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Visually impaired thread path to self-sufficiency creating rakhis in Pune
Raksha Bandhan that celebrates the brother-sister bond will be celebrated on August 3 this year
For 12 visually impaired men and women and 70 others, inserting pearls in fancy threads to make rakhis is a prized skill they possess.
For the last 10 years, the group has been making attractive rakhis for the Aastha rakhi centre in Chinchwad.
All the rakhis at the centre are made by visually impaired and needy women. All products made in India are used for making rakhis and the shipment is transported across Maharashtra and major cities like Hyderabad.
With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic – the sales of rakhis are down by 50 per cent with the lockdown imposed for the past three months, however, the visually impaired have not stopped working.
Raksha Bandhan that celebrates the brother-sister bond will be celebrated on August 3 this year.
“We had given raw materials to make rakhis at their home to continue working in the lockdown. Our work was not disrupted in the lockdown since all these are handmade rakhis and all the visually impaired and domestic workers who work for our firm have a lot of creativity,” said Seema Kunkulol, managing director of Aastha rakhi centre, Chinchwad.
The visually impaired begin by making boxes at the centre and slowly they have been taught how to make rakhis.
“The visually impaired are blessed with sharp senses and memory, one needs to only teach them once on how a rakhi is made and after that they work with complete ease,” said Kunkulol.
“The purpose of giving these people work was to give them job opportunities. For social causes, we run eye donation campaigns. Our motto is to promote eye donation,” Kunkulol added.
Santosh Raut who has been working for seven years with Aastha rakhi centre is happy to handle the art and creativity for the rakhis, which are tied on a brother’s wrist on Raksha Bandhan.
“In our group, few are college-going students while others are housewives who need to look after family work as well. Once we learn it, it is not difficult,” said Raut, who is also the general secretary of Maharashtra Drustihit Kalyani Sangh.
All the visually impaired workers who are working with the rakhi centre are firm on earning money by working and not by charity.
“We don’t want donations from people and instead we are looking for jobs. Visually impaired can excel in every sector if given proper opportunity,” added Raut.
The 12 visually impaired began making rakhis in the month of November and their work schedule is 9am-9pm at the workshop.
“Working at the rakhi centre supports us financially. I hope we can get more people who can support the visually impaired,” added Raut.
