SELCO Internship Report

[Type text] [Type text] [Type text]

Project – Kowdi Kutumba Livelihood Improvement for the under -served communities of urban slums

The women of the urban slums indulge themselves in local patchwork art form of Kowdi.

By using and marketing the products they prepare, we are trying to improve the livelihoods

of the under-served families.

A Livelihood Improvement Effort

Kowdi Kutumba: An Effort to Improve the Livelihoods of the Urban

Under-Served Communities.

A Project Report submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Arts in Development (M.A. in Development)

Azim Premji University

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF:

ORGANIZATION GUIDES: UNIVERSITY GUIDE:

Mr. Roshan Mascarenhas Mr. Balamurli Natarajan

Ms. Vaishali Rao Associate Professor, Azim

Premji University

COMPILED BY:

Anupa Chakraborty

Master of Arts in Development

Semester IV

MAD13026

January 9, 2015


ABSTRACT

One of the biggest challenges in India is to cope up with the wave of urbanization which has

been unleashed by the economic liberalization. Over 160 million people have migrated

from rural areas to urban cities in search of employment opportunities and better living

conditions. But, this has not worked out well for the migrants because there is lack of

infrastructure and employment opportunities for them that have given rise to illegal and

unhealthy slums in and around the out skirts of the mega cities and metros. The ill –

equipped urban systems and the informal housing that are the slums have expanded

exponentially in the last few decades without proper access to basic services such as

sanitation, healthcare, education, and law and order. This report shows the effort carried

out to improve an important aspect of the slum dwellers’ lives – livelihood improvement.

This includes providing alternative livelihood opportunities to the slum dwellers, mainly

the women. The women of the urban slums indulge themselves in local patchwork art form

of Kowdi. By helping them to tailor products out of those patchwork items and marketing

those products, we are making an effort to increase their livelihood opportunity and

income for their families. There are lots of expenses for a family and the larger the families

the more is the expense. Slums are places for the urban poor and in order to survive in

urban areas it is necessary that they have a regular employment source so as to provide

their families with the basic necessities of life. Therefore, SELCO Foundation has taken up

the initiative to start providing alternative livelihood solutions to the under - served

communities of the slums in Bangalore, one of the initiatives being the Kowdi Kutumba.


INTRODUCTION:

Poverty – an extreme form of underdevelopment - exists since the incomes of some people

are not adequate even to meet their basic consumption, and this can be due to several

reasons. Usually, the only asset of people living in slums is their ability to do physical

labour and they may end up in poverty, if the income earned from such (unskilled) labour

is not adequate to meet the needs of basic consumption and amenities. This can happen if

the number of jobs available and/or wage rate for unskilled work is low and hence the total

income that they can get in a year is inadequate to meet the basic consumption. There

could be vicious cycles that may lead to the persistent of poverty. There is a possible

linkage between population growth, natural resource use, and poverty or under-

development. The people in poverty who depend only on their physical labour to mobilize

food, water. etc., may have an incentive to have more number of `hands’ - more number of

children. For them, having children could be the only form of social security. This may

perpetuate poverty. The construction workers of the urban slums face all such vicious

cycles of poverty. The income which comes out of their work is also very low and therefore

there is a need for development intervention so as to provide them better livelihood not

only to the male workers but also the efficient women of their families.

WORKING ORGANIZATION – SELCO FOUNDATION:

It had been noticed by the sustainable energy practitioners that access to energy impacts

the rural as well as urban population in terms of livelihood, productivity, education, health

as well as living conditions. In 2010, SELCO Foundation was created as an independent not-

for-profit organization with a view to improve energy access for the rural and urban poor

to support their livelihood and overall quality of life. Since then, SELCO Foundation has

been expanding to provide reliable energy services for the impoverished sections of the

society. SELCO Foundation tries to link the sustainable energy to eradication of poverty

where it collaborates with local Non - Government Organizations, Financial Institutions,

Education Institutions and Social Enterprises. The Foundation therefore tries to spread its

innovations and services to the underserved communities.


THE COMMUNITY:

Kowdi Kutumba are an under-served community living in Nagvara Palya, Bangalore, who

are migrants from North Karnataka and have been doing the patchwork form of Kowdi at a

household level making quilts for themselves with pieces of clothes put together. This art

form needs to be preserved as it is a traditional form of work of the Northern Karnataka.

