Barahathawa (Sarlahi): December 13: Local women of Ghurkauli, Hariban Municipality-5, Sarlahi have started earning income by doing micro-enterprises.
A group of nine local women have started earning a small income in their spare time by starting micro-enterprises in their villages. The training they received from the budget allocated for women empowerment by the Hariban Municipality-5 Ward Office has now made them entrepreneurs, said Shila Kumari Mahato, chairperson of the Aama Shakti Women Micro-Entrepreneur Group.
“We have formed a group of mothers,” she said, “We have started making detergent powder, which is essential for mothers.” Local women who participated in a training conducted by the ward office two years ago with the aim of making women self-employed registered the group by depositing Rs. 5,000 each. Initially, they made and packed the products by hand and used them themselves, said the treasurer of the group, Sajni Syangtan. After seeing that it was not possible to be commercial in this way, she said that the members bought a machine by adding Rs. 25-25,000 and taking a loan for the insufficient amount. She said that with the help of the machine, they were able to produce a lot of detergent very quickly and easily.
The group packs the produced surf and delivers it to the market itself. Since the demand in the market is low, they now produce twice in 15 days and promote it in the market on other days, said Chairman Mahato. ”On the day of production, all the members finish their household chores in the morning and come to the factory,” he said. ”We divide the work and some put the prepared powder in packets, some weigh it, some pack it, and some pack it in sacks.”
They say that after learning the skills and becoming entrepreneurs, they no longer have to rely on their husbands for vegetables and general expenses. They have experience that if they can utilize the training provided by the local level and make good use of it, it will help them become self-employed. The produce produced by this group is being distributed by the ward in the maternity nutrition package program. Treasurer Syangtan said that if local products are included in the nutrition package distributed to the mothers of all 11 wards of the city, the problem of having to go to the market to find food will be solved.
The group’s chairperson, Mahato, said that there is a lot of competition in the market and the tendency to frown upon local products is a problem. “We, as small entrepreneurs, do not have a large investment,” he said, “It is expensive to buy a small amount of raw materials. The cost is also a bit higher because we cannot use equipment. Consumers hesitate to buy when they say they are produced locally, so we are producing without getting discouraged despite some problems in the market.” Chairwoman Mahato claimed that the quality of the products is better than other products available in the market.
He said that locals and city dwellers should also encourage small-scale industries by searching for and using local products. The group has also invested the profits from selling goods and has now expanded its capital to the tune of eight lakh rupees. They are producing saffron using a two and a half quintal capacity mixer machine, a weighing machine and a packet sealing heater machine.
Chairman Mahato said that they have the equipment and manpower to produce and pack up to 25 quintals of saffron daily if there is demand from the market. The saffron produced here is sold at Rs 80 per kilogram wholesale and Rs 100 per kilogram retail. The group has stated that they are currently producing four to five quintals of saffron per month and supplying it to the market.
