Rajasthan Woman Turns Old Newspapers Into Laptop Bags, Earns Lakhs And Creates Rural Jobs

Bharatpur: What most people sell as scrap has turned a boon for Sushila Devi from Jhalawar’s Asnawar village. Using a handloom and strips of discarded newspaper, this woman from interior Rajasthan creates unique pieces like laptop bags, tote bags, and shagun envelopes, and sends for sale all the way to America. In the process, she has also empowered 50 women from nearby villages, helping them earn, learn, and stand on their own feet.

Seventeen years ago, Sushila’s life was on the verge of collapse. The death of her husband left her alone fending for five children, four daughters and a son. Financial uncertainty, social taunts, and the thought of how she would feed and educate her children weighed heavily on her.

During this time, she came across training programmes in handloom weaving, sewing, and block-printing, somewhere closeby. Sushila decided that the only way she could string back her life was to learn every skill she could and use it to earn a livelihood.

Though she trained in thread and fabric to weave clothes, she turned all of it into a remarkable innovation. One day, a thought struck her about why old newspapers cannot be woven into something useful? That thought changed the course of her life forever.

Rajasthan Woman Turns Old Newspapers Into Laptop Bags, Earns Lakhs And Creates Rural Jobs (ETV Bharat)

Sushila cut newspapers into strips, blended them with thread, and wove it all on a loom. Slowly, she created sturdy and stylish products like laptop bags, tote bags, jewellery pouches, gift packs and shagun envelopes. She went a step further and dyed the paper using natural colours like turmeric, indigo, and marigold to enhance durability and look. The eco-friendly products drew instant attention and buyers.

Sushila says her handmade items have become a craze in America, from where orders flow in throughout the year. She now ships products worth Rs 5-6 lakh every month.

Rajasthan Woman Turns Old Newspapers Into Laptop Bags, Earns Lakhs And Creates Rural Jobs (ETV Bharat)

Starting the business was not easy for Sushila, for, she had no capital and very little support. But she and the women around her began saving whatever they could. “We saved four times our contribution, and the bank helped us with the remaining amount,” she recalls. With this, she set up her small unit. Over time, more women joined her, to learn, weave, dye, cut, stitch, and block print. Today, 50 women earn a stable income under one roof through her initiative.

Rajasthan Woman Turns Old Newspapers Into Laptop Bags, Earns Lakhs And Creates Rural Jobs (ETV Bharat)

At the Amrita Haat in Bharatpur, where Sushila has set up a stall under the banner of the Jhalrapatan Self Help Group, her products including handloom bedsheets, khes, towels, jackets, quilted sheets, and hand-block printed fabrics, sell well. Made by hand, the prices range from Rs 50 to Rs 2,500, and daily sales at such exhibitions touch Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000.

But this recognition was hard won. In the beginning, she faced taunts from people around her. But Sushila was determined to not sit idle just because her husband passed away. Today, the same people who doubted her work are full of praises. "I have changed my life and steered the lives of 50 others who were unsure of how they would live," she says. Now, that is no mean achievement.

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