Sunita Amolewarke travels 13 km every day from her village Karanjawane to pursue a skill development course in Karegaon, Shirur taluka of Pune district in Maharashtra.

While her father-in-law accompanies her till the main road and tries to get her a lift to Karegaon as there is no public transport, on the way back, many a time, she covers most of the distance on foot. Her husband, a farmer, has only two acres of land which leaves no cash in hand for private transport.

“Input costs are high in farming and we can’t even make both ends meet, so we thought our daughter-in-law could also learn some skill and add to the family’s earnings,” says Sunita’s mother-in-law.

Sunita was interested in a beautician’s course, and when she came to know that training was being provided free of cost at a skill development centre in Karegaon, she lost no time in applying for it.

Although she has not yet completed her training, the young women in her village have started coming to her for getting their eyebrows done or for facials. She has bought a ‘steamer’ for cleansing and has some cosmetics that she keeps handy on the shelf of the family’s one-room shanty. Sunita says she cannot think of a steady income from clients in the village. “I am not able to earn much here, but at least I can practise my skills till l start a parlour of my own and become independent after I complete my training.”

Sunita hopes that she will be able to raise funds with the help of some relatives for starting a beauty parlour in a rented shop in close-by Ranjangaon, where her brother-in-law does mobile repair work. “Ranjangaon touches the municipal area and there is scope for making good money there,” she says.

Sunita is one among a batch of 40 women pursuing the beautician course. Tailoring is also offered at the centre. Each training course is for three months and the first batch of 120 women have already been trained under a CSR initiative of Avery Dennison Company in partnership with the National Skill Development Fund and National Skill Development Corporation. Under this project 500 women will be skilled in a year.

While Sunita is keen to support her family, 19-year-old Karamkar Kalpana is doing the course to continue her education with the help of the money she expects to earn. She too has already started earning in a small way. “My father is a security guard at a company and my mother does cleaning work at a small hotel. They wanted to save the money for my marriage rather than spend it on my education. After my schooling, I told them I will manage on my own. Just give me the initial help and they agreed.”

Manisha Rajvandare, who commutes a long distance every day to pursue the course, broke down while narrating her story. With none to support her, she is determined to educate her two sons, one of whom is studying in Pune. Her tailoring skill came handy and she manages her income through it. Now, with another skill in hand, she hopes to earn more to meet the expenses.

Sharda Vinodkavande, who joined the centre recently, says coming out of home and interacting with the women at the centre has given her a lot of confidence. “Earlier I felt uncomfortable even conversing with other people. Now I have confidence not only to speak and move about independently, but also to earn on my own.” Sharda’s comment is echoed by all the others. They view the centre as a platform not only for skill development, but as a gateway to economic independence, confidence building, and supporting their families financially. As one of them summed it up, “We want to have our own identity.”

The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi

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