Quarter One Journal — Stitching and Painting Batch
This quarter we selected two women, Sangeeta and Farida, for the stitching and fabric painting batch. Both women come from the same village but have very different backgrounds. Sangeeta has studied till Class 7, she is a homemaker, her husband works as a daily wager on nearby farms and they have two boys. Farida studied till Class 4, her family is conservative and does not permit her to take up outside work. She has three children, and although she is naturally creative, she has never used that skill in any formal way. Both came into the batch with low confidence, but very strong interest in learning something they could eventually earn from.
Week 1: Introducing tools and breaking hesitation
The first week was mainly orientation. Both women sat in front of the sewing machines as if facing an exam. The pedal movement scared them, and the thread snapped repeatedly. On the painting side, Farida struggled to hold the thin brush steadily. By the end of the week, they had expressed their preferences clearly. Both wanted to learn stitching, but Farida alone showed interest in painting.
Week 2: Meeting their trainers
We brought in two specialised trainers this week – one for structured stitching – one for fabric design fundamentals. The impact was immediate. Sangeeta’s stitches became straighter by the third session. Farida showed strong outlining accuracy and surprising comfort with paint once she understood grip and pressure.
Week 3: First signs of identity
Their second set of products showed early personality. Sangeeta stitched a small pocket with a clean curved edge. Farida painted a simple flower motif with no colour bleeding, something she had struggled with earlier, she has been practicing painting daily.
End of Month One: Slowly settling into routine
By the end of the first month, both women became noticeably more comfortable with the machines and materials. Sangeeta still pauses before corners but her straight lines have improved. Farida practices one flower pattern repeatedly until she gets consistency. One thing stood out this month. Both women have started bringing leftover cloth pieces from home to practice on. This is self-driven effort, not assigned work.
Four Months Later: Early signs of independence
Their progress continues, although slowly. Sangeeta can complete a basic tote bag end-to-end with only one review before
finishing. Farida now mixes two consistent colours for her designs and her outlines are cleaner. Both women completed a small batch for a local school event this month. The payment was modest, but for them the sense of completing work independently mattered more. They inspected their work carefully before handing it over.
Eight-Month Review: Operational observations and upcoming challenges
As the batch moves toward semi-independent production, several operational issues have emerged.
- Quality variation – Basic products are completed well, but consistency is not stable. Edge finishing, stitch alignment and paint neatness still require supervision.
- Limited market readiness – Output is slow, which affects profitability and makes them unprepared for bulk orders.
- Costing and pricing gaps – Both women struggle to understand costing and labour pricing. They underestimate time requirements and undervalue their work.
- Infrastructure constraints – There are only two working sewing machines and limited space for storing raw material and finished products. This slows production and training flow.
- Seasonal demand – Sales are currently dependent on festivals. We need at least two steady monthly buyers for predictable income.
Next Steps (recommended)
- introduce a weekly quality benchmark checklist
- begin costing and basic bookkeeping lessons
- identify two small institutional buyers for monthly orders
- request one additional sewing machine for the next cycle
- plan a small exhibition in Month Ten to test demand and pricing
Neha Deshmukh, age 29
Stitching and Fabric Painting (2024 – 2025)
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