Golden Feathers - The Transformation
Radhesh Agrahari (Director) Undergraduate in Textile Design and Fashion Technology ( NIIFT) AND Postgraduate in Textile Designer from India Institute of Crafts and Design(IICD) ,JAIPUR, India. Radhesh while doing his PG was asked to do a project to convert waste into utility product, invented a new natural Fiber from Chicken Butchery waste. On completion of Post Grad, I joined Trifed India and gave Crafts training to more than 2000+ Tribal women. In 2016 I started own company and gave employment to 200+ Tribal women for hand Crafting and Handloom work in Asnawar ( a backward Tribal region ), Rajasthan, India. In 2019 we won a prestigious award from Confederation of Indian Industry (CII): 9th CII DESIGNEXCELLENCE AWARD for" DESIGN FOR SOCIALIMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY” and CII DESIGN EXCELLENCE AWARD for OVER ALL CATEGORY OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN. In 2020 I won 10th AEGIS GRAHAM BELL AWARD FOR INNOVATION IN CLEAN TECH
1. Our project addresses Life Transformational Livelihood generation for Tribal women in backward areas through Sustainable Development. We as well solve Social, Environmental, River Water, Land Pollution and Health hazards, Food waste and Carbon Footprint problems.
2. We collect Butchery Chicken Waste(BCW) from local poultry slaughter houses and extract Chicken Feathers by performing sanitization processes. We convert Feathers into Pulp & Yarn to Feather Wool. Our Trained Tribal women ( 200+) use hand-carding, spinning, weaving to make very warm, soft, durable, light wearable fabric, Stoles, Quilts, Jackets, Mufflers. By-Product: scientifically compost fertilizer for local farmers.
3, Our Worker Tribal woman can earn upto INR 15000/month ( $200 ), free daily meals and family benefits. Our 25% of profit is used for Tribal community welfare, Children Education, Health, Relief during Floods and Droughts. Our BCW recycling reduces 250000 Kg of Carbon footprint and 120000 Kg of river pollutants annually.
1. We are enabling Secure, sustainable, and dignified livelihood generation for Tribal women living in backward Tribal areas of India.
2. Reduce catastrophic threat to environment caused by Pollution from Butchery Chicken Waste( BCW) in India.
Factors:
a)The Indian Tribal communities, poorest among the poor, has around 56.4 million Tribal Women (4.8% of total Indian population). Most Tribal women have lowest socio-economic profile, live unhealthy lives, in conditions of ignorance and poverty. Along with routine household work, these women work as unskilled labor in the agricultural fields, Stone queries,forests for long hours for meager earnings less than $10 per month and lack any permanent sources of income.
b) On an average 1 Kg of Chicken (having 6.9 Kg Carbon Footprint) produces 300 Gm of BCW, containing 70 Gm Feathers. Global broiler meat production in 2020 estimated to be 80 Million Tons, implies ~24 Million BCW. India BCW production ~1.2 Million Tons including ~0.4 Million Tons of chicken Feathers. In India most of this BCW is dumped into Uninhabited area Landfills and Water bodies leading to water & land pollution (both surface and ground water), health hazards, poor air quality, ~15% pollution of Indian rivers is only due to chicken waste.
We generate continuous sustainable livelihood for Tribal women in remote Tribal areas of Rajasthan, India by converting Butchery Chicken Waste ( BCW) into Handloom Cloth, enabling sustainable development, reduction in Environmental pollution & health hazards.
Our organization collects BCW from local poultry slaughter house as a raw material. We hygienically through multiple sanitization processes extract Chicken Feathers and convert it into Pulp and Yarn for Handloom Cloth.
This Feather wool yarn is given to Tribal women and artisans (trained by our organization) to make various wearable items ( from their home or workshops ) like running Cloth, Quilt, Shawls, Jackets, Embroidery, Stoles, and Mufflers. The by-product from our process is scientifically converted into compost and distributed to local farmers as Fertilizer. The cost of Feather wool Thread is very low as it is extracted from garbage hence can compete against regular wool and cotton, synthetic fiber based apparels.
Our organization in the last 3 years has recycled ~500 Tons of butchery chicken waste ( BCW) into Handloom Cloth and generated livelihood and have impacted lives of around 200+ Tribal women paying 20 Times more than average and families, 375+ Semi skilled/Unskilled workers and empowered 2000+ tribal women through Handloom activities.
Our Project serves Indian Tribal Women, widely known as Adivasis, The Bhil and Shahriyas Tribes, confined to economic and social backwardness and are the poorest among the poor. Our project enables empowerment of Tribal Women by dignified artisan Livelihood.
We train these women in handloom activities like Hand carding, weaving, Handloom, spinning and embroidery. and then giving them work, raw material (feather wool, Yarn etc), Tools and Equipment to earn income by making handloom products like running cloth, soft warm woolen apparel items. These products are then sold at competitive prices in various retail shops, Government Handloom houses, Khadi-bhandars, Craft exhibitions in India.
Our project is also helping in eliminating the pollution caused to environment, land and water bodies by Butchery Chicken Waste.
Our sustainable development method, gives them a secure and dignified livelihood. A Tribal woman worker can earn monthly average income of INR 15000 ( ~$200/month ) 20x than average, free daily one time meal and family benefits. We impact around 200 plus Tribal women and their families living in Tribal backward areas of Jhalawaad, Rajasthan, India. Our 25% of profit is used for Tribal community welfare, small loans, Children Education, Health, Relief during Floods and Droughts.
