A villager in Odisha, eastern India, has started her own weaving business and is employing women financially affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Usha Rani Naik has employed around 150 women in her business that creates such as baskets, vases and photo frames from sabai grass.
Naik is employing women from her home village as well as the nearby one, Guhaldihi, meaning unemployment in the local area is being reduced.
Naik said: "Every time life tries to bring me down and says that I cannot do something, it makes me more determined to follow through. People do so many things without permission, so why should I need someone’s consent to find my independence and follow my dreams?”
"I am a primary school dropout supports a family of four. I moved to Gujaldihi after getting married at 22. People would mock me about that, but the delay was because I did not want my father to bear all the expense of a marriage.
"Instead, I took a loan and shared the burden. I was hoping that things would change after getting married and coming to this new home. But, I was wrong, as the financial problems followed me."
Footage from August 14 shows the employees weaving various products from the grass.
Despite the dropout, USHA RANI NAIK has made a way for one hundred and fifty women to earn money. It is a matter of pride for the MAYURBHANJ district and be an example of Odisha.
Usha Rani is a tribal struggling and progressive woman. She is a woman of extraordinary potential but she is a dropout. Despite the dropout, she has made a way for one hundred and fifty women to earn money. It is a matter of pride for the district and be an example for our state of Odisha.
She had a dream since childhood that she would be a self-reliant woman.Usha Rani got married and came to the "GUHALDIHI" village to take handicraft training there. She has built a small factory with women in her own village. At first she started working with eleven workers, but at present she has 150 workers.It helped her do it DISTRICT INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION (DIC).After completing the training, she started her work with a raw material called SABAI GRASS.
With these raw materials they make different kinds of commodities such as baskets, penholders, vases, photo frame ,mate Etc.All these products are supplied in India as well as abroad through the ORMAS. Odisha Rural Development and
Marketing Society (ORMAS) is an
autonomous professional body under the aegis of Panchayati Raj
Department, Government of Odisha
engaged in Livelihoods promotion,
Marketing of Rural Products and
Placement linked Skill Development.
Usha Rani is employing women from her own village as well as women from nearby villages in her small industry.As a result unemployment is being eliminated and women are becoming self-reliant.
Business is currently going to be damaged due to the epidemic. The transportation system is being disrupted, there is a lot of money stuck with the buyers, said Usha Rani.
In Mayurbhanj era of synthetically finished products, the charm of traditional handicrafts is fading. Yet some women from a remote GUHALDIHI village under Baripada block of Mayurbhanj district of Odisha have kept on their efforts to keep this beautiful craft alive. To attain this motive, these women have formed Self Help Group, through which they create unique utility crafts and showpieces out of Sabai Grass. This has not only empowered them but also helped them contribute to their family expenses.
With their good efforts, these women have crafted about 70 types of products made of Sabai Grass.
USHA RANI NAIK take their craft to new heights, these women have expressed gratitude to the Government of India for providing them skill training to make them self-sufficient and also gave credit to the District Industrial corporation (DIC) Mayurbhanj.
country like India, about 80 percent of the population is living in rural areas and around 70 percent of the population is dependent upon agriculture and allied sectors. The need for rural industrialization is absolutely necessary. About 50 percent of the industrial production of India is accounted for by this sector which also contributes substantially to the country's exports. Mayurbhanj is also said to be a land of tribals. The tribal community population of the district constitutes about 60 percent of its total population. Out of the 62 tribal communities of Orissa, 45 communities are found in Mayurbhanj alone.
The rural marketing of Sabai Grass in Mayurbhanj district is analyzed with the following points taken into consideration-The Method of Marketing. Types of Market Places, setting up Sabai grass enterprise, Marketing Agencies.