There are several small industrial projects that are lighting up the rural economy in unusual ways. This ‘Small Industry Day’, which is observed on August 30 every year, we revisit some of the initiatives featured on Village Square.
Small is indeed beautiful. Over the years Village Square has covered several small industries through its stories that highlight the power of collective action in India’s rural areas. These are enterprises that employ a small number of people, serve a social purpose and, most importantly, empower our rural communities at the grassroots level.
We present a montage of five such interesting features that you will love to know more about.
While growing a crop is extremely difficult in drought-affected Marathwada, pearl cultivation has become an alternative and viable source of income for farmers here. Eight ingenious farmers decided two years ago to do what no one has tried before in their Shahapur village of Osmanabad district’s Tuljapur tehsil. They cultivate oysters and harvest pearls.
The group’s Triveni Pearls and Fish Farm, a farmer-producer company, has harvested 10,000 pearls from the hatchery so far – essentially a pond 100 feet wide, 300 feet long and 20 feet deep. It earned Rs 14 lakh in the first year of the experiment.
It all started with Sanjay Pawar, who leads the group, when he came across information about pearl farming and underwent training at the Central Institute for Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA) in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar in 2020. He returned home with new skills, and convinced seven fellow farmers – Vijay Pawar, Sushma Shinde, Naim Patel, Govind Shinde, Supriya Kadam, Ajay Pawar, Sachindra Singh. They pooled money to dig the pond between 2020 and 2021, investing Rs 8.5 lakh, and bought 25,000 fledgling freshwater oysters at Rs 90 apiece from a trader in Aurangabad. And thus began their success story.
You can read more on that story here.
Ghulam Ahmad sharpens the tips of willow wicker reeds with a knife. Soon a wicker basket takes shape.
Ahmad, 52, is a resident of Kachan village in Ganderbal of Jammu and Kashmir. It’s a place known for its beautiful wickerwork called kaeni kaem, also known as shaakhsazi. But this legacy craft was under threat as more customers turned to shiny, cheap plastic products, mostly imported from China.
“The markets were flooded with trendy products, machine-made from China. People took a shine to them, discarding their traditional basketry,” said Zahoor Ahmad Wani, whose shop in Srinagar sells local wicker products.
Some of Ganderbal’s craftsmen united, along with the Kolkata-based NGO, Kadam, which stepped in to rescue the traditional trade along with government support. Kadam helped the artisans craft market-driven designs.
“We were stuck on old-fashioned designs and products. But Kadam trained us to explore and innovate, which helped us a lot. Our designs changed completely,” said Ghulam Ahmad.
Now a much wider range is produced, including home décor items, lamp shades, wall plates, baby cots and even sofa sets. Market acceptability and access improved too. Online platforms too sell these artisanal handicraft items.
Read more about the project here.
Bihar was declared a dry state in April 2016. The decision was a response to the impassioned pleas of women and rights activists who demanded a sweeping prohibition, driven by the alarming surge in cases of domestic violence tied to alcohol abuse.
“For me, this is solace. At least he (her husband of 24 years) is not here to break my choodi (bangles),” Rinku Devi murmured, her voice as sturdy as her spirit. She is now a part of the pioneering group of women employed at a factory, a project initiated under the Jeevika rural livelihood programme in collaboration with the state’s prohibition and excise department.
The initiative came about as the dry state grappled with a troubling paradox. Lakhs of illegal liquor bottles lay abandoned, their disposal an unresolved conundrum.
A spark of ingenuity arose from this confluence of challenges. “To get rid of the liquor bottles, we thought of turning crushed bottles into colourful bangles,” said Bipin Kumar, the Nonfarm Manager at Patna DPCU.
Now Devi and her comrades work on expertly crafting bangles from liquor bottles. The said factory began operations with a capacity to transform 1.5 million bottles into 84,000 bangles. Despite the challenges in production and sales, the facility is a lifeline for women like Devi.
Read more about the initiative here.
While most people think of Assam when they think of tea, neighbouring state Arunachal Pradesh is venturing into the trade with the Donyi Polo Tea Estate leading the way. This estate is among the first in Arunachal to cultivate tea sustainably. The 420-hectare plantation, owned by Omak Apang, was originally started by his mother, Yadap Apang, in 1985.
Specialty teas from Donyi Polo, like golden needles and purple tea, have set auction records. At the core of this success is an all-woman team of about 10 rural plantation workers from Assam, led by Junmoni Gogoi. The 50-something Gogoi oversees the partially handcrafted facility and manages the intricate processes required to produce these teas.
Since 2018, Donyi Polo Tea Estate has fetched record-breaking prices at Guwahati Tea Auction for its golden needle and purple tea, selling for Rs 40,000 and Rs 25,000 a kilo, respectively.
“The workers here juggle their CTC working schedules and processing in the artisanal centre. I look after the artisanal centre full-time,” said Gogoi.
She and her team are a testament to the evolving tea industry in Arunachal, blending tradition with innovation and creating a brighter future for their community, despite certain challenges they face.
You can read more about the estate here.
Two sisters in Bahadurgarh, a township 20km southwest of Patiala city in Punjab, took an unexpected interest in an unlikely venture — rearing goats. While people saw it as a whimsical folly, 16-year-old Mannat and her 14-year-old sister Eknoor pursued their newfound passion with a seriousness that belied their years.
“I was sick with jaundice. An elderly man suggested my parents get some goat milk, saying it helps in jaundice,” Mannat recounted. Her father, Harbhajan Singh, then bought a goat for Rs 20,000. This was the modest beginning of what would become a flourishing business.
The two high school students are now making waves with their innovative approach to goat farming. They are the driving force behind India Goat Milk Farm, a successful venture that began with a simple need for goat milk.
Mannat and Eknoor are deeply involved in every aspect of the farm’s operations, balancing their studies with their farming duties. Goat milk has been consumed since ancient times due to its high nutritional value, easier digestibility compared to cow milk, and suitability for people with lactose intolerance. The sisters seek to cater to its growing demand.
You can read more about the successful venture here.
The lead image on top shows bottles that have been transformed into bangles at a factory in Bihar. (Photo by Jyoti Thakur)
