Twenty eight-year-old Mala of Baburayan Koppal village in Mandya district of Karnataka is happy that she can supplement the family income now. She says, “My earning helps in paying for the education of my two children and other miscellaneous expenses.”
Mala is part of a micro enterprise, comprising five women who produce two tonnes of agarbatti powder and 360 kg sticks in 35 days and earn an income of `3,000 per month. This is a seven-month-old unit run by Kantharaju, his wife and mother-in-law.
Agarbatti rolling has always been a traditional source of income for lakhs of women in rural India. But till now, it had neither supplemented the family income nor had it given them a steady income being an unorganised sector, and the middle men siphoning away their earnings. But with the introduction of a new business model by a big agarbatti player, rural women have taken to setting up micro enterprises for preparation of agarbatti dough and rolling sticks. This has benefitted many families that were in the grip of drought in both the south interior and northern districts of Karnataka.
“Through our model, we have created jobs for 15,000 rural families by tying up with women self-help groups in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu,” says Arjun Ranga, managing director of Mysuru-based company Cycle Pure Agarbathies—the third generation of NR Group in Mysuru. “Adopting the conventional method of cottage industry where women get the opportunity to work, we ensure a steady income and make them self-sufficient. However, this model involves women only in the primary stage of agarbatti making.”
The company provides these small village enterprises with both raw material and hands-on training for a period of 3-5 months, and then villagers have to fund their enterprise by raising loans for shed, space for drying, installing machines, generator and other facilities. “Each enterprise owner is trained and supervised. The units are checked for quality and given assurance of market for their produce,” says Ranga.
Like any other village, Neelahalli in Pandavpura Taluk was also facing problems with no farm work available. But now they are getting work at their doorsteps.
Triveni, 26, has been working in a unit—having eight machines with 450-500 kg capacity—for two years now. As many as 12 women work with Mayamma’s Stree Shakti group.
Triveni says, “I was given training for a few days and now I am proficient in doing all types of work. I am earning `4,500 per month.”
At present, 90 per cent ownership of these enterprises lies with women and surprisingly, in Balasore in Odisha, it is entirely women.
“The project that started in 2010 has taken off in those areas, where poverty levels are high and people are struggling to eke out a livelihood. This model is also functioning in backward areas of Balasore, naxalite areas of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, and villages of Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.”