Empowering Tribal Women in Shirpur
Learning a Skill to Creating a Livelihood
Canossian Sisters Empowering Tribal Women in Shirpur
For a woman who has very little income and few opportunities, learning a skill can mean much more than simply learning how to make a product. It can become the beginning of confidence, dignity and hope. It can open a door to a future where she is able to contribute to her family, earn an income and stand on her own feet.
With this vision, the Canossian Sisters at Shirpur continue to accompany tribal women and youth by providing practical skills that can become pathways to livelihood and self-reliance. Through Jana Vikas Kendra, a unit of Anand Sadan Society, Shirpur, various skill-development programmes are being offered to women and young people from the surrounding tribal villages.
As part of this initiative, a two-day skill training on soap making was organised on 26th and 27th September 2026 for tribal women. Around 40 women enthusiastically participated in the training. The programme was not simply a demonstration; it was a practical learning experience where the women themselves got an opportunity to prepare different varieties of handmade soaps.
The resource person, Mr. Amarsingh Pawra, patiently demonstrated the process of soap making and introduced the women to different possibilities of producing attractive and useful handmade soaps. The participants learned to prepare soaps using natural and locally familiar ingredients such as goat milk, aloe vera, saffron, papaya, neem, moringa, sitafal and sandalwood.
The excitement among the women was visible as they moved from watching the demonstration to actually preparing the soaps themselves. Working together in groups, they mixed the ingredients, prepared the soaps and learned the basic process involved in producing a finished product. At the end of the training, the women were able to take the soaps they had prepared home—a small product, but a significant achievement.
Yet, the real success of the training lies not only in the soaps that were made during those two days, but in what happened afterwards.
The women did not want the training to end with the closing of the programme. They took the initiative to continue. Three groups have now been formed by the women with the intention of producing handmade soaps on a small scale, exploring local markets and selling their products. They hope that what began as a two-day training will gradually grow into a small livelihood activity that can provide them with additional income for themselves and their families.
This is where skill development becomes empowerment.
When a woman learns to make something with her own hands and discovers that her skill has economic value, something changes within her. She begins to see herself not only as someone who receives help, but as someone who can create, produce, contribute and earn. The journey from being a participant in a training programme to becoming a small producer and entrepreneur may begin with something as simple as a bar of handmade soap.
The Canossian Sisters at Shirpur believe that empowerment is not about doing everything for people; it is about creating opportunities through which people can discover their own abilities and build a better future. Through Jana Vikas Kendra, efforts are being made to provide tribal women and youth with practical and market-oriented skills such as tailoring, beautician training, soap making and other livelihood activities.
For the tribal communities of Shirpur Taluka, where many families face limited employment opportunities, such initiatives can make a meaningful difference. A skill can supplement the family income, support children’s education, strengthen women’s participation in household decisions and gradually reduce dependence on uncertain sources of livelihood.
The soap-making initiative is therefore more than a vocational training programme. It is a story of courage—the courage to learn, to try something new, to work together and to believe that a small beginning can lead to something bigger.
The women who participated in the training now carry home more than the soaps they prepared. They carry a new possibility—the possibility of creating something of their own.
Perhaps one day, these handmade soaps will find their way into homes and markets across Shirpur. Behind every bar may be the story of a tribal woman who decided to learn a skill, a group of women who decided to work together, and a family whose income received a little support because someone was given an opportunity.
The Canossian Sisters hope that such initiatives will continue to create many more stories of women who discover their potential, strengthen their families and stand on their own feet with dignity and confidence.
Because sometimes, empowerment begins with something very small—a skill learned, a product made, a first sale—and the courage to say, “I can do this too.”
Written by:
Urmila Rohidas Pawra
Jyoida Village, Shirpur
