HYDERABAD: While it’s common to assume that women-run self-help groups (SHG) take loans but fail to repay them as their plan to create assets and generate revenue fizzles out, Mahbubnagar district administration has proved that correct intervention at different stages can go a long way in empowering rural homemakers to break stereotypes and become entrepreneurs.
With a view to provide market linkage and promote the products of SHGs, District Collector S Venkata Rao had started an initiative to brand various products under the brand name ‘Maha,’ which was named by IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao.
The vacant DWCRA Bhavan in Mahbubnagar town was given a new name as ‘Maha Store,’ where the products of SHGs from across the district could be put for sale. Having survived the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic, the store has become the source of livelihood for many women.
Available online as well
M Sruthi from the Addakal Mandal Mahila Samakhya started a new trend in decorative flowers by making paper bouquets with paper flowers. Her products were an instant hit. Presently she gets orders for paper-made floral arrangements for weddings and other small functions. She is one of the four women who have been managing the Maha Store.
“It was because of being in the SHG that I could make use of this opportunity. Kranthi, the District Rural Development Officer at the time, had helped market my products by using them in meetings and other events,” says Sruthi.
There are around 35 products that are presently showcased in the store. They are also available on Amazon and a website was also created with the brand’s name.
“Most of the sales happen through the store and at various fairs. In Midjil mandal, women from SHGs have created toilet cleaners and detergents with the brand’s name. They arranged for a vehicle and went to 120-130 villages to sell at the people’s doorsteps. Women in the villages connected with the SHGs and the products became a hit,” said A Chennaiah, District Project Manager, Non-Farm.
Promotion of millet products
Utilising the funds from the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM), the district administration granted machinery worth `25 lakh on 100 per cent subsidy to SHGs of Gandeed mandal to process and make millet products.
“We buy jowar and ragi from the farmers and market. Using the machines for processing, pressing, cooking, and vacuum packing, 20 women in Gandeed have been making jowar rotis, ragi rotis, millet-based biscuits, murukulu (a south-Indian snack), and so on. We sell our products at a store near the Maha Store. Under the scheme, we were given a mobile store (vehicle) to go around the town and villages to sell our products,” said M Surekha, president of Zila Mahila Samakhya.
There is tailoring equipment in the store where women make masks, frocks for children, and bags made of jute and cloth. Processed tamarind, vegetable and meat pickles, jams, and various other products are available under the Maha brand. There are SHGs from Jadcherla where women stitch nighties and sell under the brand.
“The idea was to bring various talented women and their products under the umbrella of a brand through which they could market their products. Many women who used to market their products independently earlier, have now learned the intricacies of entrepreneurship through the training given by the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty,” says Venkata Rao.