Disappointed embroiderers in Lucknow

Madan Lal MESH trainee for the Fair Wages Project has recently visited the Lucknow embroidery groups that we had some quality issues with last month. Madan, with a consultant called Sunil Singh were there to show them the fair wage guide and to encourage them to use it when fixing their prices. We were sorry to hear they felt frustrated from their earnings on this their first order. These are new and raw groups formed under a Leprosy Mission project. The Leprosy Mission field staff would have helped them with their costing for the first order. We now need to try and understand what went wrong. They are all skilled craftspeople who normally do piece rate for middlemen; we had hoped this direct business would improve their income. Now we must work out how best to work with them.