Village India A5.indd - Reaching the Unreached

Village India
reaching the unreached
2004
Village India Page 1
Welcome to our first brochure of household
handloom cotton products. They are made
in the village of Kallupatti, South India,
by local people working at Reaching the
Unreached (RTU), a rural development
charity helping the very poor, particularly
women and children. This district is one of
the poorest in India and is in the fifth year
of severe drought. Many crops have failed
and as nearly all the people depend on
agriculture there is little work. The average
income is less than £5 a month. Buying
from this catalogue directly supports the
poorest of the poor by providing some with
employment. Brother James Kimpton, who
founded RTU nearly 30 years ago explains
why finding work is so important ….
“In Indian villages if you have no work
today you will probably have no food
tomorrow. And if you are responsible for
a family the burden is still heavier, maybe
four or five others, including children, will
not eat also. Apart from agriculture, which
in our long droughts is such an uncertain
source of income, there is no other
alternative employment.
For this reason RTU provides a huge
amount of work – the handloom and batik
workshops mostly employ women who
make the best and safest use of their
earnings, much of which depend on export
orders to provide employment”.
Bro. James Kimpton.
Page 2 Reaching the Unreached
The handloom tradition
There are still millions of handlooms
across India. In spite of industrialisation
producing handwoven cotton remains
the world’s largest cottage industry.
There are thousands of years of
constantly refreshed tradition behind
the techniques and designs. The RTU
handloom unit produces all sorts of
handwoven goods and the range in this
brochure is just a very small selection.
Linked with the handloom is a section
which produces batik designs on
cotton. We are offering some of the
batik work made into Christmas Cards,
either as originals in packs of four or
reproduced in packs of eight. Quality
is high and products have been sold
around the world through various fair
trade organisations. This year’s range
is, we hope, the start of getting much
bigger sales for the handloom unit,
which has the capacity to employ many
more people if there was work. One of
the handloom weavers, pictured here
winding the yarn, says…..
“I am Kokila, 32 years old. I have two
sisters and a brother. As my father
passed away when we were kids, the
burden of caring for my family fell on
me. For this cause I remain unmarried.
In this condition, I am offered a job
(spinner) in the handloom unit-RTU. I am
so sure that without this job it will be
hard to earn my bread. Addition to my
salary I get Provident fund and gratuity
& other benefits. I will be happy if we
get more and regular orders as many
like me are relying on this to survive..”
Bedroom
Kolam - floor art exquisitely
drawn with pinches of rice
powder in front of houses
- is found throughout South
India. This one is from the
children’s village of Anbu
Illam, pictured on the front
cover.
Cosmetic Bag
A handy 100% cotton zip-top
bag with four inside pockets
to keep things organised and
a hanging loop for storage.
Size: 5.5 x 7 inches
Ref. 01 £3.50
Slippers
Give your feet a rest in these
100% cotton unisex mules.
For indoor use only, but
machine washable in
case you forget. They
are so comfy you’ll
forget you have them on.
Medium (size 3-6):
Ref. 02 £6.25
Large (size 7-10):
Ref. 03 £6.25
Single Bedspread
A very stylish lightweight
bedspread in an attractive
cream, waffle weave. 100%
cotton. Machine washable.
Size: 65 x 90 inches
Ref. 04 £29.50
Village India Page 3
Bathroom
Indian Cotton Towels
These natural, cream terry towels
will co-ordinate with most bathrooms.
Handloomed in 100% cotton they are
available in three sizes.
Machine washable.
Bath Towel
Size: 28 x 60 inches
Ref. 05 £8.95
Hand Towel
Size: 16 x 27 inches
Ref. 06 £3.25
Face Cloth
Size: 13 x 13 inches
Ref. 07 £1.50
Page 4 Reaching the Unreached
Exfoliating Mitten
Wash away the grime of the day and
exfoliate your skin keeping it looking
and feeling healthy and smooth. This
100% handloom cotton mitten is
suitable for all members of the family.
Size: 10 x 5.5 inches
Ref: 0000 £3.50
Toiletry Bags
Keep your toothbrush clean,
your soap dry and all your
toiletry items safe. These
co-ordinated 100% cotton
toiletry bags are perfect for
home use or travel.
The generous sized
bathroom bag has a wipe
clean waterproof lining and
zip fastner.
Toothbrush Bag
Size: 8 x 2.5 inches
Ref. 09 £2.50
Soap Bag
Size: 5.5 x 3.5 inches
Ref. 10 £2.25
Bathroom Bag
Size: 6.5 x 10 inches
Ref. 11 £3.75
Soap Scrubs
Kids ‘of all ages’ will love these natural
cream 100% cotton embroidered scrubs.
Simply place your soap inside, place your
hand under the band and wash away!
Hanging loop for drying.
