Self-help group women at the Jharkhali paper plate unit started small, replacing thermocol with biodegradable alternatives. A Durga Puja organizer overseas placing an order gave them a renewed sense of self-belief — and a steady, dignified income.
Bono Bibir Pala was once sung, but the scroll-painting tradition behind it had disappeared. After four months of training with expert painters from Kolkata, village women now sell Patachitra-painted merchandise to tourists at permanent forest department stalls.
Jatragachi Nandanagar Primary School served a hundred children with barely working infrastructure. With CSR support from Merlin Group's "I Am Kolkata," KSCH installed fans, computers, and a water purifier — and continues renovating school toilets in Uttarpara.
When KSCH began training cycles in 2022 with the Jharkhali Joint Forest Management Committee, the remoteness of the region and the absence of reliable markets had already pushed Sundarban Patachitra to the brink of disappearance. Two years later, forty women artists unveiled over fifty cloth-based paintings and two extended narrative scrolls at Gallery Gold, Kolkata — work so significant that India Post issued a special commemorative stamp and postal cover in its honour.
When Cyclone Remal tore through the Sundarbans in May 2024, KSCH teams were among the first to reach the hardest-hit villages. Beyond emergency shelter kits and food for 5,000 displaced households, the team stayed on for agricultural rehabilitation and hygiene guidance — helping families move not just to safety, but toward a stable future.
Every story here began with a partnership, a volunteer, or a single act of support.
