Kashif’s nimble fingers have a rhythm of their own. Hunched over one edge of an adda (workstation), he gradually crafts flowers on a sleeve, oblivious to the collective din of five whirring sewing machines. His absorption in his craft is typical of any diligent embroiderer, but there’s one thing that sets this young artisan apart from the rest: Kashif is deaf-mute.

An apprentice at the Deaf Reach Training Centre, Kashif is one of the many beneficiaries of a multifaceted charitable organization by the name of Family Educational Services Foundation (FESF). FESF’s programs are diverse in nature, ranging from volunteer empowerment to teacher’s training, but the goal is the same – "enhancing the quality of life for all members of the community, especially those who are disadvantaged". FESF’s most expansive project is Deaf Reach, not just in terms of its evolution over the years, but also for its lofty goals of setting up its students for life.

"We started out from a single-room building that was donated to us 26 years ago," shared Richard Geary, who co-founded FESF with his wife Heidi in 1984, "and today we educate about 1000 deaf children in seven  schools across Pakistan."

"Just academics is not enough for our students," explained Richard further. "They need to be equipped with skills for the extra challenges they will face in life. So after they reach the age of 12, we train them in three to four marketable skills, which increases their value in the job market after they graduate." 

Deaf Reach doesn’t always let go of its students after they’ve passed their Matric exams and learned a trade or two. The graduates of Deaf Reach schools have the option of being further trained at the Deaf Reach Training Centre housed in their historic Nanakwara campus in Saddar, which was once Fatima Jinnah’s industrial home. This huge space was generously donated to Deaf Reach by the Rangoonwala Foundation; vocational training was already underway in some form even under its previous owners. When Deaf Reach acquired the premises, they decided to continue the tradition, and thus the Deaf Reach Training Centre (DRTC) came into being.

The facility accommodates a salon for aspiring beauticians, a station for carpenters/woodworkers-in-the-making and a computer laboratory for its tech-savvy trainees, but DRTC’s core focus at the time being is its apparel-making operations. The facility boasts a highly sophisticated stitching, embroidery, screen and block printing setup (as well as a tie-and-dye space) – the kind that is irresistible to designers, by their own admission.

Unfortunately, despite the existence of a top-of-the-line infrastructure and a pool of skilled artisans, the products that were coming out of the centre severely lacked in the design department. That’s where Mohsin Sayeed and his partners at The PinkTree Company, Hadia Khan and Sheena Rizvi, entered the picture.

"We don’t have the kind of setup that they do," Mohsin stated matter-of-factly. And the artisans didn’t have the aesthetic skills to give their products the value addition that comes with strong design.

PinkTree extends that expertise as Deaf Reach’s fashion consultants. What they’ve laid out is an extensive multi-phase, long-term plan of action that begins with improving the output quality through PinkTree’s design intervention, then proceeds to encouraging designers to outsource aspects of their production to Deaf Reach artisans, and will possibly lead up to the opening of a Deaf Reach store in four to five years’ time. Then of course, there’s the glamour aspect – the shoots, the promotion, the networking, Mohsin is gladly helping Deaf Reach in that regard as well. The ultimate goal is to take Deaf Reach’s apparel-making operations towards sustainability, but every business takes a few years to take flight.

To start things off, PinkTree deputed their former Business Development Manager and Pick-up Line designer Rabia Ahmed to Deaf Reach, which she has officially joined around two months ago.

Six months into production, the Deaf Reach label has had a turnaround. Called Dast’Khat, which translates simply as ‘signature’ in Urdu, the brand name alludes to the line’s production by deaf artisans by its Persian etymology – Dast and Khat are Persian for hand and script respectively, so they’re literally talking to us with their handiwork. As the line ups its game in terms of design aesthetic and minimises production glitches under Rabia’s watch, Dast’Khat is finally beginning to adequately tell the artisan’s story. Rabia is optimistic that they’ll be able to hold a large-scale exhibition for Eid ul Azha in October.

The plan is for the product line to generate income that goes back into the program to cover its running costs and then the remaining profits be used to finance further development at DRTC and sponsor student admissions in Deaf Reach schools. "Dast’Khat is only a start-up at the moment, so there aren’t many sales," Richard had said.

But this is only the beginning for Dast’Khat. "Managing Dast’Khat has been a learning curve for us, since our specialization is in education. We’re still figuring out how to run the label as a for-profit business," shared Sarah Shaikh, FESF’s Director Donor Relations. Initially, the label was set up under the guidance of a student of a local fashion school in Karachi, but the result was far from satisfactory. "I wouldn’t give those clothes to my maid," said Mohsin, with signature disdain.

