Based in the Kutch district of Gujarat, the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan urges women to come together to question various forms of socio-economic and political oppression, and to access information, training, knowledge and skills to be able to change the circumstances in their communities.
Its current activities and programmes include natural resource management, handicraft production, informal education for women and girls and publication of a newsletter. It runs a savings and credit programme, health education and training centre, a screen-printing unit, and a legal education and support centre.
The women of Kutch make dolls for their children out of old clothes and scraps of cloth. With the help of the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sanghatan, this activity has turned into a craft earning the women an income. These charming hand crafted dolls, each one individually made and unique in itself, also remind urban children of the rural scenario, and give them a doll completely different from the plastic blonde dolls which flood urban markets. They can also be used as puppets to enact stories.
