WARANGAL: A simple but ambitious idea, some encouragement from the right quarters and lots of hard work have resulted in a group of nine women setting up a successful jute product manufacturing, stitching and embroidery unit.
From humble beginnings, the women are now looking to make the business grow by leaps and bounds.
Janani Jute Bag Kuteer Manufacturer Unit is a successful initiative run by the collective efforts of the women from Redlawada village of Nekkonda mandal in Warangal district, as part of a self-hel group (SHG), under the Grama Sangam programme.
The women have been trained under the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), which also trained them in marketing skills. They opened the unit in 2019, following which they received good responses from the public for their jute products, cotton bags and embroidery products.
“We never expected that in such a short period, the unit will receive a good response from the public,” said G Rajitha, one of the nine women. They had submitted a proposal seeking a loan of `1 lakh to the District Rural Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Grama Sangam programme to set up the unit, after which they received encouragement from the officials concerned and the loan was sanctioned. Using the amount, they purchased sewing machines and other materials required.
The women also further invested `10,000 each for the development of the unit. The unit receives orders for bags from shop owners and local societies. The raw material is purchased from Hyderabad, from which they prepare jute and cloth bags and then market them. “Each of us earns `7,000-8,000 every month. We have urged the State government to support more women groups like ours to bring about women empowerment,” said Rajitha.
The group is also banking on the environmental aspect to drive their business. P Sri Latha, another member of the SHG, has appealed to the district administration officials to take strict measures and implement the ban on usage of plastic bags by shop owners. “That would help in encouraging the usage of jute and cloth bags. As a result, groups like ours will get more orders and business,” she said.