Holy Mother Ma Sarada Devi, the spiritual consort of Sri Ramakrishna Deva and worshipped by millions today as the Divine Mother, was born as a poor village-girl in West Bengal about 150 years ago. Swami Vivekananda proclaimed that Mother has incarnated Herself to uplift the poor masses.

Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama , Rajkot has planned to undertake a number of spiritual and philanthropic activities to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Ma Sarada Devi.

The Ashrama started the ‘Ma Sarada Tailoring Classes’ as a humble offering at the feet of the Mother of the Universe Ma Sarada Devi by serving the poor women of the nearby villages.

Under this Rural Development Project, vocational tailoring classes for women of rural areas are carried out. Started in Nov.2005, it conducts the basic course of 4 months, which enables women of economically weaker section of the society to earn their livelihood and stand on their own feet.

The Ashrama is conducting tailoring classes at the following places:

1. Upleta (Dist. Porbandar) 100 kms away from the Ashrama.
2. Dhaneti (Dist. Kutch) 225 kms away from the Ashrama.
3. Adipur (Dist. Kutch) 210 kms away from the Ashrama.
4. Junagadh (Dist. Junagadh) 100 kms away from the Ashrama.

The monks of Sri Ramarishna Ashrama, Rajkot, carry out the overall supervision of the training programmes regularly. Qualified teachers are appointed. The local devotees and volunteers of the concerned center do the selections of the students after a survey carried out in the nearby poor villages.

A token registration fee of Rs.100/- only is taken from the students for the entire course of 4 months. Each batch consists of a minimum number of 21 students. After the completion of the course, examinations are conducted. The successful candidates are given authorized certificates from the Ashrama.

Keeping in view the sole aim of educating the poor masses as taught by Swami Vivekananda, the unsuccessful candidates are encouraged to complete their training courses without the payment of any further fees.

The feedback of the result of the tailoring classes is very encouraging. A lot of the students have been able to earn considerably and help themselves and their family economically within a very short time of the completion of their training.

In the beginning, 5 sewing machines were given free of cost in Upleta and 3 in Adipur. Recently, 10 sewing machines were given in Adipur center and 6 were given to Upleta center. Half of the cost of these machines was borne by the Ashrama.

All these machines were given free to poor candidates after proper scrutiny. Besides the economical background of the beneficiaries, many other factors are also considered for the distribution of the sewing machines like regular attendance in the class and the over all performance. Due care is always taken to ensure the quality of the training programme and the progress of the individual candidate.

The total expenses of running the above-mentioned 4 centers is approximately Rs.3,08,000/- (Rupees Three Lac Eight Thousand only).