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Exotic Echo
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Concept |
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 Exotic Echo is a COMMON PLATFORM for people from multiple fields who have come together to make a difference to the rural population the world over. Exoticecho.com has been conceptualized with a vision to bring to its readers the social needs of the rural folk and the measures Exotic Echo has undertaken to ameliorate their hardships. The portal also adequately reflects the untiring and sincere endeavour of Supporting Self Help Groups rooted in rural India which are engaged in the social uplift of the underprivileged village folks. |
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AREAS OF FOCUS |
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To start with, the group has started initiatives
for rural sustainability in the North Eastern States of Nagaland,
Meghalaya, Manipur and Majuli in Assam, which is also the largest
river island in the world. Exotic Echo has a clear cut focus
to concentrate on four main fundamentals which it feels has
the potential to bring in prosperity and stem the migration
of rural population towards the urban areas the world over.
These are issues of EMPLOYMENT, BASIC HEALTH CARE, SOCIAL SECURITY
and MICRO FINANCE |
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ONGOING INITIATIVES |
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 GUARANTEED WORK FOR 365 DAYS FOR
RURAL WEAVERS. Exotic Echo’s present initiatives
are in the field of creating rural employment. Exotic Echo is
engaged in providing guaranteed employment to 20 Below Poverty
Line (BPL) weavers in Nagaland and 05 in the Ukhrul District
of Manipur. Plans are afoot to add 05 more weavers from the
Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya.
DIABETES
SCREENING FOR RURAL POPULATION. Exotic Echo VOLUNTEERS
are screening the rural population for diabetes in areas of
Nagaland, Meghalaya, Assam and Manipur. India unfortunately
has been tipped to become the Diabetes Capital of the world
in the next decade. Diabetes as an ailment is a silent killer
and yet does not figure on the radar of the National Rural Health
Mission because it is perceived to be a rich man’s ailment.
Our initial work in this field is breaking that myth as we are
finding that nearly 18 % of the sample size in rural India needs
to be educated and managed for the ailment. |
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OTHER AREAS OF FOCUS ON THIS PORTAL |
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Additionally, this portal also gives the visitors
an insight into the work philosophy of all its supporting members
and individually tries to showcase their multidimensional passion
and enthusiasm in the fields of TRAVEL,
DESIGN CONCEPTS and
FILM PRODUCTION. Exoticecho.com
is therefore an attempt to showcase FOUR MAJOR areas of interest
that include
SUPPORT FOR SELF HELP GROUPS,
travel, design concepts as well as film production. The site
apart from giving out the social initiatives being undertaken
will also provide tips on travel, design and have a list of
documentaries on North East India. |
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Travel Indranil Biswas fondly known as Neel to his friends has conceptualized the travel theme and all other related information on travel. He has been able to offer the readers with a scintillating account of a large number of travel hot spots in India by virtue of his rich and diverse personal experiences that he has gained by exploring more than 1.82 million kilometers of land in India and other parts of S.E.Asia in the last 35 years.
Design The design related concepts that the website offers to its readers have emerged from the personal experiences and work of Ipsita, Mushtaq and Jayanta. Their expertise in this sphere will serve the readers in good stead and will be a source of unique ideas and visions. Readers can take the help of novel concepts and themes to fulfill their requirements. Ipsita Biswas and Mustaq Ali are well known figures in the realm of Design and Decoration. They have 18 years of valuable experience to offer to the visitors in this realm of decorative art and design. Jayanta has also acquired a competence in the realms of design and creativity. The distinguished team of Jayanta, Ipsita and Mustaq will be a real treasure trove for our visitors.
Film Making Our film making basically portrays the work of Mubeen and Tinat who have been engaged in film production extensively and endeavor to bring forth the variety and richness of N.E.India.
Common Ground Readers will
find separate pages connected to each of these specialized activities.
What binds these different people and their different interests
together is their attempt to join hands with SONNIE KATH who heads
the ECHO SELF HELP GROUP. Collectively, they are trying to
make a difference to the lives of rural people by creating sustainable
employment.
Anjishnu Biswas who has worked
with a number of renowned portals in various capacities as reporter,
sub-editor and special correspondent will assist us in his position
as Content Editor for our team.
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 Echo
self help group is an association of rural weavers
and Artisans. It was set up and nurtured by Ms Sonnie Kath since
May 2006.The SELF HELP GROUP was doing its utmost to help the
rural weavers and artisans but its sphere of influence was rather
limited. Independently, Neel had an organization called Expressions
Exotic which was promoting travel to offbeat tourist destinations
in India from abroad and within the country mainly to infuse
money into rural and semi urban areas. Neel met Sonnie through
common friends in Jan 2008 and was inspired and motivated by
Sonnie’s one woman army approach in trying to make a difference.
