Rural women make rakhis to earn extra money

Ambika Sharma
Tribune News Service
Solan, July 25

About 200 self-help groups (SHGs) across the state are engaged in making rakhis in view of the forthcoming festival of Raksha Bandhan. The venture supported by the State Rural Livelihood Mission of the Rural Development (RD) Department has already sold 2,000 rakhis.

Using locally available material, the rural women have exhibited their versatile skills using silk threads, metals, sandalwood, glass and plastic beads, coloured stones and wool to make designer rakhis.

Lalit Jain, Director, Rural Development Department, said, “The women SHGs in the state are preparing designer rakhis for sale, ahead of the festival on August 3 amid the call to boycott Chinese products, including rakhis, which flood the market every year, and the Prime Minister’s push for ‘Atam Nirbhar Bharat”.

He said that these rakhis were being sold at makeshift stalls in the nearest markets in rural as well as urban areas by these SHGs. Vyapar mandals had also come forward to provide space to sell these indigenous products in the state, giving a boost to the rural women, Jain added.

Over 200 self-help groups were trained in making rakhis by the department and this helped them earn extra money during the pandemic, when income from other sources shrank.

By selling rakhis priced between Rs 10 and Rs 50, the members of the Roshni Self-Help Group at Bhojnagar and the Urja Self-Help Group at Basal in Solan are passionately pursing the venture. Adept at stitching and sewing, the initiative has provided them an opportunity to exhibit their craftsmanship.