Nippon Paint to train 1000 underprivileged women in Chennai as wall painters under its ‘nshakti’ initiative

Chennai : Nippon Paint (India), Asia’s leading paint manufacturer, has signed an MoU with Rotary Club of Madras East (RCME) for ‘nshakti’ its CSR initiative. RCME will support Nippon Paint’s endeavour to skill women as professional wall painters in Chennai. In the next one year, Nippon Paint and RCME aim to train 1000 unskilled, underprivileged women and equip them to become professional painters.

Nippon Paint’s nshakti training program is an initiative to train rural women in professional wall painting. Its sole objective is to make rural women employable and provide them a sustainable livelihood. The women trainees are trained by expert trainers from Nippon Paint’s PROceed training academy to qualify themselves to become professional wall painters. The ‘nshakti’ professional training is conducted over a 12-day period where the women trainees undergo a comprehensive curriculum to meet the present industry demands. Upon the successful completion of the program, the women painters are awarded a professional certificate which qualifies them as professional wall painters. To further support their footing in the profession, the women painters are introduced to Nippon Paint’s dealers and other decision-makers like Interior designers and architects who can provide painting jobs for them. These women painters continue to work together on different projects, supported by Nippon Paint’s CSR team.

So far, the nshakti initiative has benefitted more than 500 women in Tamil Nadu. These women belong to rural districts/ towns from Tamil Nadu including Ocheri, Ramasamypatti and Anaimalai. These women painters have gone on to paint homes, schools, offices, and even temples in their respective villages and neighbouring areas.

Speaking about the partnership with Rotary Club of Madras East, Mahesh Anand, President, Nippon Paint India (Decorative Division) said, “We are happy to collaborate with Rotary Club of Madras East for this very special initiative. Three years ago, for the first time in India, Nippon Paint launched the ‘nshakti’ initiative to train and certify rural women in becoming professional wall painters, thereby empowering rural women to have a sustainable livelihood, and become financially independent. A profession like wall painting is still largely dominated by men but Nippon Paint recognized it as a potential employment opportunity for rural women. Though one might think of wall painting as a profession that is primarily male-dominated, women are known to have a keen sense of aesthetics, an eye for colour, and the patience that’s required for being an expert in the profession. Through nshakti, we want to level the playing field for women by providing the necessary training and tools. We hope to train 1000 women painters in Chennai by 2022.”

Rotary Club of Madras East (RCME) President Rtn. M. Srinivasa Rao added, “We are elated to partner with Nippon Paint team to enable underprivileged women to earn a livelihood through the nshakti initiative. We are aligned with Nippon team in our belief that wall painting would be a great employment avenue for women who are seeking employment opportunities. The training would empower them to acquire a skill and earn a sustainable livelihood.”