Kowdi is a traditional craft form, an ethnic craft marketed locally by creating interest in the

culture and by maintaining high quality. Local social worker from community partner

organization identified the slum and the community living in Nagvar Palya. The community

is vulnerable due to insecure livelihood requiring market linkages and temporary

settlement status. SELCO Foundation, therefore, looked into the vulnerability of the people

of the slum with respect to employment opportunities and generation of income by using

energy as an entry point intervention to explore the potential livelihood avenues with

women from the slum in Nagvara Palya.

PRESENT LIVELIHOOD STATUS:

The Kowdi community is a group of people who have migrated from North Karnataka in

search of employment and a better quality of life. The problem with this fact is that these

people are not really skilled to get jobs in good enterprises in urban areas. They mostly get

the jobs of construction workers in the construction sites and they inhabit lands nearby the

construction sites itself. The male and female members of the community in Nagvara Palya

are mostly into construction work. A part of the female members also do housekeeping

works in the nearby apartments and earn some money. Most of the women who have kids

stay back in house and take care of the kids and only the male members go out for work.

Basically, construction work and Housekeeping work are the main source of livelihood for

the community. They are mostly into informal work sector and they do not have regular

jobs. Weekly they have 3 to 4 days of work. On an average each household has an income of

Rs. 4000 – Rs. 8000 in which they have to take care of the health, food, education and other

necessities within each family. Whatever they earn by then, either gets consumed fully or if

by luck they are able to save then they use it when they do not have work. The construction


work is not a regularized job for them and they are on contract basis or daily basis. So there

is a huge threat that they might lose the job any time. The contractors who employ the

members of this community also exploit them a lot. At times they pay low wages whereas

other times they delay in paying the wages at all. This irregularity and non - perennial

nature of their employment makes it necessary to provide them alternative and regular

kind of livelihood avenues.

PROBLEMS FACED BY THE KOWDI COMMUNITY:

The mass produced goods are steadily replacing utility items of daily use made by the

community. There is very limited public awareness of the cost effectiveness, functionality

and range of the Kowdi products. The urban consumers do not have access to many of the

products. The people within the Kowdi Community are bound in their struggle for their

own survival from the money lenders, traders and middlemen due to which they are unable

to focus on the work. Women struggle to enter the economic mainstream and therefore we

are trying to encourage them to make use of their traditional craft to become wage earners

and show them the way to get access to the market.

LINKS BETWEEN ENERGY AND LIVELIHOOD:

Energy has both direct and indirect impacts on the livelihoods of the poor. Perhaps

surprisingly, there has been little attention to energy within the livelihoods framework,

despite its recognitions as a key aspect of physical capital. The urban poor are largely

dependent on small-scale enterprises for generating income: street food vendors, small-

scale manufacturing and repair services are common. The informal sector forms an

important part of coping strategies particularly for women. But this is not enough. Ener gy

poverty is related to lack of better living conditions and employment opportunity. Two of

the primary barriers for the poor are access to value-based technology and reliable energy.

The lack of access to electricity prevents the poor from creating sufficient employment

opportunities and enterprises. Decentralized, sustainable energies like solar power, when

effectively linked to livelihoods, can act as a catalyst to empower the poor to create assets


for themselves. Mapping the needs of the poor at the level where the solutions are

implemented is needed to be carried out. For example, focus on industries directly related

to people's livelihoods (such as agriculture, silk production and the home-based garment

industry) and formulation of technology interventions that have the potential for

integration with renewable energy are required. Project Kowdi also started as an entry

point intervention to explore the potential livelihood avenues with women from the urban

slums. In this regard, an efficient small sewing machine, for example, can run on solar for

home-based tailoring units to make products out of the Kowdi patch works. This will save

time, energy and will be efficient and increase productivity. Therefore, energy in this sense

will help in improving the livelihood opportunities for the urban poor in the slums.

KOWDI PRODUCTS FROM KOWDI KUTUMBA:

Products should be manufactured in a way that it gives maximum satisfaction to the target

customers at reasonable prices. The Kowdi products have been designed in such a way that

the utilitarian value of the products remains intact. Sling Bags, Laptop Covers, I – Pad Bags,

Table Runners, Organizers, Wall Hangings, Pillow Covers, Mobile Pouches, Pencil Pouches,

etc. are some of the products which provide high utility to the target customers at

reasonable prices. A lot of thought has been put into what kind of products need to be

made. And the designers and the entrepreneurs came up with the above mentioned set of

products which are not only utility based and gives customer satisfaction but are cost

effective and generates revenue delivering income to the women of the Kowdi community.

