Journalism of Courage
By introducing new eco-friendly uniforms for its students,this school is helping the Udyog Bharati NGO in Gujarat from where the cloth is sourced
Ten-year-old Padmavati Mistry,a student of standard fifth at Aman Setu School,looks happy as she shows off her new colourful jacket. She counts all the rainbow colours on it and seems fascinated by the fact that she can wear it to school everyday. On the last day of the academic year,new plans are being discussed and principal Madhavi Kapoor checks the uniforms. It took me almost four months to get this stuff ready, she says about the new eco-friendly uniforms.
The school has been using cotton and khadi fabric for three years but these new uniforms will actually use waste. The colourful patchwork that you can see on the jacket is scrap collected together and stitched. Even the linings and the trimmings on the uniform are made from the same material. In fact the jacket designs wont even be the same for each kid as all the clothes procured will be different, explains Karishma Shahani,who has designed the uniforms. A graduate from London School of Fashion,Shahani has tried to capture the spirit of the institute through her designs. The institute has also been getting help from Either Or. The store has provided vegetable dyed,cotton fabric with the devnagiri script printed over it,which has been used for trimmings.
Through this initiative,the school is lending a helping hand to Udyog Bharati,an NGO in Gondol village near Rajkot,Gujarat,where the cloth comes from. Around 2000 women are employed there and the handwoven fabric and scrap clothes are sourced from the NGO. The scrap clothes that would otherwise be thrown are being used by us, says Kapoor,adding,We send it to Maher,an NGO in Wagholi,from where we get rolls made out of them which we are using in our uniforms. As one discusses the intricacies of the entire process,a teacher carries a huge chart that explains how the uniform is made. We are going to tell the kids that what they are wearing is helping so many people, says Kapoor with a big smile that reflects the satisfaction of a new beginning.
