I spent an interesting afternoon yesterday trying to make a paper bag. The basti women have so far been making newspaper bags for which they are paid a pittance. So we decided to delve into making brown paper bags which fetch a much better price. However it seemed that the women were somewhat hesitant to making these, even though they would be making 30 times more money than with newspaper bags.So I decided to make one myself to see what was the problem.
I started off with a newspaper, a measuring tape & some help. I think at some point I may have commented that this is more difficult than going to medical school. But finally, I got it right.
We are now in the process of teaching the intricacies of the process to the basti women.
Some of the brown paper bags we made were later used to create art by the school kids!!
