Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Tenting at vital points to tap the market

S.S. Kavitha

Govt. staff, tourists targeted as main customers

MADURAI: Marketing is no more difficult for self-help groups of Madurai district. It is not dame luck that has smiled on them but sheer hard work.

The will to overcome hurdles in marketing has earned them in lakhs, thanks to the `shamiana-stalls,' a direct marketing technique mooted by the Tamil Nadu Women Development Corporation.

It is a silent revolution among the so-called weaker sex, who had taken the lead towards women empowerment, said L. N. Vijayaraghavan, Secretary, Social Welfare, during a recent visit to the stalls.

He also urged women to have a strong will to earn more and more and asked the Mahalair Thittam Joint Director and Project Officer, S. M. Prabhakaran, to provide these SHGs with two mobile phones.

The unusual red shamina stalls put up by SHGs not only helped these women to showcase their talent but also sell their products especially targeting government employees and tourists.

Utilising the makeshift stalls provided by the Tamil Nadu Women Development Corporation, 16 SHGs exhibited their products at Meenakshi Amman Temple, DRO Colony, Uzhavar Sandhai, Ambika College, Tirumalai Naicker Mahal and other places where tourists congregate.

The stalls helped SHGs mop up a fortune of around Rs.2.80 lakhs in 30 days (from June 21 to July 21) through sale of products ranging from soft toys, cotton sarees, sanitary napkins, towels, fancy bags, purse, pickles, vadams, appalams, fancy dolls, snacks etc.

Thulsi SHG gained Rs.42,510 by putting up stalls at Periyar Bus Stand, DRO Colony, Ambika College to sell fancy bags and purses, appalam and fancy garlands, while Navakanni group mobilised Rs 41000 through Ssale of cotton sarees and napkins.

Jeyarani of Navakanni SHG is one among the numerous self-employed entrepreneurs in Madurai, who feels proud in achieving something concrete in life.

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