UK government’s Skill Development And Economic Empowerment Scheme changing ‘Slum-dweller women to talented Entrepreneurs’

Dehradun (Uttrakhand) : Uneducated but possessing incredible hands that churn out beautiful pieces of artificial jewelry from waste paper, a group of young women, whose families at one point in time were snake charmers have now become entrepreneurs in their own right.

These women hail from the deprived section of society and living in an area marked for snake charmers and others residing in the Madrasi colony on the outskirts of Dehradun. As many as 154 young women are beneficiaries of the Uttarakhand government’s Skill Development And Economic Empowerment Scheme.

The Department of Women Empowerment carefully selected these women and first provided them training, gave them tools and sewing machines as a one-time grant. “Our focus is on training women and providing them assets for setting up their own small-scale enterprises for economic independence,” said Vimmi Sachdev, Director, Women Empowerment and Child Development.

Their hard work is indeed paying, as the group has also got orders for bags containing material which will be given to officials for conducting for the 2017 state Assembly elections.

“A few days ago, we had put up an exhibition at a local hotel in Dehradun and our craft was sold in no time,” said Rani, a member of the group. “In the past, most of the entrepreneurs could not sustain themselves in the absence of local markets,” said Sachdev.

The department is also tapping the market of daliya (coarse wheat porridge) that forms an important ingredient of the take-home ration given at anganwadi centres. “There is demand for coarse cereals, so we have revived two defunct daliya units that are now being run by women self-help groups. The department will procure daliya from these groups,” added Sachdev. Similarly, a masala unit on the similar lines is being planned for Almora and a daliya unit for Uttarkashi.

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