Adrija Shukla, Nidhi Nagpal
A thread and a needle can create millions of designs together on a cloth. Each of them begins with a stich. ‘Kachcha Dhaga’ comes from the concept of this stitch that is formed by amalgamating the threads of passion and dreams. The organisation comprises of people who weave their destinies by filling lives with happiness.
Kachcha Dhaga is a social enterprise of Jammu that is a confluence of passion and art, which empowers many women from the far flung areas of Jammu Villages. There is something unique about the apparels of this organisation. The weaving done on each piece speaks volumes about the amount of efforts that goes into its making.
Elegant colour combinations with enigmatic patterns on the clothes make the viewer curious to see the design closely. But these ideas come to Bhisham Sethi, who is an NRI, out of the simplest things of daily life. Suffering from a rare spinal cord disease, that doesn’t have a cure, he is on a wheel chair. His passion for fabrics and love for colours takes him into another world. “My pockets got torn by getting entangled into this wheelchair, so, I have come up with the idea of pockets on front side of Kurtas”, he said.
Mr. Sethi says that you can cherish what you wear when you feel free in it. “During the time of light breeze when wind blows into the jacket, what appeals to eyes is a design inside it.”, he says. People feel these designs are one of their own kind. He recalled the time when someone wrote in visitor’s book, “each piece says so much.”
Kachcha Dhaga currently provides employment to 30 women from the villages of Tindi and Chakrohi. The women associated with the organisation mainly come from the lower income groups. They also organize workshop to teach their style to the women. Renu, who Mr. Sethi’s partner coordinates these workshop, is definitely the backbone of this enterprise. “We want to make their lives better”, she said.
The garments produced by Kachcha Dhaga are high end products. That happens because each piece takes days to complete. “People don’t believe the products have been made by hands. We never compromise on the quality of raw material”, said Mr. Sethi. An admirer of Kantha artwork, Mr. Sethi believes in the magic that simplest form of handmade stitches create on the cloth. He says that to preserve an art, valuing artist is equally important.
Kachcha Dhaga is Mr. Sethi’s dream project that took shape of a social enterprise. His love for work was visible in his shining eyes when he showed his creations. This thread of aspirations has woven the dreams of Mr. Sethi and many women of Jammu villages together. In 5 years down the line, he aims to transform his organisation into world class trendsetter.
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