Blue Triangle Creations goes with the tagline, women and employment project. An initiative of Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), Thiruvananthapuram chapter, this project envisages reaching out to needy women by providing them employment. The Association has been doing this by running a stitching unit at its Community Welfare Centre at Vazhayila in the capital city.
“The venture was launched in connection with one of the quadrennial national themes of YWCA, ‘Neighbour to the victimised’. We are giving employment to three women who need a helping hand. Since many of us have a flair for stitching and tailoring, we chose that avenue to help these women. They were taught stitching by our members. We could negotiate with a company in Delhi that provided us necessary household linen,” says Prabha Joshua, founder and former chairperson of the project. From making bedsheets and towels, the unit has evolved to producing underskirts, nighties, table cloth, baby dresses, jewellery bags, bags for babies, coasters, runners, aprons, mittens, cushion covers, mats, chudidars and the like. The new addition is bedsheets with appliqué work on them.
“Under the theme ‘Neighbour to the Earth’, we encourage the use of eco-friendly cloth bags,” adds Prabha. So you get shopping bags, vanity bags, cell phone pouches, lunch bags, jewellery pouches and sling bags in attractive colours and sizes.
“The women have undergone intense training. We select the cloth, the design and even the colour combination for different products and ensure that these women come out with perfect products,” says Rani Sarah Thomas, a YWCA member actively involved with the project. The cloth is often bought from textile shops and boutiques in and outside the city.
The unit, which opened in 2010, undertakes bulk orders of customised cloth bags for shops and showrooms. The products were in much demand at last year’s X’mas sale organised by YWCA. “We made a wide range of seasonal products like stockings and wall hangings,” adds Rani. The units also gave away dresses and sheets for newborn babies of a government hospital in the city on Children’s Day last year. Reasonably priced, the products are for sale on the YWCA premises near Spencer Junction on Tuesdays, where the sale begins by 4 p.m. Contact general secretary, YWCA, at 2463690.
