29 year old Yogaja Kulkarni, a Textile Products Designer by profession began something new in the field of industrial stitching which in turn became a boon for many women from marginalized families. She has given them an alternative and respectful earning.

“I have been working in the textile field independently since 2014 and have my own kids products venture called My Poppet Story, where we design and manufacture lifestyle products for kids. It was during the Covid pandemic that I got an opportunity to enter a new vertical of textile Products of Industrial Stitching. I was actively backed up by industry stalwarts who encouraged me to study this field of industrial stitching. There is a demand for Industrial uniforms and the massive manufacturing facilities require textile products that are widely used in pharma, food and auto industries,” said Yogaja.

“To meet the growing need and lack of labour, I thought about designing a program for house wives who intend to work part time. I was looking for women who know how to stitch, basic know-how and thus create an opportunity of Work from home in the tailoring industry,” she added.

She started researching one and half years ago but planned it during January and February during the Unlock period in the city but in reality it all started in March.

For this project, she approached many women working as house maids and convinced them to look at this as an option to work on in their free time. “We function only in the afternoon hours not disturbing their schedule and still creating employment for them,” said Yogaja.

Within months, she has got 10 women at two centres in Dahanukar Colony, Kothrud and Sinhagad Road. She is planning to open three more such centres where she can accommodate 15 housewives.

These women come from moderate earning or BPL categories. Now via word of mouth, they are reaching out to many more such women who know basic sewing and Yogaja then grooms them to reach advanced levels in tailoring. The women depending upon their skill are paid upto Rs 4000/- for 4 hours. The response to this has been great because these women are keen on learning more.

I am keen on this kind of work to grow because there is a demand for tailoring needs of different industries as we do have a huge workforce available. It is only a matter of setting up systems and a growth mindset.

She also brought in a person specialized in psychology and working together with Harshdeep Foundation where she gives work to the women in the foundation too, to make them self-reliant and independent.