Background

SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) is a women’s trade union that first registered itself in 1972. It is a member-based organization working for poor informal sector women workers. Its members consist of street vendors, hawkers, kite makers, gum collectors, artisans, salt workers, etc. SEWA organizes workers to enter the mainstream of the economy through the strategy of struggle and development. SEWA has more than 750,000 members across India and more than 530,000 members in Gujarat. Two-thirds of its membership in Gujarat live in rural areas. SEWA incorporates three movements: cooperative, women and labour. SEWA strongly believes in struggle and development. The struggle is against many constraints and limitations imposed on women by society and the economy, whilst development activities strengthen women's bargaining power and offer them new alternatives. SEWA has realized the power of ICTs for the growth and development of the informal sector.

Objectives and Goals

SEWA's two main goals are to organize women workers to obtain full employment and self-reliance. Work security, income security, food security and social security are important aspects in this regard. To achieve these goals, SEWA has adopted an integrated approach of promoting collective strength and bargaining power for capital formation at the household level. Access to financial services to build capacity has been made possible so that members can compete in the market place and have access to market infrastructure, technology, information, education, and relevant skills, asset building, healthcare, and child care.

Planning

SEWA uses ICT for enhancing efficiency and efficacy for its women members as well as for institutional capacity building. SEWA believes that, by doing this, it can create more employment opportunities for women.

Services Provided

• SEWA has an integrated approach through which it assists its members in different ways. 
• SEWA bank for savings and credit
• SEWA social security (this includes insurance, healthcare, childcare)
• Mahila SEWA housing trust
• SEWA Academy for all kinds of trainings
• SEWA Video
• SEWA Gram Mahila Haat
• SEWA Trade Facilitation Centre
• SEWA Union
• SEWA rural district associations (Gram Vikas)
• SEWA BDMSA (Banaskanth DWCRA Mahila SEWA Association)

Target Group and Intended Beneficiaries

SEWA has a membership of over 530,000 women in Gujarat. The annual membership fee is Rs 5. To become a member, an individual should fall within the category termed as BPL (Below Poverty Line). All the members of SEWA are informal sector women workers.

Institutional Arrangements

SEWA has a bottom-up administration approach. The executive committee consists of 80 percent members and 20 percent non-members. The members are representatives from various trades. The president is also elected from the members in the executive committee.

Technologies

SEWA believes in tools and technologies that secure the livelihoods, builds the capacity and provides alternate employment opportunities to the members. Thus, ICT for them means telephone, fax, video, Satcom and computers. Based on this, SEWA has used a wide variety of tools and technologies since its inception.

Primary Access Points

SEWA has 14 district associations. Each association has more than 18 activities, such as savings and credit, housing, nursery, watershed development and other activities pertaining to the area. These associations act as a hub for the rest of the activities, hence the satellite communication programme (SatCom) is conducted at these offices. Telephones, fax, xerox and computers are also installed at these offices. The majority of the members use these centres for retrieving information. In some of the districts, SEWA has started developing Community Learning Centres (CLCs). These centres are located as clusters, with one centre for 12-13 villages. CLCs act as a hub for activities such as training and capacity building, Jeevan Shala (life school), savings and credit, housing, embroidery, salt laboratory, gum collection, etc. This centre includes a Satellite communication set-up, 24-hour video-conferencing, data warehousing and disaster mitigation related information.

Capacity Building

SEWA has been successful in building the capacity of poor women workers in the rural and urban informal sector by introducing various ICT tools and technologies. It started the video unit in 1984. This created a great impact on policy decisions pertaining to the life of informal sector women workers. With its satellite communication programme, started in 2000, it has educated members about the importance of insurance in their lives. This tool proved to be very useful at the time of an earthquake, for relief work and reconstruction. Apart from such technologies, SEWA has also started video-conferencing for training in embroidery, advocacy, consultancy, and experience sharing amongst different districts. SEWA has recently started computer training programmes aimed at its members and their children. Within a short period of time, this programme has started showing good results. Members are able to access relevant information. Their ability to find alternate employment opportunities has increased tremendously.

Constraints and Implementation Challenges

SEWA strongly believes in development. The key challenge is getting women workers organized so that they have collective bargaining power. The other biggest challenge is the provision of appropriate tools and technologies for such women. ‘Appropriate’ means customized and financially viable. The language constraint is also a challenge to the further successful implementation of the project.

