TAHDCO’s school uniform stitching initiative offers additional income to SC/ST women in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing Development Corporation (TAHDCO) initiative empowers SC/ST women entrepreneurs to stitch school uniforms, providing additional income and employment opportunities.

Nearly 2,800 women entrepreneurs and self-help group members from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities in Tamil Nadu are involved in stitching 2.51 lakh uniforms for students studying in schools administered by the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department, offering them an additional source of income, thanks to an initiative by the Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing Development Corporation (TAHDCO).

Students studying in schools under the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department are provided with four sets of uniforms free of cost every year. To stitch these uniforms, women entrepreneurs from SC and ST communities who had availed loans under TAHDCO’s economic development schemes, along with members of women self-help groups trained in tailoring, are being engaged, said K. S. Kandasamy, Managing Director of TAHDCO.

This initiative aims to provide them with an additional source of income. The Tamil Nadu Textile Corporation supplies the materials, while TAHDCO’s district offices allocate the number of uniforms to each group. Once materials are received, the tailors visit schools to take student measurements, he said.

S. Manimegalai, a 41-year-old tailor-turned-entrepreneur from Senthamangalam in Namakkal district, transitioned from working in a garment factory to running her own tailoring unit with the support of TAHDCO. After securing a ₹5 lakh loan including a ₹1.5 lakh subsidy in 2022, she expanded her operations from four to 15 sewing machines, providing jobs to 15 women.

“While uniform stitching is seasonal, lasting only for 45 to 50 days, it yields what we usually earn in six months. On an average we earn up to ₹25,000 to ₹ 30,000 a month, while stitching school uniforms. This is double the earning when compared to what we usually earn around ₹10,000 to ₹12,000 a month,” she said.

K. Sangeetha, a member of the Sri Muthumariamman Women Self-Help Group in Vaniyambadi in Tirupathur district, said she initially had only one sewing machine and used to rely on occasional tailoring work from people in her neighbourhood. “Things changed after availing a ₹7 lakh loan from TAHDCO, which included a ₹2.1 lakh subsidy. Today, our self-help group has 15 sewing machines. The income is relatively higher during the months we get to stitch school uniforms,” she said.

Official sources said each tailor is paid ₹300 per set for girls’ uniforms and ₹200 for boys’ uniforms. The State government has sanctioned ₹6.54 crore for this initiative this year.