Banna Started three years ago with a dream to work with
Traditional Artisans and their clusters from different parts of the country !
We decided to start closer home and thus came upon the crafts and skills in
North Karnataka and the people behind them.
Sheila Patil is one such enterprising and leading artisan
from a small Town called Shirhatti in North Karnataka.
Shirhatti in Gadag District is a 3 hour drive
from Hubli – the main Bustling Industrial town in the region. It is home to
Sheila and her Ladies and all the beautiful work they continuously create.
Sheila ji is the main energy behind this group of women and
is single handedly responsible for successfully creating a sustainable
livelihood mechanism for a large number of women from this Region.
The main Skill used
here is traditional embroidery. Kasuti and Negi work are two age old forms of
embroidery that are native to this region and are also known to many women from
a young age. They are taught this
embroidery just like they are taught their lessons in school or important
aspects of house work to ready them for their future lives. Having learnt these forms of embroidery from
her Grandmother, Sheila Patil initially used to simply embroider clothes and
apparel for people at home, her children or to give them as gifts. She also taught herself over 3000 different
types of embroidery and styles.
Being naturally enterprising and a person with immense
talent, she also used this skill to generate an income and support her family
and her childrens education when her husband ( being the only Breadwinner in
the family ) was bedridden some years ago because of a road accident.
And through this the seeds of an idea were sown . “ Why not
use this skill to teach and train other women in need so that she can support
herself she thought ? “ . “ Why not form
a Self help group that befits all ? “ .. “ Why not help women who know the
embroidery but don’t have the means to bring in orders and generate an income ?
“ ….
And so her NGO “
Shishir Mahila Kadali Vedika “ Was born. It is through this NGO that she
conducts training programs to teach women different types of hand embroidery
all over the District. Travel of even 2 hours each way to training locations
far an wide is not a deterrant for Sheila who also has a lot of support from
her family. Sheila Ji is also a resource person for
Government co- operatives and conducts training programs through these cooperatives
as well.
Of the several ladies she has trained she also directly
works with about 50 -100 women to fulfill embroidery orders generated from
clients across the country. Not only does this help to generate livelihood or
an additional source of income for the women, it also helps the ladies earn
this money from their homes – all the order work is distributed with design
instruction and picked up when ready.
This Traditional Embroidery work is a life- source for these
ladies. It gives them a chance to breathe life into their families and children
.. In some cases a chance to live better.
Banna works extensively with Sheila and her group. There is
always a desire to learn more and they rise up to any challenge - be it design, colour, material type etc. The Ladies not only work on Kasuti and Negi work but also Kutch work, Kamal kadai, Sequins work, Mirror work, Ari and Zardosi work, Pearl and bead work etc
We will be Focussing on Sheila patil and her work as part of
our Craft promotion series this month.
To buy some of our specially designed embroidered textiles;click here
http://www.bannacreations.com/craft-promo-month-/161
All these textiles are a true reflecting of Hand craft and
Classic Style – Designed in- house and brought to life with exquisite hand embroidery
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