उरमूल प्राकृतिक रंगाई कलस्टर कार्यक्रम -Indian Micro Enterprises Development Foundation(IMEDF)
Project Name Urmalu Natural Dyeing Cluster ProgramScope of the Project Bikaner DistrictFinancial Assistance Indian Micro Enterprises Development Foundation.Associate Organizations Desert Resource Center and Urmul Simant, Bajju, Project start April 2020Background On working as an implementing agency, Urmul Trust aims to promote the development of the Natural Dyeing Cluster in Bajju village, Bikaner district, Rajasthan. The cluster was approved by SSC under the SFURTI scheme by the Ministry of MSME. 1. Urmul Trust is contributing towards generating employment opportunities for people by enhancing their soft skills through various contributing programs. For the purpose of supplementing the incomes earned by 600+ artisans, nautical artefacts are created through organized production of high value. 2. To set up a state-of-the-art facility for the processing, value addition and premium marketing of handmade nautical artefacts to create jobs and boost local economic development. 3. Develop necessary institutional and governance support systems for facilitating the organized, holistic and sustainable development of the clusterUrmul Natural dyeing cluster: A snapshot Implementing Agency (IA): Urmul Rural Health Research & Development Trust Name of Nodal Agency (NA): Indian Micro Enterprises Development Foundation Technical Agency (TA): Desert Resource Center (DRC) 1. Number of Artisans benefitted: proposed 650 artisans to be benefitted. In the last two years over 1000 artisans got income through cluster interventions 2. Revenue for the FYs 21 & 22: a. Financial Year 2021: INR 99, 69, 637 b. Financial Year 2022: INR 89, 75, 497 3. Key clients: Okhai, Swadesh Creation, RA studio, Rangsutra, Ikea 4. Total number of pieces made in 2022 till date: 20,000 5. Total number of staff currently working in the cluster 25 peopleAnnual Progress Report The Natural dyeing cluster development journey was initiated in April 2020 amidst the peak of the pandemic. The initial development phase was disrupted by the pandemic and its effects on it which affected the Implementing organization severally. Nevertheless, the cluster development work recovered and advanced. In the last two years, the journey has been very encouraging for the artisans on accounts of sustained income during the pandemic recovery, greening the textile value chain and innovations in diversifying the sourcing, material and product. Capacity Building – Artisan training and exposure Throughout the year capacity building and inputs support interventions were organized covering training on various aspects including craft enhancement, business management, finance, inventory management, and digital tools. Various market exposures were also organized by the cluster this year. Artisans were sent to Delhi, Pune, and Mumbai for marketing exhibitions. Further, several industry dialogues with agencies and sector leaders from industry & academia were organized during the period. The cluster also entered an agreement with IICD, Jaipur for capacity enhancement interventions. Support rendered by Urmul Trust is in the field of soft skill development. Multiple training sessions have been initiated in order to facilitate the overall development of the skills of an artisan. Specialized training offered are: Block Printing TrainingTie-Dye TrainingEmbroidery Kashida Training Product Development Training Digital TrainingProduct development, Innovation & Marketing The cluster has been consistently delivering production for bulk as well as retail orders. Key clients include Ikea, Okhai, and Swades. Recently the cluster has also launched digital commerce services and the products are now available on Okhai, Jaypore, and Itokri. Over 20000 pieces have been made to date this year. Currently, the production includes yardage of fabric and stitched apparel. Recently, The cluster expanded its product portfolio and introduced natural fibre-based acoustics and thermal insulation products at the Smart city expo in New Delhi. Products have been wholeheartedly appreciated and the cluster has already secured an order for almost 5 tons of naturally dyed organic fibre feltThe technical agency has been supporting all these processes for the cluster. The technical agency has supported the cluster with both domestic and international market connections. Additional funding opportunities in the scale of almost INR 50 lakhs were facilitated by the Technical agency through HDFC CSR, Selco Foundation, and ELHRA. The technical agency has also granted over 25 lahks INR at the request of SPV for CFC development. This enabled the cluster to diversify its product portfolio and sharpen its marketing strategy.Revenue & Profit distribution Infrastructure & Machinery a. Common Facility Centre: The facility has been completed and is in use for various manufacturing, quality control, design, dyeing, weaving, and block printing functions. Various spaces created in the CFC enable almost 50 people to comfortably operate out of the centre. High-quality construction materials and green built environment techniques like passive cooling, extensive use of lime, extensive ventilation, fly ash bricks etc have enabled a very human-friendly structure. The structure has evolved as an inspiring model for green building at an optimum cost. DRC provided technical support in the conceptualisation of the building. Our Built Environment team worked with the implementing agency on developing a beautiful building. As against the originally proposed 9000 sq ft of construction, we were able to double the space, to accommodate the requirements of additional process and production functions. This expansion was made possible by financial contributions made by other funders including Selco Foundation, HDFC CSR and Desert Resource Centre Innovation Fund. There are almost INR 70 lakhs in additional funding which were raised by DRC for the CFC. Throughout the process, the building has been validated by external engineers for its quality of work and structural strength. b. Digital Learning Centre A state-of-the-art low cost and innovative digital learning centre was developed and significantly helped the cluster communicate with the artisans and markets during the pandemic. The smart centre enabled digital & distance training for the artisans and showcased the products to potential clients. The centre has been developed using natural fibre for insulation and farm-waste-based agri-boards. This design innovation has enabled efficient thermal insulation and excellent acoustics. This innovation opened pathways for the usage of natural fibres for thermal insulation and acoustics functions. Further R&D was undertaken and very recently a range of products made out of natural fibre has been introduced at the Smart City Expo 2022 in New Delhi. Machinery A wide range of tools and machines have been procured and put in functioning for different processes at the unit. Sophisticated lab equipment has been set up to enable the highest levels of quality control in procurement and manufacturing. On the production front - looms, jigger, dyeing infrastructure, fabric washing lines, and material movement trolleys. Additionally, a solar grid has also been installed at the CFC to power the unit with clean energy. Specific:Construction work on Digital Training Hall has been done. In which some special type of new technology has been used. For: natural air conditioning has been made, walls have been made of agro board and sheep and camel wool has been used in the middle.Construction of the Urmul Natural Dyeing Cluster at Urmulu Campus, Bajju has been completed 95 per cent. The work of finishing and wood is in progress. The cluster has been constructed keeping in view the geographical conditions. Different techniques have been used. For example:- Fly Ashbiric has been mostly used, windows and skylights and doors have been constructed smoothly for air and sunlight. Rohtak Dam has been made technically.The following machines have been made available at Urmalu Natural Dyeing Cluster. Such as Sewing Machines, Cutting Machine, Hinge Machine, High-Quality Press 1⁄4 Iron 1⁄2, Stain Remover 1⁄4 Stain Remover 1⁄2, Wooden Headloom, Charkha, Cloth Checking Machine at different stages, Goods Stores Etcetera.
