AHAN Team

NWFP Pilot Projects

Pilots Ongoing:

1) Weaving Khaddar:

Matta Mughal Khel is located in District Charsadda, at a distance of about 30km from Peshawar. Matta Mughal Khel is known for its traditional cloth called Khaddar, which is weaved through hand looms. People who migrated from other parts of the Province, such as Malakand Division and Bajawar Agency have brought this skill of weaving with them.

These immigrants were known as Jolagaan i.e. the Pushto word for weavers. They started their weaving business in various location of NWFP and with the passage of time the trade has emerged in the form of Clusters. These units that form the cluster are usually operated within the houses. In Matta Moghal Khel cluster, most of the labour involved is uneducated. Women workers are involved side by side in Cone winding and the finishing process.

Khaddar is a warm fabric, worn in winters. Its production starts in the month of May and is supplied to the Market in winter season. Supply starts in September. The fabric is made at different localities in District Charsadda, such as Rajjar, Utmanzai, and Matta Mughal Khel etc. However, the cluster at Matta Mughal Khel and Rajjar is the largest, with more than 43 hundred units operating here. Initially all the units produced products by handlooms, but with the passage of time handlooms were replaced by power looms and now most of the units have power looms installed and producing different khaddar products.

Although Matta Mughal Khel has developed as potential textile products producing cluster with the provision of financial assistance by banks and other managerial inputs. But still, lots of efforts are needed for capacity building of the cluster stakeholders and for the improvement of product quality. Initiatives such as trainings on technical know how, marketing, designing, color combination, labeling and on book keeping are needed for enhancement in production and product quality as well as exploring new markets for their traditional product.

AHAN is not only providing training in design, colour combination & product development but also supporting in establishing market linkages to the cluster.

2) Embroidery:

District lower Dir is a backward area with a very poor literacy rate and limited opportunities of income generation. Skill is important for every individual but women skill is more important due to its low mainstreaming in the area. Women have very limited opportunities in socio-economic way of the area. The quality improvement in skill will help reduce the poverty ratio especially in women. It will also allow people to be more productive and earn a better living. The products currently made involve use of traditional colors and traditional cloth. These colors combinations are mostly very poor and therefore have a lower demand in the market. Through the capacity building exercise involving trainer from Multan, different type of clothe and colors will be introduced in the traditional products thereby making them more valuable. In addition embroidery works including Dubka, Zari, and Sitari Tallay. This Project will mainly concentrate on the existing products improvement through value addition and innovation.

3) Swati Embroidery:

The women in different villages are producing different products of Swati Embroidery. The skills are transferred from one generation to another. The products produced involve traditional colors of thread. These colors combinations are mostly very poor and therefore have a lower demand in the market. This Project will mainly concentrate on the existing products improvement through value addition and innovation. Further the value added products will be taken into the market for taking orders and linkage development.

4) Shawls, Clothing:

Swati cluster is famous for its shawls & clothes. On the basis of consultations with this cluster, a project has been initiated.

The objective of this project is to provide proper Washing/Dry Cleaning & Pressing facility to the weavers at their doorstep.

Washing and Pressing through professional machines will make Shawls, Suits and other products of the cluster more presentable and therefore will cause significant value addition. Besides, it will also improve the finishing & quality of the product.

Presently weavers get professional dry cleaning services from Rawalpindi or Islamabad which results in high transportation cost and wastage of time. Washing and Pressing plant at the proposed location will provide this service to the weaving cluster at their doorstep and therefore will significantly reduce the transportation costs.

A more presentable and improved product will open up new markets for the sector. Decreased transportation costs will also increase their profitability.

Conventional way of washing without machines which is currently practiced in the area result in red sore cracked feet and many other health hazards for the workers. Machine based washing will make the working environment healthier. Unlike the present washing practice, the CFC will have a proper drainage system making the environment further healthier.

5) Justi Embroidery:

Objective:

• To improve the living standard of the rural women home based workers through CBOs of the Haripur district.
  
• To enhance income level, through improving product quality and efficient marketing.
  
• To create linkages and networking of the home based workers with market, suppliers and other relevant institutions.

Haripur district despite having industrial units and close proximity to Islamabad is an extreme poverty stricken region, due to Barani area and limited agriculture production. Income level of the communities is very limited and marginal in the rural areas. Furthermore due to lower literacy and lack of professional skill, limited job opportunities exist for women. In order to support the family income, various home based enterprises exist in the rural areas. Due to traditional work, poor designing, finishing and low quality material and having no knowledge and access to the markets the income level of these home based enterprises are not significant. Keeping in view, the hard working force and plight of these home based workers, Al Falah foundation has planned the Project as partner organization to improve income level, quality of the product and providing access to big markets.

6) Beads Jewelry, Dress Accessories & Home Décor Items:

Objective:

• To enhance the existing skill of women, create a hub of skilled craftsman and empowering them through entrepreneurship.

The Project is based on enhancement of the skills of the women who are already holding this skill to a specialist level where their product is perfected.

The Beads products are now diversified into 3 different categories and they are:-

• Beads Jewellery
• Beads Home décor items
• Beads dress accessories

The project is being implemented in collaboration with "MASHAL" as Partner Organization.

7) Mosaic:

The proposed training program at the training centre of SIDB Peshawar will impart technical training to women for production of Marble Mosaic & to Men for making of Marble handicrafts by utilizing the marble waste.

The center will help in creating enterprises initially at Micro level while it is expected that with the spin off, a large cluster of Marble handicrafts will be established. Forward linkages with the local and international market will sustain the operations of the center.

The establishment of Marble Mosaic & Handicrafts Training Centre in Peshawar is expected to contribute towards the establishment of cluster for marble mosaic & handicrafts in the district. The proposed handicrafts centre will create employment opportunities specifically for the women besides strengthening the Marble Handicrafts sector and helping in exploitation of potential of the sector and will contribute significantly in the growth of exports.

8) Nowshera Embroidery:

Kaka Sahib is a village close to Nowshera. Most of the people of the locality depend on agricultural produce. But due to high population, the pressure on land and natural resources is increasing relentlessly. To improve their living conditions and increase their income, the women of that locality went towards cottage industry. As the art of hand embroidery has been passed to them from their ancestors for ages and they have excelled at it.

The product to be developed under the project would be divided into two categories i.e.

Linens : Bed linen, cushion covers, tablecloth etc.

Apparels : Embroidered garments.

The designer would determine the product specification and product design and various innovations would be introduced to the craftsperson.

The objective of entrepreneurial development project is to empower the women and making them competent enough to become entrepreneurs. This will bring them economic freedom and end their dependency. This will enable the women to strive for self-sufficiency and will enable them to improve their standard of living and would prepare them to take responsibility for their livelihood and security.

Pilots - Pipeline (to be started shortly):

1) Cross Stitch:

Pind Hashim Khan union council is typically a natural resource dependent area with only 2 acres irrigated land in one village. Since the past six years regular interventions of development agencies and emergence of local social structure have created a sense of participatory development and organizational culture in the area but these local structure and organization don’t have the potential to analyze their problems.

So women of area came together to take initiative. In 2000 they formed a network named Pind Hashim Khan Network, registered under the Society Act in 2002. The basic purpose of network was the sustainable development through women involvement in decision-making process.

People of the villages Manakaray & Barthal are traditionally engaged in doing cross stitch/crotia work. These products have potential of improvement in quality and designing for which AHAN is approached by PHKN. Through this project women of the villages will become earning hands of their families.