The Jugaad of all arts

Handmade materials are something that are increasingly gaining in popularity. DIY is stuff that we make from the waste materials that we find in our house. The NGO Jugaad based out of Faridabad, Haryana is making utilitarian products out of the waste material to employ women and educate children who cannot afford to go to schools. Sharing details about Jugaad is Rachna Pradhan who works as an accountant...

Tell us how Jugaad started?
It was back in the year 1996 we started off with a charity home called the Karam Marg Charitable Society. We started getting funds from India and internationally funding as well. Our president believed that we should not be depending on the funds but do something on our own to run this society.  That’s when Jugaad started in the 2005. First we started off with newspaper bags and stationary and then went on with the other products.

What are the creative products that Jugaad makes?
Jugaad has a lot of varieties of bags, accessories, home décor, jewellery, stationary, apparels, etc. Everything is recycled and handmade and is sustainable too.

How are these products made?
We get the left out cloths from the tailor and start making things out of it. Earlier we used to pick up these cloths for free, but now we need to pay for them. We buy from big factory outlets and then dye the cloth with vegetable dyes to get the colour and use them for making our products. 

How many are employed with Jugaad?
The number of village women we work with us is around 40 to 60. Apart from that we are 13 people who look after the office work of Jugaad. These women are from old Faridabad; these women come to the workshop and make these materials. The whole motto of Jugaad is to provide employment to these women.

How many days of training is given to women?
It depends on how much ability they have. Some are very quick learners; they grasp the work in two days and some of them who are slow need training of ten days. Ladies anyways have been brought up doing stitching so it is not a tough task.

Does Jugaad have a retail store?
Yes! We do have a retail outlet in Delhi which is at Saket which is our own shop. We supply for few people who are in the southern part of India. One products are at Daram store in Begumpet, Hyderabad. There is one in Chennai named Goli Soda where we supply our products.  There is a handmade online creative store  tokri.com which is in Madhya Pradesh who sell are products online. We do exports to UK. We have the paper bags in Australia, Italy and Netherlands. 

What are the future plans at Jugaad
We want to diversify our products and spread the word around and become more environmental friendly.