VALUE ADDING CHAINS IN KOWDI:

Identification of market opportunities

Prototype design and development / adaption and refinement

Test marketing


Upgrading equipping facilities

Securing inputs

Entrepreneurial hiring, training, managing

Production, quality control and packaging

Costing and pricing

Physical distribution

Export market development

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MARKET:

Over a period of time that there have been a high demand for both utilitarian and

traditional kowdi craft in the domestic market, but, most of the craftsmen live below the

poverty line because middlemen exploit traditional artisans.

Ms. Vaishali Rao is the new entrepreneur putting in the efforts to set up the small scale

enterprise for the Kowdi products and finding market linkages and setting up market for

the target customers along with designer Mrs. Shahana Ahmed who has been helping us

with the designs of all the products as well as training the women of the slum to make the

patchworks far more better than the first time they had started the work.

The Kowdi craft segment falls into the mid – to – high – end markets and can be sold by

small chains and independent retail stores. From the market research, it has been observed

that, the Kowdi craft targets customers or consumers who can be described as persons


living in tier 1 or tier 2 city, aged 18 – 40 and fits into the A1 – A2 bracket of the Socio –

Economic Classification System in India.

MARKET COMPETITIONS:

Kowdi Kutumba, a new brand, set up in the year 2014 has identified some competitions in

the market. Following are the two most important competitors which have been thriving in

the business of handicrafts but not necessarily Kowdi -

Large Retail Outlets – Fabindia and Mother Earth:

- Because of its early start, FabIndia was able to get prime mover advantage resulting

in cost advantage.

- Mother Earth is a relatively new set up but progressing at a faster pace.

- Both Fabindia and Mother Earth price their products highly whereas Kowdi

Kutumba prices its products relatively at a lower rate.

- The products of Fabindia and Mother Earth have an enormous range but they are

not specialized in a particular kind of craft whereas Kowdi Kutumba is specializes in

Kowdi craft and produces a range of products within the same segment – Kowdi

sling bags, laptop covers, I-pad bags, mobile pouches, pencil pouches, wall hangings,

table runners, organizers are some examples of Kowdi products.

Machine Made Products:

- Machine made products are another set of competitors as they are relatively cheap

and easily accessible while Kowdi products are meant for specific group of people

and may not be available in bulk everywhere. Therefore, people who are socially

and culturally conscious and demand these traditional products so as to make

difference through the purchase and contribute to the cause become the major

stakeholders of these products.


CUSTOMERS:

Demographic data

Sl. No Attributes Detail

1. Age 18 - 40

2. Gender Female (85%), Male (15%)

3. Income Middle Income to High Income 4. Profession Service, Business, Students

5. City Type Tier 1 and Tier 2 6. SEC System1 A1 – A2 bracket

Source – Survey conducted by Kowdi Kutumba of customers, potential customers and

shopkeepers across Bangalore.

a. Psychographic data

Sl. No Attributes Detail

1. Socially Conscious Consumers becoming more aware of where the products come from who makes them

2. Culturally Conscious Craftspeople and processes are an integral part of our intangible cultural heritage

3. Eco – Friendly Consumers opt for eco-friendly and sustainable products and Kowdi Kutumba provides the same.

4. Fashionable Fashion sets us apart from the crowd and Kowdi Kutumba maintains the fashion sense.

5. Traditional Kowdi in itself is a traditional craft and customers opt for traditional products over western products to show their “Indian - ness.”

The demographic and psychographic data makes them an ideal target for adoption and

the diffusion of the idea of actively buying traditional Indian crafts. These people have just

the right mix of attitude, purchasing power and status to provide a sizeable domestic

market for Kowdi.

1 Socio – Economic Classifications Systems (SEC) is a system created by the Market Research Society of India (MRSI). It uses education and occupation data to segment households in India. This is the most commonly used

market segmenting tool in the country.


MARKET PLAN:

The target audience is driven by their psychographic data. They want craft products to be

socially, culturally and environmentally friendly. They want new and up-to-date designs

and most of all they demand quality. So by highlighting these aspects in our marketing

strategy we can increase domestic market sales.

Branding:

Lots of masses have no idea of what Kowdi actually is. The whole idea of initiating the

Kowdi Craft as a project was to give recognition to this specific traditional craft as well as

to the women in the slums who are involved in this craft. There was a need to make the

masses aware of such craft and the cause behind marketing of the products, ther efore, the

brand Kowdi Kutumba was created with a specific logo which established the background

of the craft and the reason for taking up such initiative.

