Project Hum Sab Ek Hai_ CGIS Proposal

HUM SAB EK HAI

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“Poverty is powerlessness.

Poverty cannot be removed unless the poor have power to make decisions that affect their lives.”

- Ela Bhatt

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Content 4

Lessons for An Uncertain Future

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Project Goals

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Timeline

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Exhibit 1

Five Decades of SEWA

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Exhibit 2

Woven Together

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Exhibit 3

Home Bound

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Exhibit 4

You Are On Mute

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Exhibit 5

Super-Spreaders

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Exhibit 6

Jan-Dhan

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Exhibit 7

Salt In March

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Research Collaboration

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Team

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HUM SAB EK HAI

(WE ARE ONE)

Lessons for an Uncertain Future The Self Employed Women’s Association comprising 2.5 million poor working women from a range of trade unions and cooperatives has, over the past five decades, reshaped the relationship between women and work through their dual strategy of “full employment” and “self reliance.” Full employment refers to employment through which women can gain work security, income security, food and social security (at least health care, child care and shelter); “self reliance” implies individual and collective autonomy in decision-making.

This exhibit demonstrates how these poor, but extremely empowered women, navigated the greatest public health emergency of our times, through organization and collective action, when dominant political and economic structures failed to protect the most vulnerable, around the world. This exhibit is inspired by 30 hours of oral testimonies recorded from SEWA’s members - who work in their homes, on the streets, on construction sites, on salt pans, in the farms, in garment workshops, and in small businesses; and by over 1000 household based surveys conducted across rural and urban Gujarat.

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Photographs, oral testimonies, interactive digital displays and artifacts made by or used by the women during the pandemic guide the visitor through the darkest months of the pandemic in 2020 when India announced a draconian nationwide lockdown, grinding to halt the country’s economy and household finances in the home of India’s informal and daily wage earners that constitute 90 percent of the labor force; and through the fatal delta wave in 2021 that ravaged communities across India. Long nurtured principles of solidarity, agency, ingenuity, patience and persistence allowed SEWA’s members to navigate the brutality of state and society.

Hum Sab Ek Hai is a call to action that views economic and gender justice as an uncompromising prerequisite to an equitable global future. The exhibition is in conversation with labor and feminist movements of the past century, and is simultaneously a celebration - of women, and of India’s largest trade union - as well as a somber reminder of the persistent, and meaningless injustice and inequity that prevent billions from reaching their full potential.

Lessons gleaned from the range of interventions undertaken

by SEWA serve as a guidepost for us all, as we face an uncertain future compounded by the changing climate, conflict and rapidly changing economies. In equality and solidarity, lies a path to a more sustainable future.

Hum Sab Ek Hai is SEWA’s rallying cry. We Are One.

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Project Goals It is our hope that visitors, especially policy makers and practitioners, will:

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REFLECT on the voices of those that through the power of organizations, self reliance, solidarity and peace have resisted injustice and showed what alternative sustainable ways of organizing work and society can look like.

from the innovations of the poor who 2 LEARN provided food, clothing, essential services and economic protections to their families and to thousands of others.

the voices of the millions who are 3 ELEVATE routinely excluded from the most consequential decisions about their lives and livelihoods

the tools of work and gender justice that 4 APPLY movements like SEWA has espoused to prepare

the world for the uncertain future that awaits us, in the face of economic transformations, conflict, and climate change.

Company Name

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Project Timeline goals project goals FALL 2023

Seminars, Artists’ Call

SPRING 2024

Exhibition 1 at the World Bank

SPRING 2024

Exhibition 2 at Harvard

LATE 2024

Exhibition 3, US

LATE 2024

Exhibition 4, India

“Project Hum Sab Ek Hai” will be showcased at academic institutions and key cultural centers in India and the US. It is proposed that the inaugural exhibition be displayed at the World Bank Head Quaters on March 8th, Internation Women’s Day. The Full exhibit will travel to the Center for Government and International Studies at Harvard, where it will be available for public viewing from April to June. Each month, a symposium or a panel discussion will be held, will be held with key themes highlighted at the exhibit. The exhibition catalog will be launched at one of these three exhibitions, with participation from World Bank and SEWA leadership.

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FIVE DECADES OF SEWA

Ela Bhatt founded SEWA with a mission to empower and uplift women in the informal sector, providing them with a platform for economic independence. Her vision was rooted in the belief that self-reliance and collective strength could transform the lives of marginalized women. This exhibit showcases the profound legacy of the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) through five compelling panels featuring impactful images and insightful text. Each panel encapsulates the journey from the early days to contemporary triumphs.

