Tonk, a small town in Rajasthan, has recently witnessed women empowerment through zero waste projects under ‘Upcycled Revolution’ of Meemansa. ipartner, in collaboration with Meemansa has set up the sustainable model of livelihood generation starting with stitching “jholas” and has promised to bring more and more avenues to earn.The challenges were many, but as it starts rolling, excitement gets bigger.
Rajasthan–the land of Maharajas, rich culture and luxuries. In Rajasthan, there is a small town named Tonk, 95kms away from Jaipur. This is the story of Tonk and its women.

Tonk is not an unheard name. Since the 19th century, it has always been a true-blue centre for culture and art. Ruled by a series of highly adventurous and influential Nawabs and Pathans, the city was built to be independent of any differences. Tonk’s people were effluent in thoughts and deeds. But, as civilization got deep-rooted, the tradition stayed and privileges got lost.

Today, there are people in Tonk who are unspoken of; they fail to maintain a stable livelihood and are struggling to make ends meet. In such a situation, Meemansa magnificently ignited one such revolution in the provincial district—an upcycled revolution! Meemansa is spearheaded to empower the underprivileged women of Tonk by giving them an opportunity to stand on their own feet and achieve economic independence.

Meemansa is touching a lot of lives through the project ‘Apno Rakshan Kendra’, which is running as collaboration with iPartner and Cecoedecon. iPartner, an Indian NGO is known for its efforts in uplifting lives across the country. ‘Apno Rakshan Kendra’ is a sister project of Rakshan–set up aimed to create a safe space for vulnerable children and women who are at risk of being trafficked. The fruitful collaboration is a stepping stone for Meemansa’s dream to establish zero-waste and women empowerment. Meemansa is making sure that all the required facilities reach the women working at Tonk.

To ensure smooth flow of the project work, Meemansa has promised to take care of the machines and other provisions to conduct a rigid production module. Meemansa equips the women, from underprivileged families, to stitch and tailor quality cloth bags. The module works on a buy-back model, and hence, a trainee woman can commence earning immediately as per piece rate. What more can put a smile of her face than having remunerated for her hard work at the end of every single day? She not only takes her money back home, but also her dignity and respect with her.