Livelihood Restoration and Build-back through Protective Mask-Making

With a near-zero nest egg, the COVID 19 pandemic has brought those dependent on daily wages and earnings, back to the edge of poverty. Moreover, the high population density slums they live in makes them particularly susceptible to the contagion.

• While our deep engagement with the communities we are engaged in, got Team ETASHA started on providing emergency support to these vulnerable families from the first week of the lockdown, we soon realised that while emergency relief was sufficient initially, income generation opportunities are required for sustenance in the medium term. 
• This project was, therefore, designed to help daily wage workers earn a living, provide food and protection for themselves and their families, and live with dignity.
• The project model is a unique blend of ‘Remote Management of a Distributed Production Process enabling Aggregated Distribution of products.’ Production is undertaken by daily-wage-dependent families, logistics and marketing is undertaken by team members and beneficiaries of ETASHA’s programs living in the community, while senior team members monitor the project remotely.
• The core strategy is to provide Relief to community members not just from a health perspective but by Restoring the incomes and dignity of every beneficiary. Through training and market linkages and creation of home-based enterprises, these beneficiaries will be encouraged to Rebuild their lives and Build-back the economy.
• Production of Protective masks is being undertaken in view of the huge current as well as on-going demand for the next few years. Moreover, the required skills are commonly available in the community, and will get honed through this project allowing these families to build back their lives in the psot-COVID era.
• Men, women as well as youth are engaged based upon their skills and willingness. Our effort is to engage only one person from a family, so as to involve more households and ensure distribution of earnings across a wider section of the community.

The project will have multi-dimensional impact:

• It will help provide protection from COVID 19 to the most vulnerable
• It will provide opportunity for sustained income generation and restoration of dignity of the community members in a context where doles and charity are being handed out as short-term relief measures.
• It will help develop and hone skills of the workers which will help rebuild their lives and enable them support themselves and their families.
• It will create valuable assets within the community through the home-based enterprises and market linkages which will help the workers and the community transition smoothly to the post- COVID era and create a support system for them to tide over such emergencies in the future.