St Xavier’s College (Autonomous) Kolkata has launched a project to enable rural women to become financially independent through skill-based training and livelihood opportunities.
The women live around the college’s rural campus in Raghabpur on the southern fringes of Calcutta.
The project, titled Udaan (meaning flight), was formally launched on the campus on Sunday, March 8, which is celebrated as International Women’s Day.
More than 250 women have already registered, said an official of the alumni association of the college, which is driving the project along with the gender studies department.
In phases, these women — 25 in each batch — will be trained to make designer envelopes, rakhis, gift bags, pickles and other such items.
The training and marketing will be provided by “skill developer” Sangita Sureka and the philanthropy team of St Xavier’s College (Calcutta) Alumni Association.
The association will provide the raw materials and pay the women for their work.
The final products will be sold in the market, and the money earned will be used to scale up the project, said the official.
“Project Udaan is not merely a training programme but a movement towards dignity, self-reliance and financial independence for rural women. Our vision is to create a sustainable ecosystem where women can learn skills, earn with dignity and transform their families and communities,” said Rev. Fr Dominic Savio, the principal of the college.
The Raghabpur campus, in South 24-Parganas, around 35km from the heart of Calcutta, was established 10 years ago. It has more than 1,200 students now, a majority of them women. Many students come from marginalised families. Many of them are first-generation learners.
“We are extremely confident in the project. Our network will be useful in providing the right marketing platform that these products need,” said Sanjib Koner, honorary secretary of the association.
A couple of years ago, the college launched a hospitality management course at its Raghabpur campus.