tailoring clothes for the people living in her neighbourhood. A sound entrepreneur, Saket also set aside a part of her earnings every month to invest in a second stitching machine.

She now plans to expand her business, which is currently stationed in her mother's room, by passing on the skill of stitching to her eldest daughter, who has completed her formal education.

Saket is one of the many women hailing from various villages of Singrauli district who have benefitted from NTPC Vindhyachal and SEWA's initiative, which is aimed at creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for women and helping them lead a dignified life.

Vocational training in tailoring and stitching, terracotta pottery making, detergent making and agarbatti making was provided to help over 180 women break the shackles of patriarchal determinism in the first phase of this project.

The initiative has impacted the lives of a total of 7,000 community members.