A handicrafts kiosk established by the Thanjavur administration to promote sales of handmade products manufactured by women Self Help Groups (SHG) came in for praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Maan Ki Baat (a Hindi coinage for mind talk) radio address on Sunday, much to the delight of the district authorities.
The women SHG’s ‘Tharagaigal Kaivinai Porutkal Virpanai Angadi’ initiative was launched a few months ago. The store, which was set up at the railway station, has, so far, transacted business to the extent of about ₹2 lakh.
The main purpose of the initiative was to assist women in selling their products directly to clients, thereby increasing their income and empowering them. “The SHGs are skilled in manufacturing artistic products, but marketing was not an easy task for them. Hence, we had to open a store for the handcrafted items and employ women from other SHGs to help with marketing and sales,” said Collector Dinesh Ponraj Oliver.
