When Bazaars are magic

The visit is suggested by TripSketch to those interested in Shopping, Philanthropy/ Voluntourism, Green, Social Enterprise. And it is described as a successful local project, that offers more than 300 local women an opportunity to be self-sufficient. This cooperative trains women in local handicrafts and has a shop on premises to sell directly to visitors. Feel good about buying colorful clothing, scarves and bags, bed linens and more, all sold at prices that allow the women to take home as much as Rs. 2000 to 4000 a month, offering a way out of poverty with pride. The facility is open every day for impromptu tours except on major holidays. This initiative has been successful in reviving the local handicrafts industry, and its commercial success (the cooperative is now a self-supporting non-profit) has been the impetus for a new local facility.

No doubt, Dastkar is a very important project, and we definitely wanted to find more out. Dastkar society for crafts and craftpeople was founded in 1981 by six women, it grew in the 90's as a cooperative, a shop, a bazaar, and now is working in mostof the States of India, with over 100 groups, of which at least 75% receive the full gamut of Dastkar services, and the rest benefit from its marketing activities. It has increasingly been asked to provide evaluation and consultancy services to other government, non-government and international agencies. It has grown into a professional full-time development and alternative marketing organisation that works with groups all over the country. Its Delhi office, of seventeen experts, travels all over India, and it has sister organisations in Andhra and Rajasthan. As Elaben Bhatt, Founder of the SEWA, Self-Employed Women's Association, said: <>.

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