On March 24, the Prime Minister of India declared a nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus in the country. As a result of which, a crisis unfolded which saw many migrant workers facing several difficulties in terms of lack of employment, food, shelter and transport to go back to their villages. As factories shut down, several workers, most of whom are daily wage labourers, lost their jobs due to factories being shut down. Many others found themselves walking kilometres on highways in an attempt to reach their homes. In such dark times, a small initiative of manufacturing tie and dye products brought light into the lives of four women migrant workers in the form of employment. Today, Beena, Sushila, Sunita and Maya are the heart and soul of Project Dor.
In such dark times, a small initiative of manufacturing tie and dye products brought light into the lives of four women migrant workers in the form of employment. Today, Beena, Sushila, Sunita and Maya are the heart and soul of Project Dor.
Enactus (Kirori Mal college), with over 70 members, is a student-run chapter under Delhi University that runs the initiative. Project Dor, the first social enterprise under Enactus Kirori Mal, was started in 2016 with the aim to revive the traditional artform of tie-and-dye while empowering and socio-economically uplifting a community of rural migrants. Each year, the Dor team is headed by second-year students in undergraduate course at Kirori Mal College. This year it is headed by Muskan Jain and Aishwarya Sinha.
Also read: Migrant Women Workers On The Road: Largely Invisible And Already Forgotten
Project Dor began as a skill development program with a community of snake charmers based in Sapera Basti, Najafgarh, Delhi. Due to disintegration of the Najafgarh community, Project Dor shifted to Dwarka. The project in collaboration with Deepalaya (an NGO) started working alongside a community of underprivileged migrant women hailing from Bihar and Jharkhand based in JJ Colony in New Delhi’s Dwarka. Struggling to find a regular source of income, bound by social prejudices and regressive patriarchal norms, the lives of these women were profoundly impacted by Project Dor.
Speaking to Feminism in India, Maya recounted, “When I first began working with Project Dor my family members were skeptical about the work I was doing . Some even suggested that I leave the job. However, as time passed they began to understand the job and appreciate it.” She also said, “My friends now appreciate my work. Some even ask me if I can arrange a similar job for them.” Project Dor has provided them with an opportunity to not only support their family economically and become independent, but also gave them a chance to live their lives with dignity.
The team members of Project Dor, assisted and supervised by designers, started training the members of the community about the process of making tie and dye products. Later on, more complex tie and dye methods such as shibori, lehriya and bandhani were also taught to them. Maya mentioned, “At first it took me sometime to understand the process and I was unsure if I would be able to do it by myself. However, as time progressed I learnt everything. Nowadays, I look forward to beginning working on new materials.”
