Sampurna Indian {Trans Kinner} Hijrah Authentic Lives (SITAL) parivar
We ask for your help to continue the journey of SITAL parivar in sustaining the world's largest transgender entrepreneurship livelihoods project in India.
SITAL was born out of need to rebuild Transgender, Hijrah, Kinner, Thirunangai, Kothi, Jogti, Mangalmukhi, KhwajaSaraf and Intersex lives after their livelihoods were destroyed during the pandemic. During the pandemic, the community gathered resources and supplies to save and protect close to 100,000 TGNCI+ lives with relief supplies, hospital bills and rebuilding their shelters.
With a focus of rehabilitating Trans Hijrah Kinner lives, our most expansive aspect of SITAL parivar was to engage in a strategic initiative that began with providing seed investment, infrastructure setup, leadership mentoring and business management beginning in 2021 for 26 small business livelihoods that have sustained and grown since their inception. In its latest phase, we are focused on expanding, right sizing and growing product services and products.
Our beginning
In April 2020, we accepted 64 small business enterprise proposals from the community and reviewed to shortlist 42 of them. 26 of these projects could be funded. As of Oct 1, 2023, over 100 Transgender Hijrah Kinnar folks are successfully employed, and 19 Trans entrepreneur are leading 19 small business livelihood projects. SITAL parivar was a vision initiated, built, and furthered by Anjali Rimi, a proud transgender kinnar. .
Your support and funds will help these small business entrepreneurial projects to get past business challenges including training their staff and engaging with customer base to better transgender respect and dignity.
More about our Transgender Entrepreneurship Projects
- Divine Touch Clinic(Est. Nov 2021) located in Hyderabad, Telangana led by Transgender Entrepreneurship Doctor Dr. Ruth John Paul has treated over hundreds of Trans Hijrah low income patients along with delivering over 200 babies to mothers living in outright poverty. Dr. Ruth has been successful in expanding the clinic to more hospital-like services and needs support with hiring competent trained nurses and maintaining medical supplies to offer to patients who can’t afford paying for medications. Divine Touch is the first Trans-owned and led legally registered clinic approved by the association of allopathy committee of Telangana. It employs 2 Transgender helpers.
- Godavari Swaach Jaal(Est Oct 2021) located in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh led by Transgender entrepreneurship Sarika and overseen by owner Chandrika is a water plant that filters ground water to make it potable to the local communities who come by to purchase a bucket, a jug or a whole tank of water. It not only provides revenues extensively, it also gives clean drinking water access to over 9000 colony members who are cut off from the main city water supply due to city planning restrictions. They need funds to move the location to a more central location to install a second water filtering unit and a second borewell.
- KothiSree Beauty Training Center (Est. Dec 2021) located in Kalyani, West Bengal provides makeup tutorials and extensive bridal and beauty services. Once trained, the graduates are placed in local and urban beauty salons. Overseen by Trans activist and leader, A.R. Chowdary They are each provided a makeup kit that they can carry to provide services at weddings and family events. They need funds to provide new makeup kits and material rather than recycle old ones.
- New Style Embroidery (Est. Nov 21) by Trans Guru Avanthika provides unique and state of the art embroidery sewing work on sarees, blouses and other dresses. Employing 3 Trans associates, she also holds monthly training classes to teach women including trans women to sew and make garments. There is a huge demand for embroidery garments and the need is to acquire another embroidery machine to generate further revenue as the rents for the place have gone up too.
- Prematho Food Truck (Est Nov 21) by Nayak, it is run by Sujatha and is famously known in Hyderabad as it offers breakfast and lunch items by the roadside at very affordable prices. The truck converts to a fully open kitchen allowing for multiple cooks including Sujatha to make idly, dosa, vada, and other items. The funds are needed to better the upkeep of food truck and secure new cooking range for making dosas.
- Sai Krupa Hotel(Est Dec 21) is run by Jasmine that is a large currypoint, catering service and hotel offering three meals in a day. With 4 trans helpers, the establishment has been expanded twice and recently appeared on India’s version of shark tank. The funding needed is to build and co-locate cloud kitchens maintaining the extensive menu offered at Sai Krupa based in Hyderabad, India.
