About Project Lila

Lila is a contemporary urban label with its first store in Shahpur Jat, New Delhi. (www.yourlila.com |https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lila/190905464267037)

Shahpur Jat, an urban village situated in South Delhi, has a large community of artisans and tradespersons who have been supporting the garment industry in the area. These artisans and tradespersons have been situated here for decades, working out of small hovels and improvised spaces, and have so far remained under-discussed.

Project Lila (projectlila.blogspot.in), Lila’s online platform, is running a project called Holes in a Button. This ongoing project attempts to recognize the contributions of the artisans and tradespersons to the garment industry in New Delhi and to learn about their work, origins, and the skills and machinery they have to invest in. Through our project, we discovered that a number of these artisans and tradespersons have been working in unsafe conditions and/or use hazardous materials (drycleaners using petrol and caustic soda with their bare hands, or blade sharpeners using obsolete and inefficient rotating motors, are a few examples).

As a way to make the project more supportive and meaningful to the community, we are looking towards interventions that can make their workplace safer and improve their working conditions. We are looking to crowdsource funds to finance these interventions. Project Lila has recognized these sites, identified tangible interventions and has estimated associated costs of these interventions.

1 x Fire Extinguishing Kit – Drycleaners - working with petrol, kerosene, caustic soda and other chemical solvents – fire hazards. Rs. 14,000

8 x Motors for sewing machines - Embroiders; energy-efficient motors will help save electricity and decrease overall costs. The rotors run for an average of 6 – 8 hours a day. Rs. 12,000

2 x Storage shelves/slotted angle racks - Embroidery tracers and tailors; the workplaces are small, and effective use of space by introducing wall shelves and racks can help streamline their in-and-out stock. Rs. 4,000

3 x Gas stoves – Dyers - LPG-efficient and safer gas stoves for dyers. Rs. 1,500

1 x Hydrodryers – Dyer - Hydrodryer for dyer with no workshop space. Rs. 8,000

2 x Water storage tanks - Dyers; storage tanks take most space in several small dying workshops; to introduce tanks that save space and meet the water requirements. Rs. 10,000

Total – Rs. 49,500