- Elevating opportunities for all people, especially those who are traditionally left behind
Empowering of Tribal Women : Tribals, are confined to economic and social backwardness. Poverty, lack of knowledge, sickness (ill health) and exploitation are a few of the complex problems. They have little access to education, health/nutrition, opportunity to acquire skills/training, employment opportunities, and Tribal women face further discrimination in many areas of life. Adivasi women are doubly excluded from the mainstream development process as Adivasis and also as Women.
The Feather wool from Chicken Butchery waste, untouchable a big source of pollution, we use it to make very soft, warm wearable cloth, changing people’s attitude and lives. Hence Two Dimensions
During my college days in 2010, I got a classroom project to ‘convert a waste into a utility product’. I felt here was an opportunity to challenge myself. The same evening I was visiting a butchery shop to buy chicken and realized that 1 Kg chicken gets only 650 gm meat, rest is a waste thrown into gutter, I decided to do my project on this waste. In college everyone laughed at me and my crazy idea. I took the challenge, with lots of research in 2 weeks, I made a paint brush from the chicken feathers, unfortunately Faculty gave poor feedback, Undeterred, continued my research. In 2013 my final Postgraduation Project was “Chicken with Golden Feathers” ,the jury adjudged as the Best Project ever submitted in last 10 Yrs history of Institution. In 2015 with lots of Research/Experimentation I made yarn from this chicken Fiber and later on set the yarn on the Handloom and converted into fabric. Today it is known as 6th natural woolen fiber that is 10 times warmer, softer and durable than any other man-made or natural woolen Fiber. Trained 200+ Tribal women Handloom to make Stoles & Mufflers and are still employed with us.
I belong to Rajasthan, a Desert State of India which has a great heritage of Arts, Crafts, and unique culture built over centuries through Tribal Artisans & Communities. My ancestor supported these Tribal's Craft & Culture in the past. In last few decades Tribals have become poorest, remained uneducated, backward community and very few could keep up with Socio-economic, Mechanization and Industrial growth change. Tribal Women worst affected had no choice but to earn livelihood by picking and selling dry wood collected from forests, work as unskilled temporary laborer in fields and Stone queries.
Since my college days, been a Chicken Food lover, but realized how much waste it generates. The chicken waste garbage is thrown into rivers, causing water pollution & health hazards. Such pollution of water bodies is a man-mad disaster especially in Deserts. These realizations made me determined to do something, strive to change for better, became passion and choice of career and life. Today have changed lives of so many Tribal Women especially homeless Women & Widows, by giving livelihood through Handloom, a dignified life. I have converted Chicken garbage into wool cloth, while preventing thousands of tons of chicken garbage being dumped into water bodies.
My entire education, Career and research in last the 12 years has been is in the area of textile, crafts, Handloom and creating livelihood and improving life for Tribal Women.
I passed my UnderGraduate in 2010 FROM Northern India Institute of Fashion Technology Mohali (NIIFT Mohali) which is one of the leading Fashion Technology Institute in India in the field of Fashion design, Textile design and Fashion design knits. I did my post graduation from The Indian Institute of Crafts & Design, Jaipur as TEXTILE DESIGNER in year 2013. The main objective of IICD is to generate knowledge, upgrade skills and foster attitudes in order to develop highly motivated change agents in the craft sector. As pioneer the Institute works towards the evolution of crafts and the artisans in the contemporary socio-economic context. As moto, sensitizes budding designers to the issues of sustainability and awareness of eco-system for which solutions are designed and has a continuously evolving, vibrant environment of experimentation and innovation.
On successful completion of Post Grad I took a job with TRIFED India, TRIFED is committed to meaningfully transform the lives of tribal residents in India. , TRIFED is mandated to ringing about socio-economic development of tribal of the country. TRIFED is involved actively in capacity building of the tribal people through training the tribal in several activities, so that they can effectively carry them out. This helped to apply my knowledge, Feather wool Innovation and experience with Tribal community to generate Livelihood for Tribal women.
I overcame so many challenges - Money to pay Handloom workers and self family expenses, so many times I was penniless with no support from anywhere. Insufficient funds for continuous research, strength testing of thread in Lab. I tried to overcome by making and selling feather filled quilts, Rugs, Fashion Feather accessories, ear rings, Paint Brushes to generate fund and pool into my research work to make yarn from Feather Pulp and finally Cloth.
Tried multiple hundreds of cycles of trial and error on chicken feather pulp process finally into Thread, I kept working harder and overcame challenges by talking to Fiber experts, textile weaver, local craftsmen and thread/spinning makers, tried multiple techniques to finally learn a very unique process that helped me create 6th Natural Fiber stronger, warmer, softer and lighter than any other man-made fiber today.
Had to overcome Tribal Social and cultural Taboos, high resistance from male/family heads to allow train women in handloom. I overcame by convincing relentlessly community elders and as well pay women even during training workshops. I had to go to so many exhibitions, Govt and private retail shops to sell the Handloom Apparels till they became widely demanded.
I have so many stories of Tribal Women who were living a very tough life before due to poverty, domestic violence and social malpractices, Physical & Emotional sufferings during pregnancy, being homeless widows with children. and having no sources of income for daily basic expenses. Most women were forced to work as Unskilled laborers in Fields, Stone queries, and Forests.
My organization took care of such Tribal women, trained and employed 200+ women out of which 70% are Widows with dependent children and old parents. Today these women live a happy, dignified independent life, send their children to school and higher studies, teach their daughters Handloom/craft skills at home for better livelihood. I had to build lot of trust and confidence in communities, I started training in very small groups of 5 and slowly impact of earnings and family benefits started showing results. I have a small team of social workers who would further help in convincing elders and women to join Handloom activities and even train them inside their homes.
Today in the Tribal community, myself and team is recognized and respected by Tribal Families for transforming their lives, created growth opportunities and empowerment.
- Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit
Director