Hasuben
was born in Mindiara. Her
parents had sheep and goats and migrated to Gujarat-
Vadodara, Baruch, Ankleshwar. As a child, she cared for
the lambs. She married in Lodai 17 years ago. Her
husband also herds sheep and goats. He grazes them
nearby, staying with the herds, and comes home
occasionally. Hasuben has one daughter, 12 years old,
and one son 9 years old. Both go to school. Hasuben
learned embroidery from her mother at age 10 or so. Her
mother made her do it, she recalls. When she had brought
half of her dowry, embroidery was banned. In any case,
many things are no longer in use, she says. Before the
ban, Hasuben did embroidery for others in the community
for wages. After marriage, she used to quilt to help
others, but not for money. She did Shrujan work for 2-3
years, but when Kala Raksha came after the earthquake in
2004 she started to work with Kala Raksha.
Hasuben has been a Kala Raksha
coordinator since 2002. The Lodai group needed a new
coordinator. Hasuben volunteered. She wanted to come
back to the village so that her daughter could be
educated. But she wondered how she could do it when she
herself was not educated? The previous coordinator said
this is your subject, so it will be easy. "I wanted to
educate my daughter,” Hasuben says. Hasuben believes
that embroidery is a noble heritage. It is a symbol of
trust. There are many fewer artisans now, she adds.
Today, they go for labour work. It is all about money.
We need to raise wages and they will do good work.
Hasuben's expectations from course are to learn a lot.
"We'll have to think," she says. "If we don't make an
effort, we never learn anything."
Her aspirations are many! My daughter
should not have troubles like I did, she says, and she
should remember me. She should be able to run a business
too. Also my son. He should be independent, self
sufficient, distinguished. I am a labourer, Hasuben
says. No matter how I run I can't get ahead. Money is
limited; you can't get ahead from that.
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