The Handloom School

It is a project of an NGO named Women Weave. In 2013 The Handloom School was launched in Maheshwar. It supports, nurtures and incubates a young genera Read moretion of weaver-entrepreneurs through initial training programmes. Women Weave started in 2002, supports local women and ensures handloom weaving to be a profitable, sustainable and dignified form of livelihood for them. It further enhances women’s lives, including health, childcare, and personal empowerment. It claims to employ 300+ women as weavers and ancillary workers. In 2015, The Handloom School was launched formally with an inaugural batch of 15 students, through a three-year grant of Rs. 1.21 crores from Tata Trusts. It is an extension of its programme named Young Weavers Entrepreneurship Development Program. It provides innovative, practical multidisciplinary learning experience with knowledge and skills to enable them to be self-sufficient in the global marketplace. India's 13 designers used handloom cloth co-created by the graduates of the school to design ensembles for Amazon India Fashion Week 2017. School claims to have trained 100 young weavers from the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal and Telangana in short term workshops as well as year-long courses till now. It claims to have trained 9 batches with 125 graduates with details like 16 alumni became entrepreneurs and 12 intra-preneurs. Post graduates started 10 new businesses. In total 62 weavers are claimed to be employed by graduates and production, marketing activities of 110 weavers are managed by graduates of the school.