Empowering the Banskar Community of Harda District through Skills-Based Social Entrepreneurship: The Synergy Sansthan Model

Dr. Rameshwar Mishra; Ms. Nupur Bishnoi

Empowering the Banskar Community of Harda District through Skills-Based Social Entrepreneurship: The Synergy Sansthan Model

Author(s)	Dr. Rameshwar Mishra, Ms. Nupur Bishnoi
Country	India
Abstract	The Banskar (Basor) community of Harda, Madhya Pradesh, is a traditional Scheduled Caste bamboo‐craft artisan group facing deep marginalization and poverty. This study examines how Synergy Sansthan – a Harda-based NGO – has pursued a skills-based social entrepreneurship model under India’s SFURTI scheme to empower Banskar artisans. In 2021 Synergy formed the Synergy Gram & Shilp Kendra Producer Company Ltd. (a Section 8 company) as the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for a SFURTI-supported bamboo craft cluster. We draw on a Synergy exploratory field survey (58 households, April 2022) and secondary sources to analyze this model’s process and impact. Synergy’s approach has included collective organization, product diversification (training artisans – especially youth and women – in new bamboo crafts such as lamps and fans), and market linkages (e.g. a mobile “Outlet-on-Wheels” and B2B orders). The analysis finds that the model has strengthened community agency: artisans gained capacity to produce higher-value items and obtained initial orders (e.g. 800 handcrafted fans produced by women in one week). Notably, women’s involvement increased – a female workforce completed the major fan order, and women heads report not needing to migrate for work. Nevertheless, challenges remain: about half of artisan products remained unsold, raw material access is severely constrained (forest department limits supplies), and incomes remain low (29% of families earn only ~₹100–165/day). We conclude that Synergy Sansthan’s skills-driven cluster model has had positive social impacts but requires further policy support. Key recommendations include strengthening market access and finance for artisans, ensuring bamboo supply to traditional communities, and scaling NGO–government partnerships. These findings inform rural development and social innovation policy for tribal artisans and women.
Keywords	Banskar community; bamboo artisans; social entrepreneurship; SFURTI; skills development; producer company; rural livelihoods; women empowerment; Synergy Sansthan.
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 2, March-April 2026
Published On	2026-04-06

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Empowering the Banskar Community of Harda District through Skills-Based Social Entrepreneurship: The Synergy Sansthan Model

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