The Future Begins Now…
The journey of Vekolu Dozo a Naga Woman Weaver Entrepreneur who shows fellow women how it’s never too late nor little to begin.
Managing both, the home front as well as the the tricky space of entrepreneurship, Vekuvolu Dozo is one strong woman from Nagaland we look up to. Vekuvolu weaves on loin looms (a.k.a back-strap looms) and creates beautiful cushion covers, table runners, coasters and bags. She does this along with taking care of a family. She has adopted children along with her biological progeny and is raising them all to be independent and strong.
Vekuvolu Dozo grew up in Phevopisu village in the interiors of Nagaland as the second eldest daughter among nine other siblings.
She belonged to a poor economic background, Vekuvolu’s father’s was a small farmer and her mother a pastor barely able to manage both ends through their meager income.. Veku did not in grow up in abundance. At the age of 19 after completion of higher secondary education she completed her 12th standard, Vekuvolu got Dozo was married to Thepuzoi Dozo who is a missionary at Uttar Pradesh. Her husband being away from the family, Vekuvolu had to carry the burden of raising her 5 children and run a family.
Neither she nor her family realized her skill back then that she would become so skillful at the art of weaving. It was during July 2019, when a friend of hers introduced her to cotton weaving training which was organised by Antaran, an initiative of Tata Trust for transforming crafts in her locality.
Before attending Antaran classes, Vekuvolu says her skill in weaving was basic and she did not think of it as a scope for income generation. Shortly after undergoing learning about the nuances of creating woven textiles for markets outside through Antaran, she started earning with her traditional skills ; which otherwise would have taken a backseat even for personal use.training and Soon she established contacts with buyers through market linkages by Antaran network and in no time began her entrepreneurial journey receiving support from Antaran she now looks forward for more opportunities and takes income from weaving as not just one- off supplementary income generation opportunity but a serious full time job. Something she had never thought or dreamed of!
Through classes at Antaran that she learnt about branding and thought of establishing her own brand, that even established artisans seldom think of. With growing business, Vekuvolu now has 12 other associate weavers who are all paid out of the earning she makes from her brand ‘Dozo Enterprises’. Every month a single weaver weaves at least 20–25 products which are either pre-ordered or for retail orders by many customers. Life has become easy for both her husband and Vekuvolu to raise 5 children and run a family. Vekuvolu also expresses how the opportunity she got through Antaran for attending 2 marketing event in Delhi changed her life. From being a weaver who was able to hardly use her skills to create textiles for personal use as been their tradition for centuries to creating ones for global markets has been quite a transformation in a short period.
Talking about her dreams, Vekuvolu wishes to set up her own crafts and weaving center where she can give an opportunity to many like her. She also wishes to promote and revive traditional way of weaving which she says is our identity passed down to us by our ancestors. Vekuvolu expressed her appreciation and gratitude to Antaran for having encouraged and supported her and her associate weavers to earn with pride and dignity from the comforts of their homes and on their own terms.
By Ninoto Zhimoni