Customers:

As explained earlier, the demographic and the psychographic aspects of customers play

very important role. Demand for socially, culturally and environmentally friendly products

along with their up – to – date designs have increased. Therefore looking into the desired

Marketing Plan

Promotion

Sales and Distribution

ProductsBranding

Customers


behavior of the customers and what they demand is an essential entry point of the

marketing plan of Kowdi products.

Products:

Products should be manufactured in a way that it gives maximum satisfaction to the target

customers at reasonable prices. Sling Bags, Laptop Covers, I – Pad Bags, Table Runners,

Organizers, Wall Hangings, Pillow Covers, Mobile Pouches, Pencil Pouches, etc. are some of

the products with high utility.

Promotion:

It is essentially important to promote the products designed so that the demands for such

products increase and ample amount of sales can generate revenue. In this light, we have

been trying to promote our Kowdi products through exhibitions in platforms like Facebook,

Sunday Soul Santhe, Green Haat and Phoenix Market City - 080. This helps in directly

interacting with the target customers as well as large retail outlet holders interested in

exporting the Kowdi products. Also we are trying to promote our products by distributing

brochures and catalogs for the same to retail outlets and independent organization

interested in keeping stock of our products.

Sales and Distribution:

Sales and Distribution are important phases in marketing. It is important to identify

particular distributors because Kowdi products are such that it takes time to be

manufactured in bulk and the sales of such product requires perfect location or platform to

attract target customers. It is essential to identify distributors in such a way so that they

can reach the target customers as much as possible and sell the products generating

revenue for Kowdi Kutumba. As of now we have identified few exporters who are

interested in exporting the products and retail stores like Cinnamon, Ambara, ANTS Store,

Snapdeal.com, ITShandmade.in, etc. that help in reaching out to the customers within

Bangalore (Bangalore has been considered because of easy accessibility and availability).


MAJOR DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS THAT CAN HELP GENERATE REVENUE:

Wholesalers:

Besides offering wide range of goods to retailers for direct sales, this channel also supplies

large quantities of individual articles. One of the distinguishing features of wholesalers is to

provide distribution and storage facilities. Specialized wholesalers deal in sales to retailers

as well as to final consumers. They maintain high quality standards and have a narrower

and in-depth range of products.

Importers/distributors:

We can use importers/distributors to market and sell our Kowdi products. They buy and

sell on their own account. Thus, we can take advantage of the distributor's expertise, his

sales force and his existing distribution channels. Distributors call on giftware and

handicrafts retailers, purchasing groups and supermarkets where we can stock our

products. The distributors' mark-up varies depending on the item, but at least 50 percent.

While the mark-ups vary according to the distributor; they usually also depend on the

exclusivity of a product and on its competitiveness in the overall market.

Department Stores:

If we are interested in establishing business contacts with major department stores, mail-

order houses and retailers then we may also choose the direct approach. Department

stores in particular, prefer to deal directly with manufacturers. Their buyers are very

specialized and only handle a limited range of products. At some occasions department

stores also buy through independent commercial agents. Quite often they have their own

buyers as well as a few agents that usually work with them and who know their

assortments. If a department store decides to import a particular item, it places bulk rather

than small orders.

Internet Sales:

It is anticipated that the Kowdi products can be put forth for electronic sales, which are

estimated to reach worldwide. Already today, the Internet is a major sales channel for

Indian market. Therefore, having our own website and putting up our products online for

sale will provide easy access to the buyers and help in the sale of the products.


Teleshopping:

Introduction of tele-shopping channels that operate all over the country and offer various

types of Kowdi products will also make people aware of the craft work and help in trading

between producers and consumers.

RISK ASSESSMENT:

Setting up such small scale enterprise can also bring with it certain risks. Therefore it is

necessary to assess them and manage it timely.

Sl. No.

Risk Consequence Preventive control

Corrective control

1. Low Sales at exhibition

Exhibition sales are the real motivator for the women.

Work prior to exhibition on pricing and selecting appropriate designs and styles.

Put a paid advertisement in the newspaper

2. Financial Risk Not enough funds to cover basic operation and organizing cost

Develop business plan and pitch to venture capitalist.

Take a business loan

3. Cannot Attract good media partner

Decreases visibility and chance of less turn out in exhibitions

Have pages on different social media. Target magazines with same target group

Increase marketing through other outlets

4. Women not allowed to come outside of the community

Diminishes the time and effort for providing trainings

Reach out to them with minimal training facilities

Provide a space within the community for training

5. Unable to find suitable partners to associate with

Expansion of the enterprise is neglected.