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EXHIBIT 1

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SEWA’S TIMELINE & CURATORIAL NOTE

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EXHIBIT 1

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SEWA’S TIMELINE & CURATORIAL NOTE

5"

SEWA Timeline Inforgraph cutout on a matt-finished decal, over the pastered wall.

237"

32"

9"

148.5"

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30.8"

29.6"

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EXHIBIT 1

SEWA Photograph on the first floor of CGIS Exhibition Title Curatorial Note cutout on a mattfinished decal.

70"

5"

34.75"

5"

11.8" 62"

5"

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WOVEN TOGETHER

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EXHIBIT 2

At its onset, when SEWA was first being registered as a union of informal workers, perplexed officials asked SEWA who or what the union was against?

Ela Bhatt, SEWA’s founder, explained that SEWA was not against anyone, but for its members. Solidarity is one of the defining characteristics of the movement, where women across religious and caste divides identified themselves first as SEWA sisters, then by their trade or occupation, and finally by the village they hail from. To date, every SEWA member will first state their name, their trade and their village, when asked who they are. Together, these 2.5 million women represent the breadth of India’s rich, variegated, multilingual multicultural simultaneously heterogenous and syncretic social fabric.

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WOVEN TOGETHER

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EXHIBIT 2

FLOOR MOUNTED FOLDING PANEL This 8.8ft x 16ft modular textile panel embodies the solidarity experienced by the members of SEWA. Hundreds of individual strands of home spun cotton threads, just released from the spinning wheel, interlace with hundreds of others they encounter. Skillful hands of India’s vankars weave these threads into varieties of khadi cotton, showcasing the intricate tapestry of oneness formed through their collective craftsmanship. No longer possible to discern the individual strands, the textile gains heft, over time and space in this exhibit, as the thread count increases – much like the five decade long journey of SEWA. The coarse khadi cloth, the quintessential symbol of India’s struggle for self reliance and independence from colonialism, is primed to receive a riot of colors, block prints and embroideries – local artisanal skills that have been passed down generations and are simultaneously under threat of extinction from domestic and foreign mechanization and yet are been rediscovered, revived and celebrated. The story of this exhibit is the story of SEWA. It is the story of working women everywhere. We are one.

Accompanying text and QR codes will provide additional information about these programs.

18 8.8’

BANDHEJ

AJRAKH

16’ RABARI EMBROIDERY

BHUJODI WEAVES

THREAD COUNT INCREASES WEFT WARP

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6” wide modular frame

EXHIBIT 2

This display can be positioned either horizontally or vertically. When placed horizontally, it will be housed in a sturdy wooden frame. Alternatively, the panel is specially crafted to be hung vertically on a spacious wall within its sleek frame.

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HOME BOUND

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EXHIBIT 3

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INDIA’S LOCKDOWN & PANDEMIC TIMELINE

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EXHIBIT 3

A large decal with an infographic of the lockdown timeline in India

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INDIA’S INFORMAL MARKETS BEFORE & AFTER THE LOCKDOWN

On March 2020, India’s 1.36 billion people were suddenly placed under stringent lockdown without any notice. Over 400 million migrant laborers, many daily wage earners, suddenly found themselves stranded in cities without jobs and food, and elected to go home. With all public transport suspended, they chose to walk hundreds of miles back home from densely crowded urban centers where COVID-19 had appeared, to the countryside where there were yet no reported cases of COVID-19.

They returned home to villages and towns that were afraid to let them in, to quarantine measures that entailed spraying them with hoses of sanitizers, and family members who greeted them with trepidation.

At the heart of this section lies Kamdar Maidan in Ahmedabad, where thousands of migrant workers endured sleepless nights and hunger while waiting for government relief assistance. SEWA collaborated with local ration shops, procuring food for SEWA members and the migrant workers.

Every day, SEWA’s community leaders, the Aagewans, visited residential areas, collecting one roti from every SEWA member’s house, despite the heightened food insecurity in their own homes.

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EXHIBIT 3

A panoramic scene of the Ahmedabad market on a decal stretched corner-tocorner as shown in the illustration on the left

A small verticle screen playing a video of migrant workers returning him on loop

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LIVING IN THE RED ZONE The installation offers the audience a glimpse into the complex reality experienced by SEWA members in the early months of the pandemic. A movement built on solidarity and camaraderie found itself grappling - for the first time - with the inability to be physically present for their sisters in need.

