Paper bag anyone?

The Young Women Christian Association is helping ladies in the Ranjendra slum with another hand skill initiative. At the Rangoli Centre - where Banna Creations is involved with the 6 month sewing class – women are making paper bags as a source of income.

After YWCA representatives went door-to-door telling the neighbourhood about the programme, around 15 women signed up. This group, aged between 50 and 80, have met almost every morning for the past year and a half to make bags out of newspaper. They were initially taught the techniques by a YWCA co-ordinator. He has worked for 20 years in the social sector and became involved with handicrafts a couple of years ago.

To make the bags a piece of newspaper must be folded at the edges, then in half and at the edges again, before being glued in place. Rope string is then threaded through the top to make handles. The result is an eco-friendly, sustainable and quirky bag - that is surprisingly sturdy. The process is all done by hand – the women even spread the glue with their fingers rather than a plastic glue stick. The folding technique can be quite fiddly, but now with over a years experience the ladies make it look easy. Yesterday it took 1 hour to make 12 complete bags. Each bag is unique, not only from the nature of handcrafts, but also because each newspaper page is different. A bag could be made with The Hindu front page, The Times of India sports section or the Bangalore Mirror’s crossword puzzles.

These products are available to purchase from the YWCA office and customers can place specific orders. For example, they receive large orders for paper envelopes that are used for disposing medical waste. This is extremely motivating, as the ladies know their work goes to real clients. From such purchases the group receives an income, which is a big incentive to get involved with the programme, particularly for those without work. The women are paid for what they make, which keeps the class flexible. If someone is sick or tired one day there is no pressure to come in and work through it. Roughly paid 1 rupee per bag, the pay check is definitely appreciated – especially with customer orders in their hundreds.

Along with the financial gains, there are also many social benefits of being part of this group. They said themselves that having a reason to get up every morning for the 9:30am start keeps them active and in a routine. Together they chat about their lives, both the good and bad parts. In a warm and friendly environment they can talk freely and get worries off their chest. Some ladies speak of their difficulties now as widows, one lady shares her troubles with a daughter-in-law and another reveals the ordeals of living on the street. At times, these ladies literally provide shoulders to cry on.

Primary care is also provided at the class. Since they stay at the centre until 1:00pm, the co-ordinator orders lunch for everyone, with boiled eggs and bread rolls a favourite. He organises hospital visits if needed. He applies for pensions and senior citizen cards (entitling them to discounts on transport, medical care etc.) on their behalf. Filling in and sending away the forms is helpful, as those who have trouble reading and writing would have struggled to do this by themselves.

Most importantly, these ladies genuinely enjoy spending time with each other. They are friends who have fun together – with spontaneous singing and dancing a regular occurrence. On their one year anniversary they had a party to commemorate their progress, and I’m sure on their next anniversary there will be even more successes to celebrate.