Neel thereafter put together a network of like minded individuals’
from different fields but all committed to improvement of the
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX of the rural populace. Thus was born
EXOTIC ECHO. The first project launched by Exotic Echo was to
create sustainable employment for a group of 20 rural weavers
from the Diezephe village in Nagaland. The work with the weavers
commenced in JUL 2008. |
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 Vision
Statement
Focus
Methodology
Adopted |
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Vision
Statement |
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To develop into an organization to uplift the
human development index of the rural populace with a global
footprint stretching from Papua New Guinea to the Basins of
the Amazon River |
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Focus |
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- Rural
Employment Sector Create
Sustainable employment for handloom weavers and handicraft
making artisans in the rural areas worldwide.
- Health
Care sector. Screen the population in the rural areas for Diabetic mapping and
create an infrastructure to prevent diabetes and ultimately
build on this experience to build and provide LOW COST MULTIPLE
DIAGNOSTIC CENTRES in the rural areas world wide.
- Insurance
Sector. Low
premium based Life and Health Insurance with group schemes
for the rural population worldwide.
- Education
Sector. Providing linkages to wards of handloom
weavers and artisans through scholarships.
- Entrepreneurship
Building. Encourage
marginal entrepreneurs in rural areas by providing Micro
Finance linkages.
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Methodology
Adopted |
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Create rural employment by introducing
innovative marketing ideas which while adding to social equity,
helps to create rural employment, improves the human development
index of the population and at the same time results in better
penetration and improvement of bottom lines for the companies
supporting the various initiatives. |
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PRESENT INITIATIVES |
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Weaving
Initiative |
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Diabetes
Screening Initiative. |
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Setting
up of Training Infrastructure |
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Weaving
Initiatives |
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 Exotic
Echo plans to create a platform of at least 500 weavers all
over India in the next five years out to which 200 would be
from the North Eastern states of INDIA. For more details please click here.
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Diabetes
Screening Initiative |
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 The
diabetes screening initiative of the organization has commenced
on 06 Dec 2008 and is presently screening people in the two
states of Nagaland and Meghalaya. The programme is still in
its nascent stages of development and has been able to screen
an average of 55.2 persons per day. For more details please click here.
Schedule of camp held till 31st July.
Diabetes control camp held at Paren(Nagaland) in April, Dimapur in May and Jaintia Hills Namdong village in Meghalaya in June.
24th July 09- First Diabetes Screening center opened in Konton-nmon, East Khasi Hills,
Meghalaya. |
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Setting
up of Training Infrastructure |
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- EXOTIC ECHO is one of the approved
nodal agencies under the Department of Rural Development
which has the mandate to train grass root level weavers
and help them on the path of self employability. We have
decided to create a NODAL TRAINING CENTRE for our weaving
initiative of the organization in the Diezephe village,near
Dimapur in Nagaland.
- EXOTIC ECHO has also been designated
as a preferred partner organization by BAYER HEALTHCARE
to promote an awareness and screening programme for diabetes
in North East India. We have decided to set up the NODAL
TRAINING CENTRE for training the diabetes healthcare educator
cum employees at the Konton–U-Mon hamlet of Nongkrem,
near Shillong in Meghalaya.
- EXOTIC ECHO has already created
the basic infrastructure for computer based classroom teaching
with internet connectivity with basic printers to support
/ take printouts at Diezephe. Although these are very rudimentary,
even these rudimentary facilities are beyond the scope of
imagination of the grass root level weavers.
• We are in the process of reviving six Government
installed “Fly Shuttle Looms” and now under
the Women’s Society of Diezephe. These looms are in
a state of disuse and need urgent repairs. We have taken
up a programme not only to repair the looms, restore the
shed where they are housed but also pay rentals for the
looms to the Women’s Society.This infrastructure would
be ready by Feb end 2009.
- We are commencing work on the 01
March to set up a eco freindly temporary working shed to
accommodate at least 20 weavers for their practical training
and aim to complete the work before 31 March 2009.
- We are also in the process of arranging
for infrastructure to board and lodge upto 20 people in
Diezephe at a time for our ever increasing members who have
started coming to our project office for standardization,
integration and new skill development programmes. We would
be ready to handle a load of 20 trainees from the 15 April
2009.
- Having completed all the above work by April, exotice has now embarked on creating an integrated complex where diabetes screening, sale and demonstration of handloom products and a new design weaving pattern will be developed. The work has commenced in June and is expected to be completed by October end
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AN APPEAL TO ALL VISITORS TO THIS SITE |
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To encourage our weavers and KEEP
THE PROJECT SUSTAINABLE, please gift your near or dear ones
our excellent and guaranteed handloom products. We can deliver
the products anywhere in India. For details of how to buy a
product please e mail us at biswas.indranil@yahoo.com |
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SELF HELP GROUPS WHICH HAVE
JOINED EXOTIC ECHO |
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- SHURHI KROTO SELF HELPGROUP
- SHANU SELF HELP GROUP
- KESO SELF HELP GROUP
- AMACHI SELF HELP GROUP
- SMIT SELF HELP GROUP
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YOU CAN JOIN THE MOVEMENT BY
JUST FILLING UP THE FORM AND MAILING IT TO US(biswas.indranil@yahoo.com)
( The credentials of the group will be
ascertained before admittance)
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Click
here to download the form |
