Shakti
Livelihood Support
Sewing machines and support to open a basic village shop, so women have a real means of income they can use at home and in the neighbourhood.
80G eligibleSewing machines and support to open a basic village shop, so women have a real means of income they can use at home and in the neighbourhood.
₹0
Amount Raised
₹3,80,000
Goal Amount
A means of income should fit a woman's life, not the other way around. Some women can sit at a shop counter. Others need work they can do between school runs, farm hours, and care for elders. A sewing machine in a home, used with skill and a small circle of customers, can pay for fees and medicine. A basic village shop can do the same for a woman whose gift is trade.
Shakti's livelihood campaign holds both paths. NiVan Foundation helps women who already sew, or who can learn, receive a machine and starter materials, plus guidance on pricing blouses, school uniforms, and repairs so labour is not given away. Alongside that, we help others open a small shop with essential stock. The point is the same: an asset that earns, and a person who is taught to use it.
We have seen machines gifted without thread, without a market, and without anyone asking who will repair the motor. That is not empowerment. This campaign includes training, a starter kit of materials, and follow-up. For shops, it includes stock and mentoring. For both, it includes respect for the woman's choice of path.
Your donation becomes a machine that stitches, or a shop that opens, and the teaching that keeps either from becoming unused metal or unsold packets. When a woman earns, she is not a beneficiary forever. She is a neighbour with work. That is the community Shakti is trying to build.
Women in low-income households often have no productive asset and no working capital. Those who can sew lack a reliable machine and customers who pay fairly. Those who can run a shop lack stock. The women affected support children and elders while remaining unpaid or underpaid. Without a means of income, skill stays idle. Providing a sewing machine or shop-start support, with training and follow-up, is necessary so livelihood is a tool, not a one-time photograph.
Funds purchase sewing machines and starter cloth, thread, and notions for women on the tailoring path, plus training in pricing and basic machine care. Other funds stock basic village shops and provide fittings. Mentoring and follow-up cover both groups so assets are used. A share pays for repair orientation and group learning. Donations are split across machines and shops according to the women selected, always with training attached.
We aim to support 20 women: 12 with a sewing machine and starter materials, and 8 with basic shop-start support. All 20 will receive livelihood training. At a four-month review we expect at least 10 tailoring livelihoods and 6 shops to be earning some regular income. Success is measured in machines in use, shops open, and women who can name customers or weekly sales. We will not count a machine in a corner as a success.
“The machine sits by the window. I stitch school uniforms in the afternoon. Some weeks I also help at my sister's small shop. I do not wait for someone to place money in my hand. I make it. That feeling is new, and I want to keep it.”
Give a woman a machine or a shop that can earn. Support her livelihood today.
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