Examining the impact of craft based skill training and input support to marginalised women in Rajasthan (India)

Last registered on October 20, 2021

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Examining the impact of craft based skill training and input support to marginalised women in Rajasthan (India)
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0008394
Initial registration date
October 18, 2021

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 20, 2021, 1:27 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
International Initiative for Impact Evaluation

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Newcastle University
PI Affiliation
International Initiative for Impact Evaluation

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2021-12-01
End date
2024-07-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The study will examine the impact of value chain development by Urmul Trust in Rajasthan, India. Under this project, Urmul will develop and setup a new value chain that will primarily deal in processed wool and yarn. Accordingly, Urmul will collectivise, train and provide input support to marginalised women (in 18-55 year age group) who will form a part of this value chain. We propose a mixed methods impact evaluation. We will use a village level clustered randomised control trial (C-RCT) to examine the impact of these interventions (including collectivisation, skill enhancement and input support) on various women (such as participation in productive activities, confidence, agency and income) and household level outcomes. Whereas, program and qualitative data will be used to understand mechanisms driving the observed changes.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Banerjee, Shreya, Chandan Jain and Smriti Sharma. 2021. "Examining the impact of craft based skill training and input support to marginalised women in Rajasthan (India) ." AEA RCT Registry. October 20. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8394-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention will involve bringing together women to form collectives, training them in crafts, supporting quality enhancement and, output improvement. The objective of the intervention is to enable women from villages in Rajasthan to - a) come together to work as a collective, b) enhance their skill and quality of output through the collective, and c) sustain themselves as a group. These interventions will be implemented by Urmul Trust, Rajasthan. Under this intervention, Urmul will develop and setup a new value chain that will deal in raw wool (collected from sheep) and yarns produced using the processed wool. Accordingly Urmul will mobilise women who either knows spinning of yarn or have sheep in their households. Urmul will collectivise these women to form Common Interest Groups (CIGs) at the village level and there will one CIG in each of the intervention villages. With regard to capacity development, Urmul will train the CIG members on - a) handling and processing of raw wool, including cleaning, shearing and segregation of raw wool, and b) spinning of raw wool into yarns. Urmul will also provide the CIGs access to improved equipment needed for shearing (battery operated trimmers and shearing equipment) and carding (carding machines) of raw wool as well.
Intervention Start Date
2022-01-15
Intervention End Date
2024-01-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Following women level outcomes are of primary interest in this experiment -

1. Participation and membership in collectives established under this project
2. Participation and completion of the skill training program
3. Participation in productive activities, household enterprises and activities covered by the intervention
4. Own and household level income
5. Confidence and agency
6. Ownership and control over productive and financial assets
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
To evaluate the impact of collectivisation and input support provided to women artisans in the wool value chain, the proposed evaluation will use a mixed methods approach that combines a quantitative evaluation with embedded process and qualitative evaluation. The quantitative evaluation is based on a clustered randomised control trial (CRCT) with village being the unit of randomisation. Given that the artisans are clustered across villages, randomisation at the individual level will not be appropriate due to possible spill overs within the village. Villages will be randomly assigned to treatment and control groups, with an equal number of villages in each group, and each village having an equal probability of being assigned to either group.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomisation will be done by the research team in office using a computer.
Randomization Unit
Village is the unit of randomisation
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
100
Sample size: planned number of observations
4000 households
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
50 treatment villages and 50 control villages
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Catalyst Foundation Institutional Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2021-10-02
IRB Approval Number
N/A