Digital Didi Changing Mindsets, Practices and Narratives
Deepali Devi, a resident of Meerapur village in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh does embroidery work and runs it like a small enterprise. She has been receiving training on digital tools from DEF’s trainer Meenu Soni. Deepali is a student and it’s her mother who does the embroidery work, she has slowly gained an interest in it and helps her in her free time. Deepali was very interested in digital tools and joined the training program even though she didn’t have a smartphone. Seeing her interest and enthusiasm, Meenu, her trainer gave her old smartphone to Deepali.
Once Deepali had a smartphone she was able to practically understand and practice what she would learn in the training. She learnt how to apply for government schemes online and she also started using digital forms of banking to complete transactions. Her focus then shifted from the basics to her mother’s enterprise; she learnt how to share photos of her embroidery work on WhatsApp and Facebook. She created an account for both and started sharing photos of products. She applied for her grandmother’s pension and her siblings scholarships and even received the benefits for both. She then learnt how to use YouTube and used the platform to watch videos of how to make sweaters, coats and tablecloths. She now clicks photos of all the products and shares with her friends on Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. This helps in increasing engagement and she has also been receiving some orders because of social media marketing.
Along with becoming a marketing expert for her mother’s brand she has also taken the responsibility of fulfilling all digital tasks at home. Like applying for government benefits, making sure all finances are in order and paying bills.
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