Yet another male bastion has fallen to women in the heavily tribal-populated district of the Dangs in the state.
Yet another male bastion has fallen to women in the heavily tribal-populated district of the Dangs in the state.
A group of women entrepreneurs has taken to preparing and selling bricks, a business hitherto limited to men, and in a span of less than one year sold more than six lakh bricks. They have also provided employment to more than 5,000 people.
After women contributed their might for making White Revolution a success in the district, women's 'Sakhi mandals' have taken the lead to make a foray into brick business. The women involved in these mandals are now earning handsome income, and are also giving employment to other women who are unemployed and poor.
This initiative began 10 months back when three Sakhi Mandals of Dangs - Maya Devi, Chetna and Nirmal of different villages - were entrusted the work of making and selling bricks by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA). After giving training to the members of the mandals, DRDA gave them space at Kakarda village to start their work.
In last 10 months, these mandals have sold more than six lakh bricks apart from giving employment to 5,000 women. The activity has created so much interest that at present more than seven 'Sakhi mandals' are awaiting DRDA approval to start this business.
"We support them under the SGRY (Sampoorna Gramin Rojgar Yojana) to start this business. We initiated this activity with two objectives: first, to provide employment to rural women and second, to eradicate illegal brick making. The initial result of the plan is amazing and we are trying to involve more women," Bipin Bhatt, director of DRDA (Dangs), said.
"People, too, are supporting these mandals by purchasing bricks from them. We are planning to promote their product in state and central government schemes like Indira Awas Yojana and others," Bhatt further said.
The scheme has changed the lives of many poor women. Damyanti Dahvad of Pimpri, who is working with Chetna. is one of them.
Dahvad's family was not earning enough to meet all their needs from a small two-acre plot of land, but now she earns more than Rs60 per day. "This has totally changed me and my family's life. Earlier, I used to work in fields or sit at home, but this activity has given me a new earning option. Many women from my village have joined the work and now they are also having good income. It is just a bonus for us," Dahvad said with smile on her face.
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