The arrival of their male family members, who work as laborers in different cities, without any income, heightened their frustrations, resulting in a rise of domestic violence incidents, as no work was available, food insecurity mounted, and children and adults were forced to live indoors in close quarters. The suspension of a life primarily lived outdoors, in response to this unseen enemy, fueled uncertainty and fear. While these challenges were faced by millions around the world, the poor in many parts of urban India faced brutal police oppression. Barricades preventing movement in and out of slums, marked their homes “Red Zones.”

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EXHIBIT 3

A 35” x 45” television screen is mounted on the acrylic shelf, displaying interviews with SEWA members who discuss their experiences of isolation, increasing food insecurity, and domestic violence resulting from being confined to their homes.

Large decal with a photograph showing the interior of a low income home.

22"

184"

108"

104"

149"

28 The pandemic was the unexpected catalyst that moved the world online.

For some around the world, remote work accorded the luxury of working from safe, physically distanced spaces – sometimes even exotic and peaceful. Meanwhile, for others, it reignited a migration away from bustling city centers to the suburbs. For millions, however, their smartphones became their lifeline–connecting them to loved ones, providing access to children’s education, and offering work opportunities. While most Indian households had access to a cell phone, personal smartphones necessary to conduct business, to attend school and to communicate, were not

YOU ARE ON MUTE

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EXHIBIT 4

available to the vast majority of India’s poor women. The intensity of the lock down further isolated sister from sister, precluding the physical camaraderie offered at SEWA’s offices and trade centers. They shared educational material, facilitated the process of opening online bank accounts for receiving direct cash transfers from government and others, designed asynchronous school curricula for children, and launched a telemedicine program to address COVID and other ailments at home during overwhelming hospital situations.

30 * Please note this installation would require mutliple plug points

94."

51"

51"

51"

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Installation description using vinyl cut-lettering

White Moundboard

YOU ARE ON MUTE

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8"

EXHIBIT 4

4" 51"

51"

6-10mm mound board 2" Square MS Pipe Frame

This multi screen interactive display comprising 70 digital devices, mounted on a free standing platform combines video footage from SEWA’s pandemic archives. It showcases organizational meetings, creative home assignments for children, telemedicine consultations, and simply meetings of solidarity and companionship in the darkest days of the pandemic. A 4 minute interactive display across the 70 screens guides users through three programs – Jan Dhan, the opening of online bank accounts, Samany Nu Samman, their unique asynchronous education program; and a telemedicine COVID-19 homecare program. Viewers can then interact with select screens and listen to brief sub captioned interviews on each topic. Accompanying text and QR codes will provide additional information about these programs.

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SUPER SPREADERS

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EXHIBIT 5

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JAN DHAN

THE QUEST FOR INCLUSION

35 71 million workers in India are employed in the building and construction sector, the second largest employment generator in India. 90 percent are informal workers - with no workplace protections. Many are migrant workers, and only work in transitory cycles. In 2020, as construction came to a grinding halt, the households of these workers, who mostly lived off daily wages, faced extreme food insecurity within a week.

This exhibit highlights their struggle – how, amidst the lockdown, they negotiated access to SEWA offices to file petitions before the courts to seek compensation that was rightfully theirs.

Overcoming a series of regulatory and legal barriers, they eventually received a total of USD 48 in social security protections from the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board.

Gullak A terracotta piggy bank used to save money in rural Indian households

Construction workers seen helping one another lift a headload of clay weighing between 15-20 kgs

EXHIBIT 6

36 A 350 page long appeal printed using a dot matrix printer and suspended at a 6ft height.

6’

Construction workers headloading vessel with bricks as an artefact.

4’

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

JAN DHAN

THE QUEST FOR INCLUSION

Vinyl cut letters for the installation description on a white MDF box (5’ x 4’ x 2’).

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EXHIBIT 6

This exhibit comprises a long paper scroll suspended from a height, depicting the tedium of kafkaesque legal and bureaucratic mazes that common citizens routinely maneuver, in India as elsewhere. In particular it will be a replica of the 300+ page petition that SEWA filed in court to request relief from the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board. The scroll rests on a pedestal that also supports the heavy metal container that construction workers load with debris and bricks as they climb precarious ramps on construction sites, to date. Sprouting from the base of the pedestal, are 325 clay pots, or “gullaks, traditional “piggy-banks” with a slot to insert coins and cash, that have to be broken to retrieve the savings. These “gullaks” serve as metaphors for household financial management and are still found in homes across the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, though millions now have an online bank account. A QR code on each gullak will direct the reader to unique pieces of information about the burgeoning digital economy among India’s poorest workers who ply their trade outdoors, including construction site workers, head loaders (those that transport goods on their heads), street vendors, and waste-recyclers.

