Ahmedabad: During Covid years, their SEWA helped pull in Rs 1.75 crore revenue

Even in their wildest dreams , 19-year-old Nigar never thought of becoming a model and her friend Madiha never aspired to be a photographer. Hailing from orthodox families, they were grateful to be even allowed to go to college. However, the Covid pandemic changed their lives forever.
In two years, these girls along with many others — who are daughters of Self Employed Women’s Organization members involved in embroidery, weaving, and stitching garments to earn a livelihood — underwent a steep learning curve to go digital for the survival of SEWA Bazaar.The venture markets unique and handcrafted items made by 5,000 grassroots artisans.
Nearly 500 young members picked up skills like digital marketing, branding, modelling, photography, and designing catalogues to reach people across India even during lockdowns. “Their efforts paid off as SEWA bazaar clocked revenue of Rs 1.75 crore in 2020 and 2021. This shows that if given the right push, women, even in the remotest areas, can upskill and compete with changing times,” said Reema Nanavaty, director of SEWA.
Smita Bhatnagar, senior coordinator of SEWA Bazaar, said that this has surpassed the Rs 85 lakh revenue clocked by the brand in pre-pandemic 2019.
“After the first lockdown, realization struck that Covid restrictions were here to stay for long. We were staring at a future involving massive loss of income for rural artisans. This is when the youngsters stepped up and learnt how to go digital. Realizing the gravity of the situation, they learnt everything from scratch as fast as possible,” says Bhatnagar.
Nigar, who hails from a conservative family living in remote Radhanpur village of Patan district, remembers how she was scared of modelling initially. “I was afraid to keep my hair open. I was worried about how my family and villagers would react. Then, the thought that we were doing it for the welfare of our sisters, gave me strength,” she says. Bhatnagar says, “Due to social taboo, many women still pose only for long shots and strike poses in a way that does not expose their faces.”
Agreeing, Seema, who learnt graphic designing to help make catalogues, says: “It would have taken us years to learn what we learnt during the pandemic because the plight of our sisters pushed us to do our best.” The young women also learnt creative writing and editing to market the items on social media. SEWA Bazaar is hosting an exhibition of handcrafted garments in the city on Saturday and Sunday