VOLONTARIAT INDIA
Craftship
Craftship
An important goal of Volontariat is employment: for adults, men and women, widows or abandoned women with children, etc. Vocational trainings are provided for the boys, especially those who discontinued their school studies, rehabilitation of cured but handicapped leprosy people and other disabled persons.This policy is developed jointly by the social workers and the Sponsorship program, by researching employers, by creating crafts units, by allowing children to join Institutes in higher education, by vocational training to get technical diplomas or by way of apprenticeship.
Atelier Shanti
Atelier Shanti, (Peace, in Sanskrit), an association affiliated to Volontariat, is a rehabilitation centre for the disabled, which includes weaving, sewing and embroidery sections. Production is made by cured leprosy patients, by physically handicapped men and women and by women with social handicaps.
The workshop is divided in 3 sections: weaving, sewing, embroidery, plus people for the staff, maintenance and security. On total, 57 are at work on 1st September 2011.
Weaving section: most of them are handicapped, are working in the different stages of the weaving process: those who prepare the big and small bobbins, workers preparing the chain (“Atchie”), those in charge of the sizing and warping, those specialized on “Pavou” (organizing the yarn of the chain), those who apply starch and lastly weavers who make rolls (fabrics) about 19 m of length and 1m50 of width.
Sewing section: the women use power sewing machines to manufacture the items, ordered by the customers through a catalogue (bags, aprons, table clot, etc), which is revised every year.
Embroidery section: many of the women who are employed in this section are physically handicapped. They manufacture made-ups and embroidered table cloths ordered by our customers.
Most of the production is exported to the committees in France and Belgium which place orders. The finished products are packed and shipped to their final destination, through the application of the normal commercial rules. The workers of Atelier Shanti are very proud to export the fruit of their work whereas they are still physically and socially handicapped.
A large panel of the production is proposed for a local sale in the small show-room Navin, located at Sakti Vihar, the customers mainly are the visitors of Volontariat.
We need many people who continue to buy our fabrics or made-ups, bags, tablecloth, etc, in the different committees showrooms in France and Belgium, to give to the women and men of Atelier Shanti the right to live with dignity, thanks to their work and not to our charity.
Professional formation :
Production / Training :
A good vocational training can be an efficient way to rehabilitate young adolescents, poorly educated because they early left the school or only had the “street school”. That’s why Volontariat created a carpentry section (Liege) and a binding unit of books and notebooks (Uyarvu).
Liege Section: carpentry
Liege carpentry is running a training centre for young boys, some of whom stopped the school and/or are coming from Souriya centre. The course lasts one or two years and the varied activities enable trainees to achieve quality work that will serve them in a future job search. They will be helped by the social workers to find a carpentry workshop or a local furniture manufacturer. Dozens of boys have benefited from this assistance since the programme began.
Kalai art: art section One artist is employed who is executing all kind of art work ordered by the sections of Volontariat. He also realizes greeting cards with various designs, sometimes embroidered by Atelier Shanti. The products are available on site at Navin or ordered through catalogue by the helping committees in Europe. Uyarvu: training & production
Chabou Soap Unit : Aloe vera, neem, spirulina soaps are produced to provide for the needs of Volontariat, but they are also commercialized with success.
Uyarvu Binding
:
With a professional cutting machine and under the supervision of the In-charge of Kalai Art, several apprentices are trained in the binding of books and notebooks. Volontariat is the lone customer of Uyarvu, with a yearly order of 15 to 20,000 notebooks, books, etc., that the Parrainage section distributes to all the children who benefit from the program