Every square inch of cloth embroidered in the famously intricate Kutch style is filled with traditional motifs, mirrors and sequins. The result is embroidery as beautiful as it is time-consuming, a single piece often taking several months to finish. "We do needle work only when we are free from other chores," says Devibai Jasam, who also works as a laborer.

The embroidered blouses, handbags and other colorful crafts from Kutch are sold in stores from New Delhi to New York, yet Behn and her fellow embroiderers receive scant payment for their work. "The agents who come into the villages to buy these products do not offer these women more than 20 rupees (less than 50 cents) for one embroidered blouse, while these sell for almost 600 rupees (approximately $12) in New Delhi," says Ms. Vijaylaxmi, a handicraft development expert with the National Institute for Fashion Technology (NIFT), India’s premier fashion-design college.

Ever since an earthquake devastated much of Gujarat in January 2001, embroiderers like Behn and Jasam have had even less time for their craft, as they've been busy rebuilding their homes and their lives. But out of the destruction has come a new idea to help them make a lasting improvement in their lives by doing what they do best.

While working on post-earthquake rehabilitation in the region, CARE came up with an idea to help artisans like Behn use their skills to earn a living. The result was a joint project between CARE and NIFT that combines the traditional craft of needlepoint with modern marketing savvy.

The project began when 30 students from NIFT spent two weeks in Gujarat in the villages of Jaru, Ratlam and Chandipur, living with the embroiderers to learn how they work. "(T)he challenge of teaching the artisans themselves to produce viable goods and market them is a big challenge," says Abishek, one of the students. "Most of these women do their embroidery with no preconceived design in mind. They begin working on a piece of cloth and build the design as they go on."

The CARE-NIFT team taught them how to produce more in less time. "Instead of their traditional way of embroidering every bit of the garment, we taught them how to embellish a garment with little bits of embroidery," says Abishek. And in September, 18 women participated in a pair of workshops that taught them how to make new products like soft toys, mufflers, caps, mobile phone covers, clothing accessories and Christmas decorations.

Artisans in Bhuj use more efficient methods to produce their marketable crafts.

CARE also helped start a business resource center in its office in the city of Bhuj. The center helps find both national and international buyers for the embroidered crafts. This reduces the need for middlemen, helping ensure that all the profits go to the artisans, who will eventually run the center themselves with funding from sales of their crafts.

That may not be too far in the future. The center recently received a huge order for embroidered Christmas decorations and women's accessories from a U.S. firm. Business was so brisk in late 2001, three women had to be trained as supervisors to keep up with the hectic production schedule. While continuing to help, NIFT hopes to soon set up facilities within each village where local artisans can produce these new crafts themselves from start to finish.

The Kutch embroiderers are ready.

"We are very eager to begin work," says Punji Behn. "Who wants to labor in the fields?"