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In addition to producing the 3 bags which, under the 'Cloth Bag' economic empowerment scheme, are already being sold locally, nationally, and internationally, some of the women included within the initiative have, of their own volition, started to expand the scope of the project by testing different designs of bag.

This demonstrates how the confidence, belief, enthusiasm, and aspirations for the project are all increasing in tandem with women’s technical skills.

This imaginative step taken by the women is likely to reap rewards because once these other designs are perfected, and added to the 'Baandhani collection', the women will be able to offer more options to the consumer. 

 

Recently (May 2012) a 'Show Home' has been formed on the Sanjay Nagar construction site in Miraj.  The contractor and the Sangli, Miraj & Kupwad Municipal Corporation (SMKMC) were requested by Shelter Associates to accelerate the block work, windows and doors for one residential unit on this construction site so that it could be used as a 'Show Home' to demonstrate the homes that the beneficiaries of the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Program will get under the scheme.

On 13th May 2012 Shelter Associates delivered the last of the 23 ‘Smokeless Chullahs’ that had been given, free of charge, to the 23 poorest families of the Sanjay Nagar community (who are currently all residing within the Sanjay Nagar transition camp). 

‘Smokeless Chullahs’ are a method of cooking (and heating water) which produce less noxious gases than traditional chullahs and open stoves; this means that they are better for the health of the cook, and the people (especially children) in the proximity.  The ‘Smokeless Chullahs’ also make cooking quicker, as they burn bio fuel more efficiently, and cheaper, as less bio fuel is required (please refer to ‘Shelter Associates: Smokeless Chullahs’ within the 'Videos' section of this website for more detail).

 

The residents of the Sanjay Nagar slum, in Miraj, moved to a transition camp in October 2011 to allow the slum to be demolished (please refer to ‘Peaceful relocation of Sanjaynagar Miraj to a transit camp' within the 'Downloads' section of this website for more detail).  Once the slum was cleared the Sangli, Miraj & Kupwad Municipal Corporation (SMKMC) was able to hand the site over to a contractor whose services had been engaged to carry out the construction of 14 buildings, which will accommodate a total of 434 residential units, on the site as part of the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Program (IHSDP). 

In addition to the essential service provided for the transition camp by the SMKMC (potable water, toilets, electricity and public lighting) the residents have established their own social services to suit their own specific requirements; the beneficiaries have established their own school (for the small children of the camp) and two shops.  The beneficiaries have also started to use much of the land immediately outside of their transit house and land around the transition camp for producing their own vegetables.  This local production of food reduces the beneficiaries’ expenses and reduces the requirement to bring vegetables into the community from outside.

 

On 22nd March 2012 Le Monde, a leading French newspaper, published an article and an infographe (photo story) of the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Program (IHSDP) in Sangli and Miraj.

Links to the article and photo story are below:

Original Le Monde article (French)

http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2012/03/22/en-inde-google-earth-se...

Le Monde infographe (French)

http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/infographe/2012/03/22/a-sangli-du-bidonvil...

Wordcrunch translation into English (dated 28th March 2012)

http://www.worldcrunch.com/google-earth-india-can-no-longer-hide-its-sha...

Times World (dated 28th March 2012)

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2110387,00.html

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