SHILLONG, APR 24: Meghalaya government has introduced ‘solar-dryer’, a green technology that has the potential of acting as a ‘revenue generating solution’ to rural women entrepreneurs by promoting and marketing their ‘craft products’.
A total of thirty-nine solar dryers were sanctioned at a cost of Rs 5.4 lakhs by the government and distributed to the women entrepreneurs during a function held at Upper Shillong 5th Mile on Friday.
The programme was organized by the Integrated Basin Development & Livelihood Promotion Programme (IBDLP), a flagship programme of the state government.
“The solar dryer is a technology adopted for drying of flowers, which are used for craft production,” Meghalaya C&RD principal secretary KN Kumar said. According to him, the technology is developed by CSIR and introduced by the National Botanical Research Institute Lucknow.
Kumar informed that over 39 women which were picked up from different blocks of the district and have successfully been trained on ‘Dehydrated Floral Craft (DFC)’ by the NBRI scientists.
Under the programme, the women are trained to make greeting cards, dairies, photo frames and other items out of dehydrated floral.
Kumar said,“These 39 women now have become master trainers and would impart training to around 140 women from across the state”
Even as Kumar informed that the raw materials for making of the craft is readily available, but the problem relates to electricity which are either non existence or inadequate in the rural areas for the drying process of flowers.
Kumar, however, informed that this problem was met through solar energy as the department experimented and found that this source of energy could be tapped instead of electricity. He said these dryers will be delivered to the women beneficiaries in their respective villages.
Stating that there is a big demand on the floral craft products in the market, Kumar, however, stressed on the need to improve the quality of the finish products. He said if the products quality can be improved then these products can be exported.
Kumar informed that the rural women entrepreneurs engaged in this enterprise have been able to produce around 15, 000 items giving them an additional income of at least Rs 6000 a month.
Kumar also said that the state government has tied up with some organizations for marketing of these products- By Our Reporter
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