Handicraft Catalogue 2012 - Calcutta Rescue

Handicraft Catalogue 2012

Contents3 Introduction4 OriginsHistoryHandicrafts UnitWeaving WorkshopVocational Training6 Wholesale7 How to BuyProduct Range8 Cushion Covers9 Linen12 Bags24 Recycled Materials30 Toys/Key Rings34 Earthen or Clay Materials36 Cards40 Mirrors42 Jewellry44 Miscellaneous46 Contact

IntroductionHistoryCalcutta Rescue has evolved from a pavement clinicwhere British doctor Jack Preger started offering freemedical treatment to the poor of Kolkata in 1979.Over the years, with the help of support groups acrossEurope and the USA, Dr. Jack’s project has grown into afully-fledged NGO.Today, we operate four clinics, two schools and severalhealth and development programmes to enhance theliving conditions and lives of thousands of people.Handicrafts UnitOur handicrafts project employs former patients, widows,women deserted by their husbands and thosewhose husbands are sick or unemployed and drop outStudents of our Schools. The project offers them a routeout of poverty by training them in a wide variety of skillsincluding sewing, embroidery and woodwork. The resultis a range of Fairtrade-certified handicrafts that are soldboth locally and abroad, and clothing for pupils at ourschools and patients of our clinics.Weaving WorkshopCR has established two weaving centres in South 24Parganas, a rural area south of Kolkata with high unemployment.The centres give training in basic weavingand provide employment for local youth from poor backgroundsas well as ex-students from CR schools. In additionto the weaving training, our trainees receive basiceducation in Bengali, English and maths.The workshops are mainly active in providing bandages,sarees & Lungis to our clinics, as well as cloth for ourhandicrafts unit and patient cloth.3

OriginsThe Handicrafts project has its origins at Calcutta Rescue’sfirst project – the street clinic on Middleton Row.The sewing teacher from CR’s school was seconded totrain former patients how to make clothes. Before long,those former patients were producing clothes for theclinic’s existing patients. At the same time, of course,they were themselves earning a wage that helped themto support themselves and their families. This was vitalemployment for people whose opportunities for workwere otherwise severely limited by illness.Among the volunteers who worked at the clinic was adesigner, Julie Specchly, who encouraged this activityand saw in it the scope for expansion and diversification.She taught children from the CR school to make smallhandicraft items – key rings, bookmarks and cards – thatgave those children valuable vocational skills.The success of this led to former patients being trainedand employed to make handicrafts of a sufficiently highstandard that they could be sold abroad. Not only didthis generate employment and income for people whowould otherwise have found it very difficult to find safework, it also raised funds for CR’s work.Demand for handicrafts increased steadily and the needfor a larger working area soon became clear. Space wasmade in the school for a small group of people to workon stitching and make a growing number of handicraftitems. Successive volunteers also taught the participantsnew skills – in art, embroidery, woodwork, painting andother crafts.4

The Handicrafts Project TodayWhat began as a peripheral clinic activity has developedinto a vibrant, stand-alone project that now has formalFair Trade accreditation. In 2008/09, more than half of allhandicrafts sales were to Fair Trade shops.It has a workshop in the Soba Bazaar area of north Kolkata.Staff members are former patients – widows andwomen who have been deserted by their husbands, orwhose husbands are too sick to find regular work. Studentswho have had difficulty with academic educationor dropped out of school are also employed. They arelearning new skills and are continuously improving thosethey have learned. And, of course, they are earning valuableincome for themselves and their families. This is allthe more significant in a context in which uneducated andunskilled women are typically at the lowest level of employabilityand constantly vulnerable to exploitation.In mid-2009, the Handicrafts project had 25 sewing traineesand four art trainees (all ex-patients or drop-out studentsfrom Calcutta Rescue’s schools) – in addition to the12 regular daily staff. Not only does the project producea wide range of handicrafts that are sold both in Indiaand abroad, it also makes clothes and other items forthe patients and students at Calcutta Rescue’s Clinics andschools. Its catalogue includes cards, bags, cushion covers,table linen and many other quality products. A newand innovative range that recycles old silk into attractiveshawls, scarves and bags, for example, has proved tobe very popular among customers in Europe and NorthAmerica. The Handicrafts Project works closely with CR’sWeaving Project, using, whenever possible, cloth that hasbeen spun and woven there.5

WholesaleWe are a small unit and do our best to give good serviceto our customers at home and abroad. Order flows andstaffing levels change constantly and we do our best tobe flexible and accommodating in our response and delivery– urgent or otherwise. However, do bear in mindthat we are a family style workshop with a small staff (aswell as many outworkers) producing a quality Fair Tradeproduct. If you have an urgent order, please advise andwe shall do our best to accommodate wherever possible.Most items are photographed and detailed on the web– if there is something you have seen but is not there,please do ask. New designs are uploaded regularly.Orders may be placed by email crhcrafts@vsnl.net with acopy to admn@calcuttarescue.org or by phone +91(0)332530 0513.• Prices are in Rupees and are subject to change.• All goods are certified Fair Trade• All goods are identified as made by Calcutta Rescueby unobtrusive CR labelling• Goods that are made from recycled materials (codesRE-) vary dramatically in colour and design – we aimto ensure that there is a good colour/design mix inall ordersThe product range may be inspected :• At the Fairlawn Hotel on Thursdays 6.30 – 8.00 pm• Via your Support Group• At the workshop at 19 Gokul Mitra Lane, Kolkata700005. Near Rajballav Para (Central Avenue), closestmetro (10 minutes walk) is Shova Bazar Shutanuti.Call, if possible, beforehand - Sudeshna MitraWoodhatch on +91(0)33 2530 0513.6

How to BuyAll goods are made to order. The time between placingan order and that order being dispatched depends onthe size of the order and other work being done at thetime. We will always try to accommodate your requirementsand get your order made and sent as soon aspossible. We pride ourselves on personal service.The catalogue listings contain details of the products’weight, size and price. There is no minimum order size.We look after each customer’s order individually and tryto cater for everyone’s needs and requirements, regardlessof the order value.All goods are certified Fair Trade. Labels identify eachitem as having been made by Calcutta Rescue.Please note that recycled/vintage items (scarves, shawls,bags, etc. - usually with the code ‘RE - number’) will alwaysvary in colour and design. These pieces are madefrom individual old saris where the silk is washed andthen recycled into a new product – we, therefore, cannotguarantee any particular design or colour, this uniquenessbeing very much a part of the intrinsic appeal.Unfortunately, it is not possible to order directly from theinternet at the present time. To place an order, or just toask a question, please call us on +91 (0)33 2530 0513or e-mail crhcrafts@vsnl.net.Alternativly please contact the relivant support group inyour region.7