Lucknow, 28 May 2022: HCL Foundation, under its flagship program HCL Samuday, has partnered with Flipkart Samarth to provide livelihood opportunities to rural women in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh by reviving existing crafts and skilling through training programs. As part of this initiative, HCL Samuday unveiled Samuday Crafts, which includes a range of handmade products prepared by 500 rural women artisans. An exclusive range of home decor products named 'Alankaar' was also launched. All products will be available on the Flipkart website.

The event was held in the presence of Shri Keshav Prasad Maurya, Deputy Chief Minister & Minister for Rural Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP).

Quotes on the Partnership

Shri Keshav Prasad Maurya, Deputy Chief Minister & Minister for Rural Development, GoUP, said, "Through the livelihood intervention, over 22000 rural women have been able to strengthen the financial condition of their family. HCL Foundation's partnership with Flipkart will further help rural women artisans to reach a much wider audience through their handicrafts. The state government has always supported handicrafts and we are committed to support replication of such cluster development models in other parts of the state."

Alok Varma, Project Director, HCL Foundation, said, "Our partnership with Flipkart Samarth is a step in this direction and can be truly transformational for these artisans. This association will help showcase the ingenuity of skilled artisans on a global platform, resulting in increased acknowledgment and remuneration. We expect that the partnership will help artisans to make sales of around Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 10,000 per month directly."

Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group, said, "Flipkart's Samarth initiative was launched in 2019 to support under-served communities, artisans, weavers and craftsmen and provide them access to a national market, using the power of e-commerce. Under this partnership with HCL Samuday, we are committed to extending the opportunities of the digital economy to these talented women artisans, support their financial independence and build visibility for their local crafts."

Samuday Crafts Details

Product Categories: Home décor, lifestyle, and apparel.

Crafts Offered: Taat embroidery, natural fiber-based crafts (Moonj, Kans, and Wheat Grass), hand embroidery (chikankari), block-printing, and tie and dye.

Price Range: Starts from Rs 200 and goes up to Rs 3,500.

Impact: The group of rural women artisans, working together since 2017, has generated revenue of Rs. 3.5 Cr in the last five years, helping them individually earn an average income of Rs. 2500 to Rs. 3000 per month.

Empowerment: The initiative provides skill development on handicrafts, along with training on financial literacy, design & marketing linkages. Women also benefit from health initiatives under HCL Samuday.

HCL Foundation has partnered with Craftizens, Kadam, and Rang Sutra to provide skill training to artisans in multiple crafts. Artisans have also been supported to showcase their work in various exhibitions such as Dastakar, Delhi Haat, Jaipur Lifestyles Festivals, and Heritage, etc.

About HCL Foundation

HCL Foundation (HCLF) was established in 2011 as the CSR arm of HCL Technologies. It is a not-for-profit-organization that aims to alleviate socio-economic and environmental poverty and achieve inclusive growth and development. HCL Foundation works through a Life Cycle Based, Integrated Community Development Approach with a thematic focus on Education, Health, Skill Development & Livelihood, Environment, and Disaster Risk Reduction & Response.

About HCL Samuday

HCL Samuday, a flagship program of the HCL Foundation, was established in 2015 to uplift rural India. Samuday intends to develop a sustainable, scalable, and replicable model for economic and social development of rural areas. The focus areas are Agriculture, Education, Health, Infrastructure, Livelihood, and WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene). Currently, HCL Samuday is implemented in eleven blocks in Uttar Pradesh, operational in 1300 villages across 284 Gram Panchayats, impacting over 2.1 million people.

About the Flipkart Group

The Flipkart Group is one of India's leading digital commerce entities and includes group companies Flipkart, Myntra, Flipkart Health+, Flipkart Wholesale, and Cleartrip. Started in 2007, Flipkart has a registered customer base of more than 350 million, offering over 150 million products across 80+ categories. Flipkart is known for pioneering services such as Cash on Delivery, No Cost EMI and easy returns.

For more information, please write to media@flipkart.com.