Kashmir Pencil Factory -- USAGM
Metadata
- Kashmir Pencil Factory -- USAGM
- April 5, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English Kashmir Pencil Factory - Dar HEADLINE: Kashmir’s Pencil Village Generates Two-Thirds of Wood Needed for Pencils in India TEASER: PUBLISHED AT: 4/5/2022 at 2:35pm BYLINE: Zubair Dar CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: Srinagar, Kashmir VIDEOGRAPHER: Zubair Dar VIDEO EDITOR: Zubair Dar SCRIPT EDITORS: KE(1st); Bowman VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original | VOA Urdu Service PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __ TRT: 2:09 VID APPROVED BY: KE TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES:)) ((INTRO)) [[VOA’s Zubair Dar brings us the story of ‘Pencil Village’ where a factory provides two-thirds of the wood needed to make pencils in India, which exports the old-school writing implement to scores of countries. This report is narrated by Aisha Khalid.]] ((NARRATOR)) On the outskirts of Kashmir’s largest city of Srinagar, lies a village known as ‘pencil village.’ It gets its name from the fact that this village provides the wood necessary to make over two-thirds of India’s pencils, according to a factory owner. ((Manzoor Ahmed Allaie, Factory Owner)) ((Male in Urdu)) “About 90% of the pencils in India are made from this wood. So, with the supply we give them, they are able to make and sell pencils in 83 countries.” ((NARRATOR)) This business generates income that sustains Okho Village, which is made up of about 250 families. But like many communities, COVID-19 hit this village hard.. ((Manzoor Ahmed Allaie, Factory Owner)) ((Male in Urdu)) “Before COVID, our daily production was 300 bags. We used to make anywhere between $1.5 – $1.7 million in a year. During COVID, we saw our numbers fall to between $250,000 - $400,000. So we had to reduce the number of workers to 30% and could only keep technical workers on staff. ((NARRATOR)) More than 2,500 people worked in the village's 18 factories prior to the pandemic, including a large number of local women. However, pandemic-induced school closures in much of the world lowered demand for pencils, and factory owners were forced to cut their workforce. ((Mehraj-u-Din Dar, Worker)) ((Male in Urdu)) “When a child goes to school only then will they spend money for pencils and causing our production to continue. If the schools get closed, then our jobs will be lost, and our employment is affected.” ((NARRATOR)) But with the schools reopening and demand picking up again, hundreds of workers are now back to work. ((Manzoor Ahmed Allaie, Factory Owner)) ((Male in Urdu)) “Life can have ups and downs, but pencils will always be used as it’s a required for education. Much like a child’s future depends on pencils in early education, this factory’s future also depends on pencils.” ((For Zubair Dar in Srinagar, Kashmir – Aisha Khalid – VOANEWS
- Transcript/Script Kashmir Pencil Factory - Dar HEADLINE: Kashmir’s Pencil Village Generates Two-Thirds of Wood Needed for Pencils in India TEASER: PUBLISHED AT: 4/5/2022 at 2:35pm BYLINE: Zubair Dar CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: Srinagar, Kashmir VIDEOGRAPHER: Zubair Dar VIDEO EDITOR: Zubair Dar SCRIPT EDITORS: KE(1st); Bowman VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original | VOA Urdu Service PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __ TRT: 2:09 VID APPROVED BY: KE TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES:)) ((INTRO)) [[VOA’s Zubair Dar brings us the story of ‘Pencil Village’ where a factory provides two-thirds of the wood needed to make pencils in India, which exports the old-school writing implement to scores of countries. This report is narrated by Aisha Khalid.]] ((NARRATOR)) On the outskirts of Kashmir’s largest city of Srinagar, lies a village known as ‘pencil village.’ It gets its name from the fact that this village provides the wood necessary to make over two-thirds of India’s pencils, according to a factory owner. ((Manzoor Ahmed Allaie, Factory Owner)) ((Male in Urdu)) “About 90% of the pencils in India are made from this wood. So, with the supply we give them, they are able to make and sell pencils in 83 countries.” ((NARRATOR)) This business generates income that sustains Okho Village, which is made up of about 250 families. But like many communities, COVID-19 hit this village hard.. ((Manzoor Ahmed Allaie, Factory Owner)) ((Male in Urdu)) “Before COVID, our daily production was 300 bags. We used to make anywhere between $1.5 – $1.7 million in a year. During COVID, we saw our numbers fall to between $250,000 - $400,000. So we had to reduce the number of workers to 30% and could only keep technical workers on staff. ((NARRATOR)) More than 2,500 people worked in the village's 18 factories prior to the pandemic, including a large number of local women. However, pandemic-induced school closures in much of the world lowered demand for pencils, and factory owners were forced to cut their workforce. ((Mehraj-u-Din Dar, Worker)) ((Male in Urdu)) “When a child goes to school only then will they spend money for pencils and causing our production to continue. If the schools get closed, then our jobs will be lost, and our employment is affected.” ((NARRATOR)) But with the schools reopening and demand picking up again, hundreds of workers are now back to work. ((Manzoor Ahmed Allaie, Factory Owner)) ((Male in Urdu)) “Life can have ups and downs, but pencils will always be used as it’s a required for education. Much like a child’s future depends on pencils in early education, this factory’s future also depends on pencils.” ((For Zubair Dar in Srinagar, Kashmir – Aisha Khalid – VOANEWS
- NewsML Media Topics Conflict, War and Peace
- Topic Tags Kashmir
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date April 5, 2022 14:46 EDT
- Description English VOA’s Zubair Dar brings us the story of ‘Pencil Village’ where a factory provides two-thirds of the wood needed to make pencils in India, which exports the old-school writing implement to scores of countries. This report is narrated by Aisha Khalid.
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English