TRIFED – The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India'. got interested in SHALOM. They saw in SHALOM, the potential to help this form of embroidery flourish. They wanted to encourage the Toda women to keep this art form alive. TRIFED would help train them and support them by buying the embroidered products, creating a steady market. First the Todas had to be registered as Artisans formally with the DC Handicrafts – Directorate Commission of Handicrafts. A card was issued to each artisan which allowed them to supply their work to Central government stores. Formal registration would open the doors to several programs and benefits from the government . Easier said then done. The Todas were unorganized, most of them lacking any proper identification and community certificates. It was Sheela who had to do the groundwork, organising and pushing till they all had the proper cards. TRIFED created a skills training program for the Artisans. A 90 day training camp was held for 20 women. A Master trainer from the community was chosen and she trained the younger members in embroidery. Sheela had to cajole, push and pull and use all her leverage to get the Toda women to attend the training regularly. It was then that she began the habit of giving them a meal to cajole them to stay for the training the whole day. This practice continues to this day. All artisans get a hot meal and a cup of tea when they come to SHALOM, to hand in their embroidered pieces and get their money. Enthused by their success, TRIFED conducted another camp, bringing a trained textile and product designer from Delhi. The designer had to take some time to understand the nature of the embroidery. And the nature of the artisans, which is fairly temperamental. The designer created new products with the embroidered material which would find a bigger market. Cushion covers, key chains, purses and bags in different styles. The basic embroidery in red and black was retained although the temptation to introduce new colors is always there. TRIFED went on to conduct a few more training programs and is one of the organizations that continues to work with SHALOM
