Tamil Nadu   

The story of flowering by reformed bootleggers

— PHOTO: R.M. RAJARATHINAM

Nice vocation: C. Kamatchi, Animator of one of the women self-help groups, explaining crop protection strategy to Secretary of District Supply and Marketing Society S. Sathyaseelan at her farm in Kallukudiyiruppu village on Friday.

PUDUKOTTAI: From a black spot notorious for illicit distillation and sale of arrack in the police records, Kallkudiyiruppu, an interior village in the district has got elevated to a training ground for reformed bootleggers, courtesy the timely intervention by a service organisation and sustained assistance from various governmental agencies and local cooperative bank.

The location of the hamlet in the reserve forest areas in Arimalam block came in handy for a majority of the villagers to resort to illicit distillation of the brew till eight years ago.

Realising their mental agony due to police action, the Kisan Association for Social Action (KASA), a service organisation based in Arimalam, floated a self-help group in February 2000. The District Supply and Marketing Society (DSMS) of the District Rural Development Agency played a major role by imparting skills to the women members to take to floriculture but also marketing them at the nearby shandies.

“Exposure visit to the State Horticulture Farm at Vamban near here and other training by the governmental agencies including the Mahalir Thittam, motivated us to take to floriculture,” says C. Kamatchi, Animator of the ‘Sevvanthi SHG’ the first of the seven groups floated in the village.

Loans from the Primary Agriculture Cooperative Bank in Thenipatti; a subsidy-based economic assistance from the Swarnajayanthi Gramin Swarojgar Yojana; and infrastructure development fund of Rs.Two lakh for setting up a bore well all went to develop the income of the SHG.

“They not only produced high quality flowers but also expanded by adding new species brought from Kerala,” say A. Sumathy, Co-ordinator of KASA and P. Rajakannu, a local volunteer.

“Now we cultivate hundreds of species of roses, scores of herbal plants and 240 varieties of quality ornamental and forestry plants,” Ms. Kamatchi says.

Fruit-bearing trees including mango, guava have been raised in addition to teak, amla and hibiscus.

“We also generate employment to about 140 local residents for floriculture-allied activities such as clearing of weeds and other crop protection methods,” says Ms. Kamatchi. Many reformed bootleggers from parts of the district visit the farm, spread over two acres, and realise the nuances of the floriculture.

Flower merchants from distant places including Chennai, Salem, Tiruvannathapuramn, Madurai, Sivaganga and Villupuram districts extend an assured patronage to these groups.

The average annual sales turnover of the Sevvanthi SHG is about Rs.75 lakh and the average per member annual income stands at Rs.1.50 lakh.

Based on the success, other women floated six more SHGs and the average annual income of each group is about Rs.60,000.

Members of these seven groups have floated a federation called ‘Azhagumalargal.’

The Secretary of DSMS, S. Sathyaseelan says it has planned to supply a vehicle to facilitate the SHGs to transport the flowers.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

To quench thirst
Officials inspect scheme implementation
The story of flowering by reformed bootleggers
Engagements
Rising prices hit monthly budget of families
‘Azhither’ moved gracefully
Retail rates
“Improve infrastructure in your villages”
Rs. 2 a kg rice keeps hunger at bay for households of poor
He fears loss of customers
They turn to co-operative stores
‘Work is hard to come by these days’
It is a compromise when it comes to food
Can his pension help him meet family expenses?
Inflation has eaten away his savings
Woman dies
Brisker the sale, harder the labour
Adopt scientific methods, investigating officers told
Good deeds and best fortune
Symbol of wealth and prosperity
12 trapped in lift at General Hospital in Chennai
School’s closure leaves students in the lurch
Honour for dramatists
Painting a colourful lake
Merchant hacked to death
What they say
Programme
Youth camps
Hotels to be shut
Examination results
Savings will come down
With no regular income, going is tough for them
Savings is not in the agenda
Expenses climb up, not income
Battling hard against price rise
The cost of comfort
Heat hardly dampens love for Vandalur zoo chill-out
Land survey near IAF base to be completed soon
Guest houses in disuse at Viralimalai
World Bank-funded project for Pudukottai, Thanjavur
Textile exporters in Karur call for strike
Rs.157 crore allotted for renovation of temples
Book on Devaram hymns released
Disease surveillance health society soon
Transgenders thank government for constituting welfare board
Over 2,900 sit for jail warder post exam
Systematic campaign against me: Ramadoss
Baby dies three days after vaccination
“We belong to Congress of Sonia Gandhi and G.K. Vasan”
“It’s time to review agriculture policies”
“Migration of labourers has come down”
Restoration of temple murals to begin soon
These hill people live a pathetic life
Pension
Telephone directory

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu