Kozhikode :

The city is set to make a mark in the garment industry. Under the title ‘Vasthra Mandalam’ the expertise of over 500 women skilled in designing and tailoring will be utilized for developing Kozhikode South into a major hub of apparel industry.

Apparel stitching and readymade garment units will be set up after imparting performance improvement training to select women. The Vasthra Mandalam project will be implemented in a phased manner and 100 women will be selected and trained in the first phase.

“The first batch of 60 women will be imparted performance improvement training at National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Kannur from October 16 to 26,” said Mohammed Basheer, coordinator of the project. The participants will be imparted residential training in such a way that the garments they produce can be branded and marketed, he said.

The Vasthra Mandalam scheme is initiated by social justice minister M K Muneer, MLA of Kozhikode South assembly constituency. The minister has also started discussions with garment brands across the country to cooperate with the scheme in such a way that the garment brand will supply the material and the women groups here will stitch the garment based on their demand.

Women who are presently running small tailoring units at home and small shops will be selected for the project with an aim to give them better training, exposure and regular income, said Mohammed Basheer, who is also the coordinator of Kozhikode district Kudumbashree mission. The project also aims to train women in designing wedding dresses and ornamentation , he added.

After the training programme at NIFT, women will be divided into different groups based on their skills. Women having expertise in stitching, cutting, designing, packing and other garment related works will be grouped together for the efficient functioning of the apparel units. A total of 60 women will be imparted training at NIFT at a cost of Rs 8 lakh. The garment units having state-of-the-art stitching, embroidery and other machinery will be started with financial assistance from banks. Women for Vasthra Mandalam will be selected by faculty of NIFT after practical and written tests. The tests would be conducted at mobilization camps. Facilitation units will be set up at six locations in the constituency by utilizing the local area development fund and asset development fund of M K Muneer.

source:  http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / October 11th, 2015