How Sunder Rang Is Changing The Lives Of Rural Women In Rajasthan
At Sunder Rang in Rajasthan’s Chandelao village, women are learning new skills, earning their own income, and slowly changing the way their communities look at work and independence.
The room is filled with colour. Rolls of hand block-printed fabric are stacked neatly on wooden shelves while sewing machines hum steadily in the background. Women in bright veils covering their heads and partly shielding their faces sit together cutting fabric, stitching garments, and discussing designs. Some are learning tailoring for the first time. Others have been here for years and now help train younger girls from nearby villages.
At Sunder Rang Arts and Crafts Centre in Chandelao, this has become part of everyday life. What started with just five women in 2007 has grown into a space where over 40 women now work, learn, and earn independently.
The initiative was started by Thakur Pradhuman Singh after a visit to Kenya inspired him to create a similar platform for women in his own village. “The income goes directly to them,” he says. “That gives them confidence and a greater say in their families.”
Today, the centre works with locally sourced fabrics from Pipar and creates handcrafted textiles, home linen, bags, and clothing. Along with wages, artisans also receive a share of profits from the products they make.
The project is now closely overseen by Yashodhara Singh, who says the idea was always larger than craft alone. “We wanted women to have financial independence and skills they could carry for life,” she explains. “Earlier, families needed convincing to send women here. Now many of them encourage their daughters and daughters-in-law to join.”
Over the years, the initiative has expanded beyond stitching and embroidery. There are computer literacy classes, tailoring courses, and educational support programmes for girls in the village. Young women who may not have had opportunities earlier are now learning skills that can help them earn from home or even start businesses of their own.
Inside the workshop, work continues quietly through the afternoon. Needles move swiftly through fabric, conversations drift across the room, and women who once rarely stepped outside their homes now spend their days creating products that travel far beyond their village.
