Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Stall of SHGs draws crowd

V. S. Palaniappan

MBAs, product diversification boost confidence, revenue

COIMBATORE: The 9,000 sq ft stall of the women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) at the ongoing Government exhibition on the jail grounds in the city is drawing huge crowds for their low-cost and diverse products.

It has provided a good opportunity for them to market their produce. The stall witnesses a robust turnover. Buyers throng the stall and this has boosted the confidence of the SHGs.

As many as 150 women SHGs from the district are showcasing 40 to 50 items in the stall, says P. Jeyabalakrishnan, the Project Officer of the District Rural Development Agency. The SHGs have also taken the lead in product diversification, rather than sticking on to pickles and papads. The roping in of MBA graduates to identify newer products have started yielding rich dividends, says the District Collector, S. Kosalaraman.

In order to help the women SHGs identify marketing avenues, the administration constructed a number of shopping complexes in the city. Shopping complexes exclusively for women SHGs have now come up at Pollachi, Udumalpet and Tirupur, says Mr. Jeyabalakrishnan.

Federations

To mobilise and channelise these products, the DRDA has floated the concept of federations at the block and district levels. These federations source the excess in supply or production to those places where there is a demand.

With MBA expertise, the federation concept has worked well in ensuring that no product got stagnated anywhere for want of potential buyers, he says. From conventional and decorative items, the women SHGs in Coimbatore have diversified to producing items meant for daily consumption, Mr. Jeyabalakrishnan adds.

Showcasing skills in exhibitions is nothing new to the SHGs. The SHGs from Coimbatore had taken part in a number of exhibitions at Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Mysore, Bangalore and Bhubaneshwar and the turnover ranged between Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 12 lakhs. The ongoing exhibition at Coimbatore is also an opportunity for them to reach out to the market, he says. The products on sale include low-cost footwear, textiles, ornamental items, agarbathis, pickles, soft-toys and hosiery products.

He says that the SHGs would make good use of the space provided by the Government at a concession.

The SHG movement has stabilised itself in the production of sanitary napkins, sugam pain balm and coir mats. The SHGs are also involved in generating manure from garbage dumps in Udumalpet Municipality.

As more and more are evincing interest in SHG products, the DRDA is contemplating their involvement at the Tirupur and Mettuppalayam Municipalities, he says. In fact one of its latest product, stabilisers, has evoked good response in terms of dealership enquiries.

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