Update on my work at Swechha and Green the Gap

I've begun the process of reviewing my placement at Swechha with VSO, which included writing a report on what I have managed to achieve here and the success of the partnership overall. Next week we'll have three-way discussions between me, VSO India and Swechha to look back on the year, and help define the future partnership between VSO and Swechha. Some of the work I've done over the year that I have been able to report on is:

In my communications role:

• Design and production of a 2-year annual report for Swechha to ensure greater transparency and further promote the organisation to partners and supporters, plus other publications design
• Reorganised and updated www.swechha.in and trained colleagues to continue regular updates
• Launched monthly e-newsletters using an html email marketing provider and trained colleagues to maintain the initiative
• Devised an in-depth communications strategy tailored to the organisation which includes:

• A section on what is communications and why NGOs need it
• An Intro to Swechha section with all details in one place so staff can describe Swechha in the same way
• The context in which Swechha works as a resource on development, India, environment, volunteering etc. so Swechha can position itself within this
• An analysis of Swechha’s communications outputs to date
• Various specific objectives to improve communications including: planning and recording communications resources, how to work with external designers, how to produce annual reports, how to disseminate communications effectively, how to manage press coverage, how to do e-newsletters, how to update website regularly, social media use, improving internal communication etc. 

In my Green the Gap project role:

Organisation of the GtG project through:

• Defining mission statement and objectives
• Producing a product database with photos, descriptions and codes
• Designing and producing a product catalogue

Helping get more sales through:

• Designing and producing www.greenthegap.com (almost fully operational - just awaiting the integration of a payment gateway)
• Designing marketing materials – bookmarks, product labels, signs
• Encouraging social media use
• Product design – drawing new products and selecting cloths for existing ones

Implementing fair trade practices through:

• Defining fair trade objectives and indicators for the project
• Writing simple fair trade values for the project, translated into Hindi, explained to all and displayed in the tailors’ workshop
• Designing and writing the first detailed 40-page annual report for greater transparency, available online as a pdf
• Drafting contracts for tailors, getting them translated into Hindi, and issuing them

I have been doing my best to work with local colleagues and explain what I have been doing here and why – so that the initiatives I have set up will continue after my 12 months here. I’m particularly keen for Green the Gap to continue moving forward towards the objective of gaining international fair trade certification in the next few years.

Swechha annual report:

Green the Gap online shop www.greenthegap.com: