Eight Hearing-Impaired Women Turn Tailoring Skills Into Livelihood In Malappuram

Eight hearing-impaired women who completed a tailoring course at Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) are now working together at Colours, a stitching unit in Nilambur. The unit has given them a way to earn through the skills they learnt and contribute to their household expenses.

The group comprises Sabna V.K., Ramya A., Afeefa K., Sameena M.K., Nimmy N., Rajeena P., Salma V.P., and Sajeena C. They began Colours after completing the assistant dress maker course at the JSS training centre in Nilambur, Malappuram.

From homemakers to trained dress makers

Before joining the course, all eight women were homemakers. The training introduced them to tailoring and gave them the skills needed to take up stitching work.

After completing the course, the women decided to build on what they had learnt by starting a business together. At Colours, they share the work involved in stitching and earn through their tailoring skills.

The unit allows the women to put their training to use instead of allowing it to end with a certificate. For them, the course became a step towards earning on their own.

“Earlier, we depended on our families for money. Now, we can earn through our own work and contribute to our household expenses,” they said.

Their income helps them meet household expenses and reduces their dependence on their families for financial support. Starting the business together has also allowed them to share the responsibilities of running the unit.

Turning training into a livelihood

The women said the stitching unit gave them an opportunity to use their skills in everyday life. “We learnt tailoring through the course. Starting Colours gave us a chance to use those skills to earn,” they said.

Their experience shows how vocational training can help women with disabilities find work and build a livelihood. It also reflects the role of skill training in helping trainees move from learning a trade to using it for income generation.

JSS, Malappuram, provides skill training to people from disadvantaged communities, with a focus on women and persons with disabilities. Its courses aim to help trainees find work or start small businesses.

JSS chairman P.V. Abdul Wahab, MP, said skill training could help women become financially independent. “It gives women the skills to earn and support their families,” he said.

JSS director V. Ummer Koya said the aim was to help trainees turn their learning into a livelihood. “Training makes a difference when people can use their skills to earn a living,” he said.

For the eight women at Colours, that transition has taken the form of a shared stitching unit where they use the skills acquired through the assistant dress maker course to earn and support their families.

Source: The Hindu