Since Rabia joined, Dast’Khat is undergoing some restructuring. People were hired and fired. "Just because they have a hearing disability doesn’t mean we shouldn’t treat them as regular employees. Some workers were just too expensive and weren’t producing, so we had to let them go. Only through professionalism come profits, and we’re trying to run this as a business for their benefit, not for ours," explained Rabia.

In addition to this, products are being fine-tuned and costing calculated. "We’re redesigning our products, so that we don’t waste time-consuming and expensive work on clothes that can’t be tagged with a high price tag," added Rabia, who is clearly wearing several hats as she works towards turning this start-up into a flourishing business.

Through its quality production, Dast’Khat hopes to realise PinkTree’s vision of Deaf Reach as a production unit for designers. Although not many designers are officially on board, Dast’Khat  has garnered another kind of celebrity following. Model Fayeza Ansari, who signed up for the first Dast’Khat shoot done by photographer Jaffer Hasan, is a believer, and is bent on using her fame to publicise the project. Everything from TV appearances to liaison with designers and fashion councils is on Fayeza’s to-do list. Involving the Councils will definitely up the game for Deaf Reach – a Deaf Reach show could happen or the Dast’khat label could even manufacture collections if designers decided to outsource work to them.

"The project is still a baby," admitted Fayeza. "We want the quality of the product to be so good, that people buy it without knowing it’s for charity." Currently, the focus is on mastering casual prêt, but Fayeza recommends that the line eventually branch out to produce semi-formal couture due to the superior craftsmanship of their hand-embroiderers. "We could export those clothes abroad, because that’s where the money is. Here, the competition is insane," says Rabia of another one of Dast’Khat’s future plans.

The plan, for the time being, is to determine a target market. The price range for Dast’Khat’s casual prêt has been pegged between 1500 to 5000 rupees, and exhibitions have been decided to be the means of selling. "We don’t want to go into retail right now, because Deaf Reach’s core focus is education," explains Sarah. "We’re trying to optimise our production, because we want to show how good we are to potential donors.  We get grants for funding of up to three months, but we don’t know what’s going to happen in the next quarter, and even our workers are insecure about the project’s pilot status," she added.

As all things done with good intentions, Deaf Reach may cruise along as providence sends good fortune and funds its way. But others also have much to gain from this sapling of the FESF. As resume-building volunteerism for students or an apt CSR opportunity for designers, Deaf Reach gives the opportunity to all and sundry – the fashion community especially – to participate and help improve lives. Ours is a community segmented by all sorts of divisions – social, religious, sectarian – and any efforts made to merge any one segment should be appreciated, encouraged and assisted. One just hopes that the kind of initiative that Deaf Reach has made – one that has incredible potential – does not fall on deaf ears.

To view the Dast’khat collection, visit www.fesf.org.pk/dastkhat

or the Deaf Reach Program on Facebook. Student volunteers and designers interested in collaboration are requested to contact Sarah.Shaikh@ fesf.org.pk.

Lending a helping hand

The fashion industry does periodically dabble in initiatives, which allow buyers to indulge in some fashionable philanthropy. While Sania Maskatiya moves on from scarves to designing kurtas with Gul Ahmed for LRBT this year, Deepak Perwani has stepped in to design a range of funky scarves around the concept of the LRBT mission to have a free eye-care facility every 200 miles across Pakistan. Chappals (sandals), camels and chaidanis (teapots) deck the length and breadth of one scarf – one can proudly display the country’s cultural identity around one’s neck and what’s best is that buyers are taking LRBT a few thousand rupees closer to its mission. Similarly, Sanam Chaudhri has partnered with Afsheen Numair’s Blocked label for an Independence Day line that will promote extraordinary Pakistani women and the charities they represent. And these are only some of the recent examples. Needless to say, the proceeds from the sales of these specially produced lines will go to the associated charities.

There’s also the longer-lasting approach of empowering with expertise, whereby designers impart training to disadvantaged groups as part of their CSR efforts. Again, Deepak’s women’s empowerment endeavours recently got picked up on the international radar. The European Fashion Council awarded him a place among the top ten designers of the world in this year’s Eirene Awards – an achievement that owes a large part to the Deepak Perwani brand’s work for poverty alleviation causes, including the AHAN project initiated by SMEDA to lend support to women in Mirpurkhas, Sukkur, Mithi, Ambh and Mirpur Sakro. HSY closed PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week this year with Sher, a collection that was made in collaboration with the Anjuman-e-Khuddam-e-Rasul Allah (AKRA), a renowned community-based NGO in Shergarh, Okara, which works towards improving education and poverty alleviation.