Women SHGs Empowering Rural HP Economy: Organic Products Drive Success

Shimla, Dec 8 (PTI) Women Self Help Groups (SHGs) supported by the National Rural Employment Mission have revolutionised the rural economy in the Hill state of Himachal Pradesh with homemakers becoming entrepreneurs, an official said.

About 43,000 women SHGs with 4-lakh members, spread across the state are doing good business selling their products in Saras Fairs being organised in different places in the state and other states have facilitated the SHGs in selling their products and traditional food, handicrafts and handloom and organic products are in great demand, as per the official.

The women engaged in SHGs are earning about Rs 1-lakh annually and four women become "Lakhpati Didi" and these women who were earlier confined to homes and engaged in domestic chores, now exude remarkable confidence and freely converse with the customers and participate in fairs to sell their products.

"The rural women are actively participating in self-employment programmes under the Mission and earning good income and four women have become 'Lakhpati Didi' and two of them were honoured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi", said Mohit Kanwar, Mission Executive of Himachal Rural Employment Mission on Sunday.

Our endeavour is to empower the rural women and make them self reliant and the mission has been quite successful as about 4-lakh women are earning about Rs 1-lakh annually which has enthused confidence in them.

"People have forgotten the traditional farm products and we are focusing on organic products as people are reverting to organic products and our products like organic turmeric, maize floor, Dalia, papaya seeds and other products are in great demand', said Lakhpati Didi Usha Dhiman from Dehra in Kangra district, who has put up her stall at the Saras Fair here.

"People are consuming poison in the form of chemical fertilisers and sprays while our products are purely organic and we sold Maize at Rs 4000 per quintal besides papaya seeds at the fair," said Usha, who is running a SHG with ten women. "We are cultivating turmeric in six Kanal areas and also producing amla jam, murabba and other products," she added.

Another Lakhpati Didi Geeta from Naggar in Kullu district said that their group is focusing on revival of traditional and medicinal plants which the modern generation has forgotten and getting handsome returns by selling products like walnut and apricot oil which have great nutritional value.

"Our products are in demand in other states also and we are sending the products through post offices," she said and added that the group was started 4-5 years ago after she failed to get a job and now the income is about 7-8 lakh per annum.

Vidya, another SHG group leader from Rampur subdivision of Shimla district said that they are producing pulses, red rice and other products and earlier their products were confined to self consumption but now it has become a source of livelihood. There are about 13-14 groups in the area and each member is earning upto Rs one lakh annually.

Some other women also shared their success stories and women folk branded as home makers have been empowered and become self dependent. They said rather than asking for money from family members, now they are supporting their families.