A woman works on a loom at the ashram. Telegraph picture

Aug. 30: The sound of the looms would catch one’s attention as soon as he enters through the gates of the Shanti Sadhana Ashram in Basistha.

These women can be seen weaving tirelessly on the looms inside and it is not only to weaving that the activities of the women are confined to.

They are equally skilled in preparing various kinds of processed food like pickles, sweets, traditional food items, and in the production of mushroom spawn and Ayurvedic medicines.

These activities have helped these women earn a decent livelihood, thereby helping them in their quest to become self-reliant. Most of these women are either poor or dropouts who could not pursue their education.

“We provide various types of training to women here with the aim of enabling them to earn a livelihood. Close to 50 women are currently engaged in making different objects. While some of them are employees, the others are trainees undergoing short courses here. Currently, about 30 of these women live in our hostel, on the premises of the ashram. A few of the women who have received training here also work on contract,” Babulal Vidrum, manager of the Shanti Sadhana Ashram centre in the city, said.

In fact, the management of the ashram makes an effort to instil Gandhian principles in the people who work or live here.

“The ashram was established in 1982, keeping in line with the Gandhian principles and we wish to encourage everyone here to practise them in their lives. In keeping with these principles, we try to promote peace among all sections of people and help them earn a living and be self-reliant,” Vidrum said.

And if you think these women follow some modern marketing strategies to promote these products, you are wrong. The ashram itself markets their various creations, thereby helping them to capture a good market.

“We mostly market the products created in our training centres in the city as well as in different parts of the state by displaying them in trade fairs and exhibitions. Our customers like our products and purchase them. This in turn helps us to receive more orders. In fact, we receive orders from across the state. We earn about Rs 35-Rs 40 lakh annually through the sale of these various goods. The earnings are distributed among the women here on the basis of the quantity of work they do,” Vidrum said.

A few women from the ashram seemed satisfied with the peaceful and productive life they are leading here.

“I am from Dhekiajuli and have been working here as a weaver for almost 10 years now. The training I received here helped me to specialise in weaving. Now weaving has become a source of my livelihood. The ashram has become my second home and the people here my family,” Bani Basumatary, an inmate, said.

“I come from Sivasagar and used to work in the ashram’s centre there. Then I shifted here and have been working in the Guwahati centre for a year now. I weave and work in the kitchen,” Renu Bora, a woman working in the centre, said.