As an August 2010 Indicorps Fellow, you will support the growing, spinning, and weaving of organic cotton to make it a sustainable activity in Kutch.

Initially, you will want to learn from all three of your core communities: the cotton farmers, the cotton spinners, and the weavers. From the farmers: What are the crop cycles, selling patterns, and vulnerabilities of organic cotton farming? How could a stronger local market make their livelihood more sustainable? From the spinners: What technical challenges do they face as they return to using Kutchi organic cotton? Will they need additional training or modifications to their equipment to make using local cotton realistic? From the weavers: Are they open to using organic cotton? Will it affect their craftsmanship? What connections will need to be forged between them and the spinners to make the material flow seamless? Addressing these questions will equip you to understand what formal and informal linkages and organizations need to be developed to revitalize the use of Kutchi organic cotton.

One of your challenges will be to evoke buy-in from the three stakeholders at higher levels. You will have to be creative and patient as you rally stakeholders beyond financially lucrative objectives.

Additionally, you will want to consider and mitigate any economic repercussions of moving to Kutchi organic cotton. Would a switch to local cotton make the end product more expensive? How might you leverage the vast network of vendors that are associated with KHAMIR to market indigenous cotton products effectively? You should then look to other local communities that have created networks between raw materials producers and the artisans that use the raw materials. You will want to consider what aspects of their network are successful, and how can they be best incorporated into the Kutchi fabric community. With all of these inputs, you should develop a project plan in conjunction with KHAMIR’s vision.

The components of your plan will depend largely on what you find during your surveys of the stakeholders in these groups. Some examples of initiatives you might implement include linking organic farmers with government agencies that help farmers earn organic farming certification and hosting spinners’ workshops. You might want to consider organizing trips for the weavers to visit the spinners and the farmers, so that the process from raw materials to finished product becomes more tangible. Understanding how switching to local cotton can improve conditions for Kutchi stakeholders could act as a powerful motivator. You should then implement this plan with a select group of interested farmers, spinners, and weavers. Throughout your year with KHAMIR, you will want to keep careful notes of your contacts, your ideas, and your projects so that others can expand upon your work in the future.

Target Community:
The target community includes farmers, spinners, and weavers.

Organic cotton farmers are located in central and southern Kutch. They own approximately 4 acres of land and produce around 6000 kilograms of cotton spread over two cropping cycles.

Spinners are primarily women from the farming and weaving communities, as well as women in need of supplementary income between the ages of 20 to 45. They are illiterate or semi-literate and do not have any additional sources of income.

Weavers are spread across approximately 200 villages in Kutch. You will be focusing on a subset of weavers who are open to the idea of switching to organic cotton weaving, but do not have the required skills to do so. Most of these weavers are semi-literate. Lack of employment opportunities has forced some weavers to migrate to cities as factory laborers.

Objectives:
• To understand the capacity, production cycles, selling patterns and vulnerabilities of local organic cotton farmers
• To encourage and train spinners to use locally-grown organic cotton
• To provide continuity and linkages between the farmers, spinners, and weavers through informal and formal programs

Challenges:
• Managing three distinct, geographically-disparate stakeholder groups
• Building a strong foundation for KHAMIR’s efforts to revive use of locally-grown organic cottons
• Building requisite expertise on farming, weaving, local economies, and government subsidies

Team-Based Model:
Each project is designed as a three-way partnership between you, Indicorps, and a partner organization. Each grassroots partner organization – in this case the duo of organizations – KNNA-Setu and KHAMIR – will be hosting 3 Fellows. Consequently, the August 2010 Fellowship will have both an individual and a team component.

As a team of Indicorps Fellows, your focus is to make traditional crafts and farming practices of Kutch profitable and sustainable in today’s globalizing environment. Team members will focus on different areas including integrating traditional farming methods with modern knowledge; supporting growing, spinning and weaving of organic cotton; and creating a support network for artisans to help improve their living standards.

You will stay in a combination of home stays and at the CRC. Simple vegetarian food will be provided. You will be expected to do your own laundry and chores and help with team responsibilities. Internet and international facilities are available in the nearby town of Bhuj. Bhuj is connected to the city of Ahmedabad by bus and train. Ahmedabad is well connected to all major cities in the country by the road and railway network.

The language spoken at KHAMIR is Gujarati, and the local dialect is Kutchi. For this project, a basic knowledge of Gujarati is required. If you do not have basic knowledge of Gujarati, you can still apply if commit to learning the language before the start of your Fellowship year