Project Outcomes

SEWA uses a variety of technologies for spreading information to its members. SEWA makes sure that the video replay programme reaches all the members, including the ones at the remotest places. The Satcom programme helps the members to directly interact with key officials. The outcome that the SEWA programme seeks from its computer training programme is self-reliance and creation of alternate employment opportunities. Till now more than 100 members have started using computers in their day-to-day activities.

Key Lessons Learnt

SEWA has created a blueprint for the informal sector. It has initiated many needs-based projects like water campaigns, policy related changes, microcredit and microinsurance. In short, SEWA has adopted an integrated approach in a real sense. To provide an informal sector women worker with livelihood security and for her to achieve self-reliance, many requirements have to be met. The provision of savings and credit facilities, childcare, housing (asset building), watershed development, healthcare (hospital, midwifes cooperative, insurance), training and capacity building are just some of them in which SEWA has been effective. SEWA has adopted ICT tools and technologies to facilitate the members for achieving their objectives. A variety of tools are being used for this purpose. The technology used in SEWA is customized, hence it is optimally utilized. Technology has played an important role in the lives of thousands of its members.

Sustainability

The SEWA’s project is sustainable because it has a community-based approach. The programme is based on membership fees. SEWA does not believe in providing services for free. Till now the project has relied on contributions from the members themselves.

Replication and Scaling Up

SEWA’s various programmes have been replicated in more than five countries. SEWA, as the largest primary trade union for informal sector women workers, has been arole model in setting the blueprint  for this sector. From the point of view of scalability, SEWA has adopted the latest tools and technologies, based on their relevance to the project. SEWA was the first women’s video cooperative, established in 1984. It started with Umax format. Then it was extended to Beta version and then gradually to VHS. Now it is in the digital format. The video team is made up of  both literate and semi-literate members. SEWA was the first organization to optimally utilize a satellite communication programme and then to extend this to 24-hour video-conferencing. Currently SEWA is providing consultancy in developing a customized CD-based programme for financial literacy for microenterprises. SEWA has also developed a course curriculum specially for semi-literate women, which can be replicated in similar areas for computer training.

Recommendations

SEWA needs to complete proper documentation, particularly in project management activities. Proper documentation for each project is essential in evaluating the project outcome and deciding the sustainability parameters. Even though the infrastructure is available at the district level, the centre is yet to optimally utilize ICT tools. Looking to the spread of membership across Gujarat and India, there is a dire need to establish a networked solution. This will enable faster internal and external communication.

Human Interest Stories

Video and Vegetable Vending

Leelaben joined SEWA 30 years ago. Then, in 1984, SEWA decided to introduce women to the power of video. Since that three-week workshop, life has not been the same for this humble vegetable vendor. Her first film was Manek Chawk (a crowded market of Ahmedabad). This film created a radical change in the policy of the allotment of space to vegetable vendors in the crowded streets of Ahmedabad city. She captured the harassment caused by the traffic police and trespassers to vegetable vendors. When this case was taken to the courts, it was declared that space should be allotted on the terrace of the vegetable market. This decision was impractical for the women members as it was difficult for them to carry vegetables weighing 10 or more kilos up to the terrace. They were also not sure whether the customers would come to the terrace to buy their vegetables. Therefore, the women vendors arranged a meeting to discuss this problem. Leelaben captured their discussion, which was heartrending. Then she presented it to the Municipal Commissioner of Ahmedabad. After watching the video, the Commissioner was in tears. It compelled him to change the policy and allocate space for two baskets from each vendor in the busy market.

The Power of Computers

Shobhnaben is a member of SEWA, active in savings and credit as well as a housing team leader. She used to work in the fields with her parents; and had no education due to financial constraints and workload. However, she did not give up her ambition. She followed a computer training programme at SEWA. She is the only woman who knows how to use a computer in her village. She insisted that the government school purchase a computer so that the future generation can learn to use computers. She is currently teaching computers to the school children from which she makes an income.

Contact Information

Ms. Reema Nanavaty
Director, Rural Development
Self Employed Women’s Association
SEWA Reception Centre
Opp. Victoria Garden
Bhadra, Ahmedabad - 380 001
Gujarat, India

Phone: +91 79 550 6444, 550 6477
Fax: +91 79 550 6446
Email: mail@sewa.org

Website

http://www.sewa.org