Knitting human bonds

A small enterprise manufacturing woolen garments has helped empower women in Uttarakhand

The villages of Guniyal and Chandroti in Uttarakhand are less than a kilometre from each other. Yet, until Shubh Chopra came and settled down in Chandroti almost two decades ago, the women of the two villages had never met or seen each other. For whatever reason, the two villages had a watertight divide. The residents lived as virtual strangers despite the proximity.
 
The birth of Chandroti Woolens changed all that. Chopra moved to the village around 1992 and eight years followed without any upheavals. In 2000, when she had her first granddaughter she knitted a blanket for her and