Mission self-help groups

Prutha Bhosle Jane Borges and Cynera RodricksVery early on 26yearold Shivani Sharma noticed the lack of marketing skills among selfhelp groups SHGs in India After completing her William J Clinton Fellowship Sharma got the opportunity to work with Fair Trade ForumIndia FTFI in Delhi as a filmmaker but the Nashikborn wanted to step in and start an initiative to create awareness about SHGsAnd so she started Project Omana ldquoIt is an initiative close to my heartrdquo says the Whistling Woods alumna ldquoDuring my stint in FTFI I realised that these groups are in dire need of digital marketing My work with artisans of various member organisations helped me to understand the root cause of the gap between their products and the consumers I felt the need to establish a digital platform where we could showcase the extraordinary work being done by these selfhelp groups through the medium of short films photo essays blogs and vlogsrdquoSharma says she has always been drawn to peoplersquos problems and is a patient listener ldquoI feel this quality attracted people around me to sit down and share their problems or life stories in general At the time of my fellowship I started looking at people and stories through a different lens during my community servicerdquoThe mission of this project is to give a powerful digital platform to womenrsquos selfhelp groups by sharing their stories of entrepreneurial success hardships and challenges It also aims to raise funds to set up or improve their small businesses by providing raw material and establishing new selfhelp groups for women living in extreme poverty in rural areas ldquoIf one wants to do something that is satisfying and of great service to their community Project Omana is the right place to be in You can also help by identifying women SHGs from your communities and putting them in touch with Project OmanardquoGet in touch projectomanagmailcomFollow projectomana InstagramStories of badasserySharmeen Sayed DafedarSharmeen Sayed Dafedar started an Instagram page 365 days of BAWG this March to mark International Womenrsquos Day BAWG stands for BadAss Warrior Goddesses ldquoAt some point in life you realise that your definition of you as a person depends on the people in your life and particularly the definition of you as a woman depends crucially on the women that have played a vital role in your liferdquo says Dafedar ldquoSo this page is trying to discover and feature such women and their stories of grit chaos struggle work art passion achievement perseverance celebration diversity friendship their moments of notoriety and subverting norms which ultimately challenge and reshape the meaning and role of the woman every dayrdquoOne of Dafedarrsquos first posts featured her grandmother Salma who is remembered as the lsquoIron Ladyrsquo of the family for her relentless spiritThe Mumbaibased architect shares that the page was an overnight idea and will feature any woman she knows whose story needs to be told so that it can create a positive impact on others ldquoAn overarching objective of featuring the badass warrior women is to understand this network connection and links of stories that come together to form a more palpable version of lsquothe idea of womanrsquordquo she saysIf you know a BAWG and want her to be featured on this page DM Dafedar on Instagram365daysofbawg InstagramdafesharmeengmailcomQueens of the high seasSharanya Manivannan Pic CourtesyCatriona MitchellWho are mermaids Are they the ldquohalfwomanhalffishrdquo creatures who have captivated our imaginations since time immemorial Are they goddesses of the sea Or are they real people navigating through sea and land Sharanya Manivannanrsquos new illustrated book for children Mermaids In The Moonlight Red Panda travels between myths legends and history to tell the story of mermaids and this one is fantasy at its bestWith this book the writer and poet dons a new hat as illustrator And she takes on the role with consummate ease The book is the story of Nilavoli and her amma who takes her to Mattakalappu lagoon where ldquoon full moon nights you could hear mysterious sounds coming from deep underwaterrdquo Her amma said it was the mermaid singing On one such night during a boat ride in the lagoon amma tells Nilavoli about the many kinds of mermaids that inhabit the ocean What you read and see next is a sheer treat for the sensesTherersquos Yemanja who swam across the Atlantic Ocean to comfort the people of West Africa ldquoenslaved and taken from their homelands on shipsrdquo Therersquos also the tale of the daughter of Ravana who fell in love with Hanuman while he tried to build a bridge to rescue Sita Amma also tells Nilavoli of the real mermenmaidsmdashthe Bajau Laut people of South East Asia the women on Jeju Island who dive to collect seaharvest among others The lines between the real and the mythical are thus blurred The bookrsquos vibrant illustrations make the work unpredictable and yet alive just like the evocative prose amazonin Rs 200The art of painting with plasterSwati Yadavrsquos sculpture paintingsSculpture painting is the technique of carving flowers from plaster onto a plywood board Swati Yadav a homemaker in Pune has mastered this art and is a certified teacher today conducting workshops in different cities ldquoI was always passionate about art and craft and before I tried my hand at sculpture painting I was into making decoupage art Two and a half years ago I learnt sculpture painting from a Russian artist Evgenia Ermilova by attending her workshops in Delhi and I was really intrigued by this artrdquo says YadavEach small panel takes about a day to complete the art requiring immense dedication and patience The flowers are crafted with the help of a Russian sculpture paste available in different shades and with steel palette knivesldquoMy workshops last six to seven hours per day and I teach students how to make a type of flower bud or leaf They learn how to make poppies irises roses and peonies They also get a certificate from the Russian school on successfully learning how to make themrdquo she explains Yadav sells her work and the price depends on the size and complexity of the design Rs 2500 onwardscreative_closet23 InstagramA vaccine of truthAyesha ChenoyThe truth about verse is that it can say a thousand different things in a few lines Ayesha Chenoyrsquos recent collection of verse To The Bravest Person I Know Penguin Random House is probably what we needed to read in this time of uncertainty Chenoy who is CEO and founder of the independent advertising agency RepIndia examines and illustrates the word ldquobraveryrdquo through spare poignant verse ldquoWe waste time we donrsquot have comparing love we canrsquot measurerdquo she writes in one ldquoI wish I had met you after I met yourdquo she shares in anotherWhile the overarching themes of the book are love and heartbreak Chenoy also touches upon queerness mental health dysfunctional families fear and our tenacious relationship with the self This book reminds us of the ldquothought for the dayrdquo we would read on our schoolrsquos blackboard each morningmdasha perfect prelude Itrsquos also a gentle reminder of our own bravery that has seen us through and will continue toamazonin Rs 299