Elephant Soap Scrub
Size: 5.5 x 4.5 inches
Ref. 12 £2.75
Whale Soap Scrub
Size: 7 x 4 inches
Ref. 13 £2.75
Village India Page 5
kitchen
Table Cloth
This classic cotton blue
checked tablecloth will
grace any table. 100%
handwoven cotton,
machine washable.
Size: 60 x 60 inches
Ref. 14 £6.75
Apron
Protect your clothes
from spills and
splashes with this
attractive 100% cotton
apron, with double front
pocket and adjustable
neck strap and tie
fastenings.
One size fits all.
35 x 28 inches
Ref. 15 £4.50
Page 6 Reaching the Unreached
Tea Towels
You can never have too
many tea towels! A set of
two, in natural creams and
browns, made from 100%
handwoven cotton.
Size: 20 x 28 inches each
Ref. 16 £3.25
The work of RTU India
RTU is situated in the foothills of the
Western Ghats close to Kodaikanal in
southwest Tamil Nadu. For nearly 30 years
RTU has helped provide local communities
with food, a water supply, education,
vocational training, medical care and
community health, day care centres, credit
assistance, free housing and financial
support to the elderly and infirm. Jobs and
training are centred around handloom and
batik workshops and making pre-fabricated
sections for the village houses which RTU
build. There are also computer skills and
tailoring courses. In the three children’s
villages housemothers in 70 small family
groups provide a caring, loving home for
450 abandoned children or those in difficult
circumstances. Latha, who is the manager
of a children’s village says…
“Destitute children, orphans and semiorphans are given care in our children’s
villages where they are getting love,
affection and a family atmosphere. Some
are doing professional courses including
medical and engineering. Profit of our
textile unit supports our children’s villages.
Your valuable support to this unit will help
us to sustain them in the future”.
RTU runs four full-time schools and supports
six others, providing education to a total of
2000 children. In addition it runs 11 preschools with 300 children, and five day-care
centres with 132. High school education is
also provided. Class sizes are limited to 25
students. Students take standardized, statewide assessments, and perform exceedingly
well.
The medical programme sees 250
outpatients each day, providing general
medical care, routine check-ups,
immunizations, burn treatments and free
medicine to those who need it most. HIV+
diagnosis and support is also provided as
the number of Aids sufferers is growing
rapidly. There is also outreach work including
mass-immunizations, eye and dental
treatment. Routine check-ups are also
performed at the RTU schools twice a year
for all of the students. Training is provided
for women in remote, rural areas as village
health workers. They can offer treatment for
common illness, prepare herbal medicines,
provide pre-natal care and manage
deliveries.
Village India Page 7
A
A. Original batik
Christmas Cards
A pack of four handmade
original cotton batik cards.
The insides are blank for
your own message.
Size: 5.7 x 4.2 inches each
Ref. 17 £4.75
C
B
RTU in the UK
RTU is almost entirely supported by donations from people in
countries outside India. People in the UK provide the major part
of the funding and we have always kept admin. and costs to a
minimum. We have set up a company wholly owned by the RTU
charity to import and sell the handloom products. Our aim is not to
make a profit but to provide as much work as we can in Kallupatti.
Supporting RTU’s development work
If you are not already one of the regular supporters of RTU you
may wish to make a donation to support the general development
work. Everything you give is sent to India without deduction. RTU
meets its (very low) administrative costs by using some of the
tax reclaimed under the Gift Aid scheme. If you are a UK taxpayer
please complete the Gift Aid declaration on the order form. (This
does not apply to the goods you buy but only to any extra amount
you choose to donate)
B. RTU Christmas Cards
A pack of eight Christmas
cards, two of each of the
batik designs reproduced on
a card. The message inside
reads, Wishing you peace
and joy.
Size: 5.7 x 4.2 inches each
Ref. 18 £2.95
C. RTU Notecards
A pack of six cards three
each of two designs. The
insides are blank for your
own message.
Size: 5.7 x 4.2 inches each
Ref. 19 £2.25
More information
You can see a big range of
pictures and get lots more
information about the work of
RTU in India at www.rtuindia.org
Information about RTU in the UK
(the support organisation at this
end) can be found at www.rtu.
org.uk
You can email us at info@rtu.
org.uk or you can write to or
telephone us using the details
below.
How to order
To give you some idea of what support for RTU achieves We have included an order form
£8.00 provides support for an elderly person for a month
£12.00 covers the cost of food and all other essentials for
one child for a month
£16.50 supports a foster mother for a month
£20.00 will provide the salary of a teacher for a month
£350.00 will build a new family house or pay for a tube well
and pump for 45 families.
Spread the word
Please show this brochure to family and friends and either ask us
for more copies or pass on to us names and address of people
we can send it to. We will not make your name, address or details
available to any other organisation.
Page 8 Reaching the unreached
Unreached
with this brochure. Simply fill
this in and return to:
RTU Village India
18 Northumberland Avenue
Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 4XE.
If there is no order form ring
0191 284 0052 and we will
send you one immediately – you
can also talk to someone about
an order on this number.
Thankyou