Kandrapada: The women of Kapileswar panchayat have turned successful entrepreneurs due to their craftsmanship in producing products of golden grass (Kaincha in Odia) which have a huge market.
Golden grass used to be found in river banks and shallow land due to conducive soil and weather condition in the district. Armed with traditional knowledge, the local craftsmen made beautiful useful home products from this grass and sold those in the local market. But the craft started dwindling due to lack of adequate marketing and patronage by the government.
However, Swarnaprabha Swain of Jajhang village under the panchayat started making the products with her own hands and also trained the financially weak women of her village on the craft. As she found the demand for the products rising, she roped in more women into the training.
Now, around 20 women are engaged in making the products. They are producing around 100 colourful varieties of useful household products like bowls, baskets, pots, fans, toys, pen stands, flowers pots, wall hangings and even hats.
The group of enterprising women have also taken up cultivating the golden grass. They harvest the grass in August and September and put those under sun to turn dry. Then they make the products with the grass through hand-weaving.
The group has also taken the help of Ormas, DIC, Nabard and Mission Shakti for marketing of their products. Having ensured a steady income, the women have turned examples for others as successful entrepreneurs.
Besides the women group, a golden grass craft school is also running in the panchayat. Around 20 students are being trained in the school which is recognised by the state government. The trainee students are also paid monthly stipend of Rs 1,000. Swarnaprabha imparts training to the students.
Gayatri Mohanty, former sarpanch of the panchayat, said, “I have seen since my childhood how Swarnaprabha has enabled the needy women to be self-sufficient and economically independent. After I was elected as sarpanch, the craft school, which was in Bara panchayat, was shifted to Kapileswar. The craft school, which operates like a training centre, will remain in operation for 10-15 years so that the local population gets skill-enabled.”
However, she said the government should consider raising the stipend of the trainee students as they have to manage their families while undergoing training. Besides, if they are provided pucca houses, they can produce their own products from the comfort of own homes, she added.
