Daringbadi: Women self help groups (SHGs) in Sulumaha village of Sraniketa panchayat under this block in Kandhamal district are slowly but steadily marching towards success in their endeavour.
Their unique and innovative methods have given them a new recognition in the area. Unlike, normal SHGs that sell pamphlets and do petty businesses, tribal women here have taken to collecting forest produce including fruits, seeds and nuts with medicinal value.
The women then prepare different kind of ‘Ayurvedic medicines’ or sell the seeds on the market that fetches them huge profits. The unique ideas have given them new identity in the area.
According to sources, the SHGs get loans from bank and put the money in small businesses that earn them profits. However, the SHGs of Sraniketa panchayat did not want to go the normal way. They decided to something unique and innovative.
The women spotted many medicinal value fruits like Amla, Harad, Baheda and many types of nuts, roots and herbs in forests getting wasted by domestic animals. That’s when the idea struck to them that these fruits could be collected and used for medicinal purposes.
Since then, there has been no looking back for them. The members of these SHGs collect amla, harad, baheda and other medicinal fruits, nuts, roots and herbs from nearby jungle. After collection, these fruits and other things are boiled and then dried in sun to prepare ayurvedic medicines.
These are then sold to some traditional ayurvedic healers or to some ayurvedic medicine manufacturing companies. This has been giving them profits, though not encouraging as yet.
“15 members of Sulumaha self help group have so far invested something around Rs1.5 lakh. While they have stocked up about 10 quintals of Amla for selling, their aim is to make it double in coming days,” boasts Secretary of the group Prabhasini Pradhan adding that some 500 kg of harad has been dried up. The raw fruits are being procured from local people at Rs 15 a kilo.
In order to make best of their efforts, these members have received the required training as well.
“Over 300 women of 33 groups have undergone the required training for the proper way of collecting, preserving and processing of amla, harad and baheda. They are in search of proper channels to reach reputed ayurvedic medicinal companies so that their profit margin can be increased,” says leader of Grace SHG Sunita Pradhan.
Echoing similar opinion as of Sunita, secretary of the same SHG Mitarani Pradhan maintains that if the government takes a few other steps in helping these SHGs and provides processing machines to them, they can work more efficiently.
Like women members of the SHGs in Sulumaha panchayat, some hundreds woman members of SHGs in Bhramarabadi, Pliheri, Greenbadi and Tilori panchayats are learnt to have had such training and have started preparing for selling these medicinal fruits and nuts.
Businessmen and ayurvedic practitioners from inside and outside of the district thronging the villages has become an annual affair. However, it has been alleged that there are some middlemen who managed to coax these innocent villagers into selling their products to them at a lower price.
The leaders of these self help groups urged the administration and government to streamline the whole process with providing necessary help and assistance.
PNN