Puriben: Village Vava, Handicrafts

Till 1990 Puriben, daughter of Hansiba had never seen a hundred rupee note. A middle aged woman belonging to Ahir community, she would migrate to new places every year in search of grazing grounds along with her entire family. Her handicraft skill – drawing intricate designs of embroidery on clothes – was limited to stitching for future marriage of her daughters. The most her skill would earn her in a year was Rs 500 less than four days of daily wages of an unskilled labourer.

She learnt or rather inherited the embroidery skill from her mother at the age of 10. Initially she would earn only Rs 15 in a day. Now the earnings have gone up to anything between Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 per month. Her three sons and daughters-in-law are all educated. Yet the daughters-in-law are as good in stitching designs on cotton apparels as she is.

Unlike the past when Puriben and her family members would roam around the year in search of water and food after putting their farms on lease, today she lives a fairly comfortable life. She has constructed a pucca house after taking loan from SEWA. She cultivates her farms. Moreover, she has a toilet in her house and installed a few water tanks as well. They harvest rain water.

The transformation of Puriben is not stand alone. All people in Vava, her village in Patan district, have water tanks and toilets and lead an easy life. Hansiba, the brand named after her mother, has changed their lives for better.