Savita Vishwakarma

ACCOUNT SUPERVISOR AND INTERNAL QUALITY CONTROL AT PRAGATI COOPERATIVE

JOINING THE PRAGATI COOPERATIVE: After leaving school in ninth grade, she worked for 15 years as a tailor in a garment factory to support her family. Savita was selected to join the new cooperative thanks to her sewing experience. "I thought it would be easy. But it was very different from the factory set-up. There, you only did your work, but here, we are running a business."

WHERE SHE IS TODAY: Early on, Savita found the transition confusing and sometimes frustrating. At one point she even considered quitting the cooperative. Her manager talked her out of it. "Now I see this as a growth path for me. I issue checks on behalf of the group. My earnings have improved manyfold due to these new opportunities. One month, I earned close to my husband's salary. I was really so happy about it."

JOB BENEFITS: "Working near the house allows more time for family. Also, since there are no male members in the group, we can be ourselves and be free in the way we relate with one another."

Pragati cooperative started during COVID and Savita considers herself lucky to have been able to a part of it. Savita had years of experience in the clothing industry, but she discovered that the cooperative was very different from the factory set-up. "In the factory you only did your work," she explains, "but here we were running a business." The transition was at times difficult, but she did adapt to working with a group and she enjoyed taking on new responsibilities and learning new skills, such as banking and quality control.

Savita has come into her own at Pragati Cooperative. She is a tailor, an accounts supervisor, and in charge of the group's quality control, and she does it all well. She was unsure at some points about taking on more responsibility and at times she has struggled with working as part of a group. But she considers that she is on a growth path, learning all the time.

Her growth path did not have the most auspicious start. As was her family's custom, she was married at age 14 and dropped out of school the next year. "I was good at studies and enjoyed it," she reflects, "but did not understand the importance of education." She then worked for 15 years as a tailor in a factory until she and her husband bought a house some distance away. They had just moved to their new house when her husband lost his job due to COVID restrictions. Their situation soon became dire with a family of 4 to support and house payments due. Luckily, a friend told her about a new cooperative being set up and she was able to join Pragati Cooperative.

Over the last couple of years Savita has taken on additional responsibilities and these extra positions have also resulted in increased earnings, which have made her very happy.

Pragati Cooperative ("Progress/Improvement") overcame the challenges of the COVID restrictions to make a cohesive group out of a handful of inexperienced strangers. Membership currently consists of 3 tailors and 6 embroidery artisans. Many people lost their jobs due to the pandemic, so this business was critically needed. It is located in a semi-rural area outside Mumbai where there are limited opportunities. The women have had to learn everything very quickly, not only the sewing and embroidery skills but also business skills including production, planning, cash flow and finances. They have also embraced the social programs that are an important tool for empowerment for the women and their children. Their success is reflected in their chosen identity terms: Unity, Responsibility, Happiness and Work Satisfaction.