Artisans of Unarpur fight for survival against machines

HYDERABAD: Women artisans of riverine villages near famous forest town Unarpur, Jamshoro district have different stories of resilience about helping their families through needle work.

Earlier, most of these women were associated with the agriculture sector, working with their men in fields from dawn to dusk. But as the use of machinery and commercialisation in agriculture increased, they were forced to switch to other means for survival.

The area developed as clusters of artisans, who have links to the urban markets and traders. Usually a senior artisan works with a trader who gives orders for particular items. Though most of the women are capable of working on a complete product, they are asked to work on a particular part of it.

Reports gathered from artisans show that there are more than 500 women in different village clusters, who get raw material from Hyderabad city and in return supply the products to the traders. Especially, the varieties displayed at trader outlets.

Locals call it an informal industry.

Rukhsana Khoso is one of the artisans, who adapted to this alternative source of living after the emergence of machinery in agriculture. She narrated her journey of switching from agriculture to needle work.

The mother of six, with four sons and two daughters, is the only breadwinner in her family. Her husband Muhammad Bakhsh Khoso is suffering from chronic disease for the last many years and cannot work.

She learned the traditional skills from her mother and other relatives, who live in the same neighbourhood.

Since these villagers reside in the riverine area only at a distance of three kilometres from the Indus River, every time the river floods it forces them out of their abodes and up some high ground. Villagers return after the floodwater recedes.

Rukhsana remembers the devastating floods of 2010, 2012, and 2015, which forced these people to migrate to safe areas. In that situation, only her artwork supported her family.

She now lives in a two-room house gifted by the Shaheed Benazir Housing Cell (SBHC). The SBHC is a Sindh government initiative with a vision to develop a permanent sustainable mechanism for providing housing units to the poorer sections of the society in the province. Rukhsana, who holds a Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) card was chosen by the SBHC as a beneficiary. The SBHC selects beneficiaries, who either do not have a house or own a house that is in a dilapidated condition posing risk to the life and property of the residents.

Rukhsana said, “I never imagined having such a safe abode in my life time.” She is among 198 beneficiaries in Jamshoro district, who have safe homes now. These artisan communities live along the right side of the river, where the river does not have a protective embankment, thus they face destructions and displacement every time the river receives more water during monsoon.

Another skilled woman, Shahar Bano, who leads a larger cluster of 50 artisan women of the area, gave a list of items they prepare locally.

She said Eid-ul-Fitr as always has brought happiness to the artisans, who have earned enough by meeting orders; especially beautiful items like thread-fabric jewellery, one of the most in demand among local and urban women. Apart from the market work they have contacts with local businessmen too, who give orders which help them earn more compared to the urban market. She complains that the labour cost they receive is not satisfactory compared to the value of product in the market. However, they compromise and continue their work because they do not have any other option to live sustainably.

Shahar Bano realises that it happens because they get advance amount with raw material from urban clients, and traders, who pay little cost against their work. “Otherwise we receive orders from local clients for the same items and receive more cost,” she said. Shahar Bano is illiterate; however she is running her artwork successfully along with dealing with traders who pay for not only her personal work, but also give her incentives for the work she collects from other artisans. She visits her fellow women frequently to distribute raw material and make an advance payment. There, she also collects the products carefully. Then the traders come to her for taking the items for further process.

There are several such small artisan groups working in the riverine areas with links to urban markets and traders. They also have displays at their abodes to attract visitors to the variety of threads, colours and fine golden and silver zari.

These artisan women also get opportunities to participate in exhibitions in major cities and learn about the business chain. But since they live in isolated villages they have the issue of getting appropriate prices and rates for their products as per market value. These artisan families deserve to be recognised on the basis of their contribution to the economy. The government has no mechanism to encourage them by offering incentives so they may continue working.

With proper intervention and incentives to artisans, this section of the informal economy can be turned lucrative and beneficial on a bigger scale.