Crafting Resilience: Basanti’s Journey of Healing and Empowerment
This case study documents the experience of Basanti, a displaced woman from Kashmir who has navigated multiple challenges linked to conflict, displacement, and economic insecurity. Following her relocation to Jammu in the early 1990s, Basanti and her family experienced prolonged instability across various refugee camps, with limited access to essential services and economic opportunities.
Drawing on traditional skills in embroidery, tailoring, and handcraft, Basanti gradually re-engaged in income-generating activities. In 2019, she joined a skills development initiative facilitated by Yakjah, a community-based organisation working with displaced women in Jagti Camp. Through this programme, she gained advanced training, improved market access, and became part of a peer network focused on cultural preservation and livelihood development.
Basanti’s experience highlights the value of targeted, community-based support for displaced women, particularly those working in informal or home-based sectors. It illustrates how the integration of cultural heritage, vocational skills, and psychosocial support can contribute to economic resilience and social cohesion in post-conflict settings.