Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Women SHGs begin internal marketing

V.S. Palaniappan

40 groups put up stalls; target consumers are their fellow SHGs

NEW AVENUES: Collector S. Kosalaraman (extreme left) having a word with Udumalpet MLA C. Shanmugavelu (second from left) and Project Officer of District Rural Development Agency P. Jeyabalakrishnan (third from left) at the mela of SHG products at Udu malpet.

Coimbatore: After proving their mettle in manufacturing, women self-help groups (SHGs) are now into internal marketing. While manufacturing activities of SHGs soared to new heights, the district administration had to struggle to identify marketing avenues.

The District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) opened shops for SHGs and organised exhibitions besides helping them participate in various State-level seminars.

It formed block-level, taluk-level and district-level federations to source products from manufacturing centres to sell them in markets.

Mela organised

Realising the inherent marketing opportunities in every SHG, the administration organised an internal marketing mela of SHG products at Udumalpet recently.

The concept was propagated by the Secretary to Government, Rural Development, Shanta Sheela Nair.

The mela had stalls put up by over 40 groups and the target consumers were also the SHGs. After procuring products made by their fellow SHG members, the rural SHGs would market them in their areas.

Collector S. Kosalaraman who took part in the mela, promised to help them improvise their packaging so that the products could be showcased well to compete with branded items.

Circulars

Project Officer of DRDA P. Jeyabalakrishnan said that the internal marketing network was getting strengthened through internal circulars.

"We will first tap the inherent marketing strength before thinking of other avenues," he said.

The SHG members across the district now resolved to buy products such as skirts and sanitary napkins from their fellow groups.

In one day, these SHGs netted a sale for Rs. 1.59 lakhs and the orders booked were for Rs. 1.58 lakhs.

"Transaction for such a huge amount in a day speaks volumes about the quality of the items and the strength of the marketing network of SHGs," he said. The much sought after items were honey and coir mats.

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