EMA Centre

Nestled in the sylvan surroundings of Village Uttarbhag, in South Ramnagar, Baruipur is EMAÂ’ Development Centre. That is some 40 km from central Kolkata, West Bengal.

The campus is sprawled over a 7-acre area, and stands with a quiet pride as a symbol of creative talent and dignity of labour. One quarter of the area is reserved for ponds which are utilised for breeding fish, organically fed. Organically grown fruits and vegetables are also a major part of the nature fresh environment. The Development Centre houses the Marketing department, and its own team of producers. The Leather and Silk sections take pride of place there, and along with them are the Musical Instruments and the Candles divisions. There is also a separate wing which deals with the sourced finished products like wood, palm wood, stone, horn, brush, handicrafts and so on. Solar cookers have also been developed at the Centre and its utility is being spread especially in the rural areas.

The Development Centre also stands as a landmark site of cultural and social integration. Behind its quiet walls is a seemingly somnolent campus, rich with flora and fauna, hardly indicative of the creative and marketing hustle-bustle going on incessantly. A closer look reveals how the Development Centre brings together the various marginalised and minority communities, all with a good common cause. There is the minority community which also dwells there on its premises, there is a section which is totally handled by the physically challenged, there are single mothers and homemakers. All the 230 artisans and staff work and interact together, they rest and eat together, too. All the artisans who could hardly afford one square meal a day are now earning well and getting medical and educational aid as well. They have been able to use their hands to not only earn, but earn with the dignity due to them. Through this work they have also been able to showcase their inherent creative skill and win international recognition. Our Development Centre at Baruipur is proud to have made a significant difference in their lives, especially in the past five years. There is much more that can, and will, be done.