SIGMA has a tie-up with Goonj, a Delhi-based NGO that recycles old clothes to help the needy. The two jointly set up a clothes bank at XLRI which is managed by the students of the institute. The bank accepts clothes from donors who do not have use for the clothes anymore. The clothes are then processed and distributed to the poor. The bank, which was inaugurated last year, has run several avastradana programs or clothes donation drives and has been able to provide clothing to almost 200 people through the efforts of volunteers and NGOs. Earlier this year, XLRI-Goonj launched a major program to collect clothes for the Bihar flood victims. The collection drive in XLRI was done as a part of this initiative.

The kathas are being created through the efforts of the local NGO New Education and Environment Visions (NEEV). Around 12 families in Sonari, Johar Basti, all of whom have traditionally been katha makers, are working on the project. NEEV aims to produce around 5000 kathas in total – not only for Bihar, but for other parts of the country as well. Earlier this week, around 300 kathas were sent to Bihar by the NGO in a flagging off ceremony attended by XLRI students. NEEV is hoping to send 200 more kathas to Bihar before the end of the year.

Several other organizations contributed material for the making of the kathas. These organizations have promised to support the initiative by providing clothes in the months ahead as well. The project aims not only to help the Bihar flood victims, but also to promote the recycling of clothes, and enable the upliftment of the katha makers.