Self-Employed Women's Association

Founded in 1972, SEWA is India's first and largest trade union of informal sector workers, with a total membership of 694,551 self-employed women and a population coverage of around one million. SEWA also provides members services, often through cooperatives. As of 2002, SEWA's membership included 89 cooperatives, with a total membership of 41,393 workers. These include 55 milk co-operatives, with 8,000 members; twelve service cooperatives, providing health care/midwife services, child care, and wastepaper collection, with 2,000 members; eleven artisan co-operatives for weavers, bamboo workers, embroiderers, and other artisans, with 1,000 members; seven land-based co-operatives for tree growers and agro-forestry workers; and three vendor cooperatives for kerosene vendors and vegetable suppliers. The largest cooperative, SEWA Bank, has nearly 30,000 members.

coordinates: 
POINT (-86.1349019 40.2671941)