Learning and livelihoods at Sambhali Empowerment Centres

Sambhali Trust  |  Case study for IACD  |  14 October 2026

Project: Empowerment Centres
Location: Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Setrawa, Rajasthan, India
Author and publication credit: Sambhali Trust
Public contact: [email protected]  |  www.sambhali.org

Overall synopsis

Many women who come to Sambhali’s Empowerment Centres have had little opportunity to study or learn a skill outside the home. During April 2025 to March 2026, our eight centres in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Setrawa combined basic education with sewing, embroidery and practical workshops. The annual report records 377 women and adolescent girls taking part. Programme records describe improvements in learning and confidence, with some women beginning to take tailoring work from home. The experience shows why skills training needs to sit alongside patient support for women’s participation.

Background

Sambhali’s work grew in Jodhpur around women and girls whose access to education and paid work was limited. The Empowerment Centres developed as places where they could learn together, practise useful skills and seek support. This case study looks at the programme during April 2025 to March 2026.

Participants brought different experiences. Some had never attended school. Others were managing childcare, household work or difficult family circumstances while trying to return to learning. Tutors and coordinators worked with women and their families to understand what made attendance possible. The programme combined education and vocational training with access to Sambhali’s wider support services. Its approach developed through local practice before our recent IACD membership.

The project

The centres offer a one-year programme combining foundational learning with sewing and embroidery. Hindi, English and mathematics form part of the education programme, although delivery varies by centre; Setrawa focused on vocational work during this reporting period. Practical workshops address health, women’s rights, financial literacy and self-defence. The aim is to help women gain skills they can use in everyday life and take steps towards earning.

Learning happens through regular classes, practice and discussion. Tutors follow progress through attendance registers, learning assessments and examples of sewing and embroidery. Monthly reports help coordinators see where a learner needs more time or support. Group discussions and everyday conversations give women opportunities to explain what is useful and what is making participation difficult.

Staff respond through home visits, conversations with families, flexible timings and additional practice sessions. Some women continue attending after completing the course. Sewing machines are provided to eligible graduates on the basis of attendance, performance and skills, and the team helps women connect with local production and tailoring opportunities.

The centres also help women obtain essential documents and find relevant services. Where legal or emotional support is needed, staff can refer women to Sambhali’s Nirbhaya programme. This connection matters because a problem at home can interrupt learning even when a woman is keen to continue.

Core values

Our starting point is respect for each woman’s ability to learn and make choices about her own life. Women arrive with practical knowledge, responsibilities and skills that deserve recognition. Learning alongside others gives them room to ask questions, practise and build confidence without having to hide that they missed school.

Sambhali is nonreligious and nonpolitical. The centres seek to widen access for women facing social and economic barriers. Tutors contribute teaching skills; women contribute their experience and support for one another. Regular contact with families helps address obstacles to attendance. For us, community development includes these patient relationships and the gradual increase in women’s ability to participate in decisions affecting them.

What works well

Bringing several kinds of support into a familiar centre helps women stay connected. A participant may first come to learn sewing and later seek help with reading, a document or a family difficulty. Staff can respond without expecting her to find each service alone.

The programme report records learning gains in centres where assessments were completed. It also describes women taking local stitching orders and some graduates returning for further practice. These are useful signs of progress, although they do not establish that every participant has gained a reliable income.

The annual report describes one Vidhya Centre participant who learned cutting, sewing and embroidery after losing her husband. She was working towards establishing herself as a tailor. Her experience shows the value of a practical route back into learning while supporting a family.

Challenges

Attendance remains uneven. Household work, childcare, family restrictions and migration can interrupt a course. Some centres experienced substantial early dropout. Extreme heat and seasonal work also affected participation, while distance and bus timings created difficulties in Setrawa. Two centres had to move premises, disrupting familiar routines.

Staff responded with home visits and family conversations, adjusted timings, staggered batches and extra practice. These measures helped the programme adapt, but the barriers did not disappear. A woman’s absence needs to be understood in the context of her day and her choices.

There is also a limit to what training alone can achieve. Sewing skills and access to a machine can help a woman begin work, but regular earnings depend on orders, time and continued support.

Learning and future plans

The clearest lesson is that women need time and practical support to keep learning. Attendance records help us notice difficulties, but conversations explain them. Flexible arrangements and contact after graduation are therefore important parts of the work.

Our priorities are to strengthen these existing practices and understand more clearly what happens after women finish: whether they continue using their skills, obtain work and find the support they need. Through IACD, we would welcome exchanges with practitioners facing similar questions about participation, adult learning and women’s livelihoods.

Sources: Sambhali Trust Annual Report 2025–2026, Empowerment Centres section; Empowerment Centre programme report for April 2025–March 2026, prepared 5 May 2026.

A woman participant receiving a health check-up and medical assistance through Sambhali Trust's Adarsh Project community outreach initiatives.

Women participants attending a group learning session at a Sambhali Trust Empower Centre, using digital resources to support their learning.