- Sampriti Tailoring Services (Est Dec’ 21) run by A.R. Chowdary is sewing center where small garments like blouses, handkerchiefs and mats. It also trains over 15 trans hijrah folks to become independent seamstresses and build their own incomes. The space is small and there is a need to move to a more centrally accessible location. Additionally, each graduate is offered a second hand sewing machine to take with them to start on their own. More of these machines are needed.
- Triveni Bakery (Est Nov 21) is located in Mumbai, India run by Vasvi Chilka under guidance of Haji. The space is located in the vicinity of a wedding hall and with cakes as cheap as Rs.250, they sell a lot of them. With support and training from the professional baker at ZamZam bakery, they have since expanded to make cookies and chocolates Support is needed to buy baking material that can help make chocolates on larger scale to meet the demand.
- Winner Xerox shop(Est Nov 21) in Cuddalore, Tamilnadu provides income to 3 trans thirunangai folks with just one xerox machine. The shop located in the college area gets a lot of demand for photocopying and printing material. They are in need to getting another machine to keep up with maintenance schedules and avoid down time during peak college and school seasons that has resulted in loss of revenue and salaries.
- TransCafe (Est March 2022) is a full fledged café with snacks, pastries and The trans cafe is an inclusive space owned, run and managed by the hijra, trans and non binary folks in Mumbai. The trans cafe provides safe space and affordable meals for all, and is now reaching out in commercial catering space.and employs 7 transgender hijrah folks and overseen by Zainab Patel.
- Lonestar Mizoram(Est Sept 2022) is a modern era beauty salon that provides beauty services and training to Queer Transgender high school graduates to offer these services to customers in distant state of Mizoram. Led by Joseph, it has 12 members of the TGNCI community on staff.
- Bhavani Mobiles(Est. Sept 2022) is a mobile phone and tablet sales and service center in rural Andhra Pradesh. It is owned and run by Trans Intersex business woman GangaBhavani. The store opened as a primary small business employs up to 4 transgender employees with a full time technician who repairs, updates and handles accessory sales. Additional support is needed to secure greater inventory stocks of phones and more tablets to help keep up with the demand as it is the only store in the vicinity of 50 kms.
- K.N. Saree Center(Est Sept 2022) is credit based Saree center that provides new fashions to local housewives and women of the poor dwellings. Run by Neethu Nampally and Kameshwari Devi, it is affordable saree purchasing with credit and there is need to bring new fashions and maintain stock of regular brands and sarees to meet the local demand especially for festivals and weddings.
- Shingaar Clothing Boutique(Est Dec 2021) is run by Fiza Khan in Hyderabad, India and offers a variety of latest fashions that Fiza secures from around the country particularly for local specialties like Bengal silk, Surat cotton etc. She is an expert designer as well, and outfits entire families and women including overseas customers. She has recently undergone major medical surgeries and needs to invest heavily in rebuilding her stock to replenish sales.
- Shingaar Beauty Parlor (Est Dec 2021) is based in Hyderabad, India that started as beauty center for customers to get facials, eyebrow threading, massages and makeup including bridalwear, has now moved to in-home delivery and care of clients who have mobility challenges and are doing well. Run by Keziah reddy Dolly it offers consultancy by Rosy who has expert makeup services.
- Sweekrithi Paper Plate (Est Oct 2021) is the largest small business livelihood project of SITAL parivar till date. Operating a large-scale machinery setup, it produces sustainable and compostable plateware, cups and bowls that are largely sought by commercial catering establishments in and around rural West Bengal. It employs 14 Hijrah Kothi people and proudly led by Sumi Das, a transgender entrepreneur.
- Santhosh Bakery (Est. Nov 2022) Is a bakery and stationary store with hot food, snacks, xerox and stationary material for rural school going children in rural Telangana and run by Santhosh who brings to forefront his own educational pursuits in keeping this store going. This store needs additional counters and faster processing xerox machines.
Ways to support us
For many decades now, the Trans Hijra communities in India have been isolated, neglected, and pushed into further poverty and desperation gave the social stigma, false myths, and ignorance. The pandemic has furthered our marginalization. Our community has been left behind in all the large-scale relief efforts happening internationally and right here at home. We need your valuable help. Please support and save our lives.
