Respect, Educate, Nurture and Empower Women (RENEW) has been one of the organisations on the forefront helping those affected by the unprecedented global pandemic. The RENEW trained over 70 women in the art of weaving, tailoring, floriculture, professional traditional and cultural performances arts in the last few months.
“The main objective of this livelihood skills programme is to support the vulnerable key population who have been affected by the pandemic. And basically to provide them with the skills which would not only support themselves but also their family,” said Tshering Dolkar, the Executive Director of RENEW.
75 women who have completed the training received certificates today.
37-year-old Jamyang Choden is looking forward to helping her husband in supporting her family through the skills she gained from the training. She is hopeful that she can earn some income by weaving with all the new knowledge she acquired.
“I learnt how to weave Assamese handloom at Gawaling Happy Home. I will now start weaving at home and support my family,” she shared.
Similarly, Yeshey Zangmo is also confident that she can now earn some income by herself. Along with weaving, Yeshey and her friends also learnt tailoring.
“I enjoyed the training. The trainers were frank and taught us well. This training is beneficial for us who are unemployed. I live here in Thimphu and it is difficult for my husband to look after all of us. With the lessons I learnt from the training, I am planning to start weaving at home and help my family,” she said.
“I am very grateful to RENEW and UNDP for supporting us. I have learnt well and from here on I will not let the skills I gained from the training go into vain. I will start weaving at home and support my family,” added Sonam Yangden, another Participant.
The women interested in weaving learnt Assamese handloom weaving, natural dying from different plants and colour combination among others. They were trained for about two months.
Similarly, tailoring training was held for two months. The participants were taught how to stitch bags and also 10 different stitching techniques. The participants of professional traditional and cultural performance arts were taught how to dance to traditional Bhutanese songs. They underwent training for about a month. Floriculture participants learnt the basics on seed sowing, potting, how to build a greenhouse and many more in about 15 days.
The programme is organized by RENEW in partnership with the UNDP. So far, over 130 women were trained in different livelihood skills
Kinley Dem
