This Bengaluru Woman Quit Her Job to Empower Other Women with Risham Jewellery, an enterprise that aspires to revive the traditional skill of bead manufacturing while also providing jobs and education to women.
In 2019, she decided to leave her work to create Risham Jewellery, with the goal of revitalizing this historic art form with a modern twist. Now, the venture not only brings beading back into the spotlight, but it also empowers women in the city.
Bead weaving is the process of weaving through beads with a needle and thread or a bead loom. Artists meticulously weave hundreds of tiny seed beads one by one, creating a stunning and detailed design.
Her one-of-a-kind handcrafted and ancient art-inspired jewellery shines through in every piece. Each piece, including elephant-beaded danglers, Ikat weaving earrings, Swarovski crystals, and collar necklaces, is created by Mohanty and her all-female staff, who are free to work at their own leisure. They range in price from Rs 900 to Rs 2500, and Mohanty claims to make roughly Rs 20 lakh every year.
She also claims to be the first Indian to practise bead weaving in the country, and she has instructed a number of women, mostly housewives, as well as held seminars for those who are unfamiliar with the concept.
Mohanty claims she offers flexible working hours as well as frequent training in this skill. The majority of these women come from disadvantaged backgrounds and work as housewives.
Her team includes homemakers in need of flexible working hours, a schoolteacher in desperate need of extra income, qualified but unemployed women, and young girls who are supporting their education.
Mohanty’s kariars get paid Rs 8,000 per month for 24 pieces, depending on how difficult the labour is. This revenue has been extremely beneficial to these workers. Dharini, for example, is 17 years old.
She recalls having to drop out of school the year before her matriculation exams.
She continued her education in an open school under the National Institute of Open Schooling — schools for street and working children — after working for Risham Jewellers for 8-10 months and saving Rs 10,000 to fund her Class 10 studies.
Dharini, who is from Bengaluru, gets up at 6.30 a.m. and assists her mother with household chores before going to open school, returning by 3 p.m., working for two hours at home, and then studying.
Education is, without a doubt, the most valuable ornament for a woman. The nature of the task is also something she enjoys.
Mohanty employs roughly 10 women, including Dharini.
