BSFgears up to empower rural women

CHANDIGARH:Developing business models to bring in a low cost economic revolution in the handicraft sector in the state, as well as empower rural women to create market savvy products, are some of the recent initiatives undertaken by the Business School of Fashion in the city.

These initiatives are aimed at enhancing the grass root craft sector through design interventions in Punjab.

"The technical and market oriented training provided by the Business School of Fashion (BSF) has not only enhanced our skill sets but also helped us to preserve our traditional art and culture," the first batch of 30 'group leaders' from the institute said.

The first phase of the five day training programme that began on August 22, concluded with women craftspersons exploring their latent artistic capabilities under the expert guidance of BSF experts and other trainers.

The main objective of the five-day skill upgradation capsule was to train the rural folk on colour concepts, visualization and applications particularly for reflecting festive seasons.

After the completion of the first programme in the series, the Business School of Fashion (BSF) would further organise training workshops of 5-12 days duration every month on various aspects of aesthetics, production and the market, according to Pikender Pal Singh, CEO, of the school.The other training modules would include interventions focusing on visual order, product conversion (accessories), visual thinking, product conversion (costumes), linear structure and construction, he added.

"It would also enable us to convert these self help groups into sustainable and reliable production hubs to cater to the global demand. Apart from the skill upgradation initiative, we are also striving for converting these skills into marketable products in order to provide an assured return leading to ensure social security cover," he said.

The BSF has felt the need to engage the rural people in a manner that their artistic expression finds audience at the global level, he added.

The programme also worked at enhancing the comprehension, analysis and aesthetic decision making skills of the craftswomen through a range of concept demonstrations, tasks and assignments, group discussions and presentations, and reviews and feedback, the CEO said.

The Business School of Fashion through its initiative has so far registered 1,500 traditional craftswomen. The current programme focuses on 30 group leaders who have been exposed to new ideas and each of whom have 20 craftsperson under her charge.