Meeting the partners in persons and earning trust

Not moving ahead before the partners rely on us.


SWOT ANALYSIS:

Strength:

1. Abundant and cheap labour from slums,

hence can compete on price

2. Low capital investment and high ratio of

value addition

3. Aesthetic and functional qualities

4. Wrapped in midst of antiquity

5. Hand - made and hence has few

competitors

6. Variety of products which are unique

7. Exporters willing to handle small orders

8. Increasing emphasis on product

development and design up gradation

Weakness:

1. Inconsistent quality

2. Inadequate market study and

marketing strategy

3. Lack of adequate infrastructure and

communication facilities

4. Capacity to handle limited orders

5. Untimely delivery schedule

6. Unawareness of international

standards by many players in the

market

7. Difficulty in finding manufacturer to

manufacture in large quantity.

Opportunity:

1. Rising appreciation for Kowdi

products by consumers domestically

and globally.

2. Widespread novelty seeking

3. Large discretionary income at

disposal of consumer from developed

countries

4. Growth in search made by retail

chains in major importing countries

for suitable products and reliable

suppliers.

5. Opportune for agencies to promote

marketing activities

6. Use of e-commerce in direct

marketing

Threats:

1. Better quality products produced by

competitors.

2. Better terms of trade by competing

producers.

3. Consistent quality and increasing

focus on R&D by competing

producers

4. Better packaging


FUTURE GROWTH:

As it has been mentioned already that the target customers who would buy the Kowdi

products are elite group of people, it is clear that high end exhibitions and export of such

products is the way to go. Rural people will not be able to buy it because these are not

necessities for them. Urban segments are the target which means these products fall in

luxury as the elite have the taste of such products. Hence, global distribution of the Kowdi

products will enhance the growth of the Kowdi Kutumba and their enterprise as it will

bring in foreign exchange making the products valuable in foreign market too. This will in

turn help in increased income and improved livelihood of the Kowdi Community.

CONCLUSION:

SELCO Foundation has taken up the initiative to improve the livelihood of the women in the

slum of Nagvara Palya and efforts are been made to establish global contacts for export and

exhibitions so as to increase the revenue generated and hence increase in the income of the

women of the slum. The biggest threat to this traditional craft work remains industrial

manufacturers who produce cheap products in volume and can respond to the changing

consumer trends. Small scale enterprises like this can be slower to adapt to the market;

struggle to compete on price points and to meet the production timelines of industrial

manufacturers. Anyhow, the power of this small enterprise of women involved in

producing the Kowdi products to benefit from market action lies in their ability to

participate in markets where they can take advantage of commercial opportunities. The

potential benefits of new international markets have till date had only little impact on

economic growth of the community and they remain amongst the lowest socio -economic

group in the country. Support from organizations and an investment in marketing are

urgently required and should be a priority for our policy makers. Brand building and

investment in marketing can help remove the barriers to economic participation.


ANNEXURE:

Understanding Market Research

Questions framed to understand the market during exhibition and sale

General Questions:

1. Are there any businesses similar to ours which are currently operating in the

Market?

2. If yes, how are the businesses appear to be doing and what can we do to compete

with those businesses?

3. Is the market for the products we are trying to sell saturated? How competitive is

the market?

4. What kind of people would want to buy the product or are willing to pay for the

service provided by the product? – Making a Customer profile

5. Are there enough of such types of customers who are willing to pay for the products

and services living in our community who will buy such product and support the

business?

Demographic Questions:

1. Which age group buys the product?

2. What gender prefers to buy the product?

3. Dies the product allow the consumers to want to pay for it? Trying to

estimate/predict the income of the consumer.

4. What professions are the customers from?

Psychographic Questions:

1. Asking the consumers/customers about their hobbies, interests, preferences and

opinion about the product, etc. which might help in learning the consumer behavior

more.


Benefits Questions:

1. What features do the customers look for in the product while purchasing?

2. What specific benefits do the customers look for while buying?

3. What are the needs that they are trying to meet when they are purchasing?

Buying Pattern Question:

1. Who in the family makes the buying decision?

2. How often do the customers purchase the products?

3. What can be the budget for such products/what is the maximum and minimum

amount they are willing to pay for the purchase of the product?

SELCO Internship Report

Documents

Transcript of SELCO Internship Report