The long scroll suspended from a height represents the extensive 300+ page petition. It was initially filed to request relief from the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board. The accompanying visuals display the court case timeline, outcome, and additional information on India’s booming, and highly profitable construction sector.

5'

PLAN

21.3’

2'

325 terracotta piggy banks with QR codes linking to quotes and facts about construction workers in India.

21.3'

6” - 8” high white MDF platform.

24.6’ 24.6'

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SALT IN MARCH

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EXHIBIT 7

Salt has been a powerful symbol of resilience and resistance in India’s political memory. Mahatma Gandhi and his followers walked 390 kilometers over 24 days, from Sabarmati Ashram to the coastal saltpans of Dandi, where in defiance of unjust British taxation of salt, Gandhi lifted a fistful of salt to “'shake the foundation of the Empire.”

India produces 280 million tons of salt annually, second only to China and the United States. This exhibit is the story of inland salt workers in the Rann (desert) of Kutch in western India, not far from Dandi, where subsoil brine is pumped into large vats of sandy soil, until the scorching summer evaporates the water and leaves behind salt.

SEWA members have been trained over years to improve harvesting processes to procure premium grade salt fetching higher prices. Microloans have helped them replace cash guzzling diesel engines with efficient solar powered engines, growingtheir revenues. And yet, the harsh conditions of the desert are harbingers of the challenges posed by the changing climate. Devastating heatwaves in recent years have destroyed their temporary shelters in the saltpans, made potable water too hot to drink and ruined the food supplies they carried into the desert from their villages. Urgent interventions coinciding with the pandemic entailed building subterrain cement tanks, transporting heat resistant and hydrating foods, and accelerating their search for climate-resilient, affordable, temporary housing–a demand that reflects the needs of hundreds of millions around the world.

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SALT IN MARCH In the exhibit, the video reel shows the manual, seasonal, cyclical, process of harvesting salt from subsoil brine.

The overlaid flamingos celebrate the return of the migratory birds to the saltpans of Kutch when the noisy, billowing diesel engines were replaced with quieter, cleaner solarpowered engines, displayed in the box. India’s transition to clean energy will require colossal investments in green technologies to both transition coal to renewables, but also to meet India’s substantial and growing energy demand. The transformation in SEWA’s salt pan workers’ lives serves as a compelling example of adopting sustainable methods, showcasing their effectiveness, and paving the way for numerous positive changes.

10’

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EXHIBIT 7

18’ 3”

Documentary film on salt farming projected over the flamingo decal

The flamingo decal serves as a backdrop to the documentary film Solar Panel serves as a lid to the arcrlic box Diesel pump model displayed in an arcylic box Dimensions: 4’ x 4’ x 4’ 6” Base Pedestal

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Harvard Research Collaboration

Our meeting with members of the Geetanjali Cooperative at SEWA.

In 2022, SEWA partnered with Dr. Satchit Balsari at Harvard Medical School to adopt a mixed-methods approach to study the impact of the pandemic on SEWA’s membership, and to analyze SEWA’s response to the range of challenges posed by the health, economic and social fallout of the political and societal response to the pandemic.

Dr. Balsari’s team at Harvard has recorded 30 hours of testimonials from SEWA members and interviewed over 1000 households across the state of Gujarat. In an effort to make this rich material widely available, this museum exhibition and related projects invite all to learn from these struggles for representation and relevance, in our rapidly changing world.

RESEARCH SUPPORTED BY The Self Employed Women’s Association Grants from The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, & T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University

43 SELF EMPLOYED WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION All the SEWA members who generously devoted their time to the project.

COLLABORATORS DR. SATCHIT BALSARI MD, MPH HARVARD MDECIAL SCHOOL HITESHREE DAS Master in Design Studies, Public Domain, 2024 HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN DEEPAK RAMOLA Master in Education, 2023 HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION RAVI SADHU Master in Global Health and Population, 2023 HARVARD T. H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

ADVISORS SABRINA LYNN MOTELY Director, Smithsonian Folklife Festival Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage MIHIR BHATT Director, All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) DAN BORELLI Director of Exhibitions Harvard Graduate School of Design

Team

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HUM SAB

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B EK HAI humsabek.net

Email: humsabekhai2023@gmail.com

humsabek.net Email: humsabekhai2023@gmail.com