In a bid to creating sustainable cotton supply chain from farm to store, Primark recently announced a six-year extension of its effective collaboration with the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in Gujarat, meant to support women farmers in the state, introduce sustainable farming methods, improve cotton yields and increase their incomes.
After a three-year pilot programme, called CottonConnect that resulted in an average rise in profits by 211 per cent, Primark decided to take this project forward.
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The extension will see an additional 10,000 female farmers roped in through the Programme, and the initial ‘graduate’ women farmers will be taken to the next level, making them learn how to become successful entrepreneurs.
Primark has been a major consumer of Indian cotton for its clothing brands, and is the first Western brand to approach SEWA to form a partnership. All this is part of the company’s initiatives to make a difference in women’s life across all operation levels.
A noble effort, made by the brand a few years ago, has now created many stories. A woman smallholder, Kanchanben, told that after she was brought under the purview of the CottonConnect programme, she has become aware of the importance of education, and she invests the extra income into her children’s education. One of her children is studying at the best school in the area, and another is first in her class. She’s very proud of them, and is proud of herself too.
From a larger perspective, there have been several developments in women’s lives in the area on various fronts, like the women folk here have become agriculturally and socially active. Their voices are being heard and respected. The most encouraging fact is that their husbands are proud of them.
