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New Opportunities for Qalandar Communities

Amid beating drums and the shrill screech of bagpipes, a bear is dragged onto the center of the arena. The crowd, gathered for the wrestling match, cheers loudly as the bear is tied with a long rope to a peg. Their cheering reaches a frenzied pitch as ferocious bull terriers are loosened upon the bear. The toothless and clawless bear tries to defend itself from the attacking dogs. If it is lucky, it will defend itself in the three minute bout and come out with only a ripped nose and mouth and other scratches.

Since the days of British colonization, these displays were staged during public Eid celebrations or other festivals in the rural areas of in Pakistan. In 1993, when word of this sport reached international organizations like the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), they started an anti-bear-baiting campaign in Pakistan. As a result, an explicit and hard-hitting report and film were produced that made international headlines. The resulting condemnation forced the Pakistani Government to reinforce the strict ban on bear-baiting events.

After the ban, the late Mr. Inayatullah Chaudhry, a consultant with the WWF, faced with a conundrum. Enforcing the ban on bear-baiting — the traditional livelihood for generations of qalandars (gypsies) — meant that the already impoverished qalandars faced further hardship. So, in 1998, he created Habitat Integrated Pakistan (HIP), a non-profit, non-governmental organization, to provide a viable alternative for qalandars. HIP set up a small training center for qalandar women where they were taught sewing and other vocational skills like fruit preservation and knitting. They also taught younger qalandars basketry and carpentry and provided them with carts to earn their living as transporters of minor goods.

After a few years, some of these efforts failed, because "traditional qalandar families believed that their fate was to roam the earth under the open skies as gypsies," Naila Chaudhry, an HIP administrator says. They used to say, "the roofs that you have placed above our heads may fall down on us one day," Naila remembers. Therefore, Inayatullah adapted the training model to continue to address the needs of the community.

Now, young women participate in HIP programs for a shorter period of time, learn the profession, and, then, often get married and move to other places. After learning the profession, girls can work from home and care for their families. The women of HIP produce bags, dolls, jewelry, tapestries, candles, clothing, kitchen accessories, baskets, and other crafts.

One of the skills taught to these urban and rural women is a special technique of embroidering a pattern by using silk thread, sequins, beads, and dpaka (a shiny material which comes in different colors). When the embroidery is finished, the material is taken out of the threads. It is stitched and turned into a pillow cover or a bedspread.

A member of the Fair Trade Federation since 2004, HIP seeks to include more women in its training programs by establishing a proper workshop where women can work and learn. HIP also plans to expand its marketing efforts at the local and international levels. In the long run, HIP would like to establish an educational school for rural and gypsy children.