We are delighted that we were able to resume our women's program in September after months of covid related challenges.
Melkavatty is special because our present trainer Lalitha, who was once a student at Earth Trust's first round of training at Melkavatty six years ago. She has trained several students in many Badaga villages since. However, she deems it a privilege and honour to be able to train women at her own village this time around.
The speed at which our Melkavatty trainees have picked up knitting and crochet in under 4 weeks is indeed very heartening. It must be said that all Badaga women have an innate talent for these crafts like their grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Earth Trust strives to bring back what was lost to them for two or three generations.
Besides health awareness and skill development, we are also conducting basic computer classes, thanks to the computers donated by Arcadis along with the ten new sewing machines.
The atmosphere in the little community hall allocated to us by the village headman is alive with children and even a few adopted strays! They sit around listening to the chatter and syncopated rhythm of the novices on the sewing machine.
The pandemic break prior to this training was spent fruitfully upgrading our own skills and mentoring, monitoring, and motivating our 'alumni' in remote villages over the phone.