Large numbers of women in India, across urban, rural and tribal areas are unschooled, unskilled, and don’t have access to mainstream jobs. They need training programs at their doorstep, flexible hours of employment and work from home opportunities.
We provide skill training, design development and market linkages to women from low income families and underprivileged backgrounds and support them to become financially empowered by taking up self-employment opportunities or joining group enterprise production units.
Tailoring, Hand-Embroidery, Crochet, Block-printing, Macrame and Folk painting
Skilled over 2,500 women from low income families
Locations: Karnataka, Telangana & West Bengal
Miljhul, which means camaraderie, is a brand created to champion our work in women empowerment at our Swayam Shakti centre in the Vatepally basti of Hyderabad. Each Miljhul product tells the story of the resilient woman crafting a better life for herself.
Craftizen’s longest running, self-managed livelihood unit began in August 2018 in the Vattepally slum of Hyderabad with training 30 women in a small garage shutter. In a few months, the community and Corporator recognised the dire need for our intervention and allotted space to us in a semi-finished school in the heart of the slum. Since then, we have engaged over 500 women from the basti across multiple craft skills including:
Craft & Tourism based livelihoods in Shantiniketan, West Bengal
Since 2017, Craftizen, in collaboration with Women’s Interlink Foundation (WIF), has trained 650 rural and tribal women from villages near Shantiniketan in crafts like Bena Grass Jewellery, Kantha embroidery, Macramé, and Tailoring.
Our training curriculum included basic and advanced skills, design training and microenterprise development, focusing on product design and quality.
Market Linkages: Women sell at local craft haats for tourists and supply to local stores catering to year-round visitors, eliminating middlemen.
Impact:
70% earn regular income within two years
25% become entrepreneurs, employing 5–10 artisans each
Monthly earnings range from INR 2,500–7,000, increasing to INR 10,000–15,000 during peak tourist seasons and festivals like Poush Mela
This initiative empowers women with sustainable livelihoods while promoting local crafts to tourists.
Bengaluru Head Office:
Craftizen Foundation,
844, 1st Floor 2nd Cross, 7th Main Rd,
HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560038.
Regional Offices:
Hyderabad, Lucknow, Panaji, Pune.
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