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(Composed by : Shikha Jain, NEEV)
Preface
In Bihar, the flood waters have receded and so have the lights of the cameras of the media, people and the feelings of remorse and concern of the junta. What have remained intact are the difficulties being faced by the victims of the flood. With the change in the course of the river Kosi, there has been a change in the course of people's life as well. With the winters approaching , the people of Bihar have to confront nature yet again, more defenseless this year against it without sufficient clothing and shelter.
The Evolution of the Concept
We at NEEV were deeply concerned about the tragedy and set about thinking as to what we can do given our physical distance and our modest resources. One of our friends, equally distressed by the tragedy suggested that we could make quilts of recycled clothes (kathas) for the hapless victims of the Bihar flood. We plan to make 1000 Kathas.
What is Katha?
Katha is a quilt made up of many layers of pieces of clothes stitched together to make a thick blanket, weighing about 4 Kgs. Clothes of any kind of shape or texture can be used in this quilt. Hence any big or small piece of old clothing - whether it is children's half pants or skirt or a man's
full sleeve shirt, can be cut open and stitched onto a layer of the Katha. Finally it is covered with a good quality cloth or a sari, and stitches are made on it in various patterns. Traditionally, Kathas were made by women folk of Bihar and Bengal using their old cotton saris, sewed in rich
patterns. Even today, many households preserve their old torn clothes for giving to the Katha maker who comes every fortnight on his cycle to take these clothes and return them sewed into the useful Katha.
During winters, the Katha serves like a quilt, and in summers it still finds its place on the bed as a mattress.
What attracted us to the humble Katha
- Relief Measure - The Katha works quite like a blanket but more than that it can be washed and used as a mattress
- Recycling - It would have been much more convenient for us to just buy new blankets and give them to the victims but we chose this rather tedious process because of the recycling of clothes involved. Most middle class Indian houses have a heap of old clothes lying with them, not knowing what should be done of them.
- Income Generation - The Kathas are made mostly by rural folk and in some cases a community of urban folk specialized in Katha who come in the unorganized sector. These Kathas would be a source of income generation for the people.
Production Program
The quilts will be produced by a group of artisans, who specialize in making Kathas (quilts) using the old clothes. They would be manufacturing the Kathas on special sewing machines. Kathas can also be produced by hand but it is a time consuming activity and requires use of only sarees or
bedsheets. The womenfolk of the various SHGs in the work areas of NEEV, who have skill in katha making by hand would also make as many Kathas as they can.
The old clothes would be collected by the volunteers of NEEV, taking help from other NGOs as well. A room has been rented in Hurlung Village which is being used for the storage of old clothes. The artisans and women making the Katha would collect the cloth from here.
Target Date for completion of 1000 Kathas - 15th November, 2008.
Financial Requirements:
Expenditure per Katha :
1.) 4 m new cloth for cover @Rs 15 per m = Rs 60
2.) Labour Cost = Rs 40
3.) Transportation cost(Local+from Jsr to Bihar) = Rs 10
Total Rs 110
Total Expenditure for 1000 Kathas = Rs 1,10,000.
The Appeal.
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