State

Maa Durga women self-help group thrives in fly ash brick business

Harshad Dewangan 08 August 2023

The Chhattisgarh Government’s ambitious Rural Industrial Park scheme has built a strong infrastructure in rural areas for promoting small-scale industries. This has transformed the state of development in rural areas. RIPA has emerged as a prominent centre of business and industrial development for the villagers. Young rural entrepreneurs and women are reaping its benefits, resulting in economic and rural development. Earlier, women worked as labourers in fields and factories. However, they have now become entrepreneurs due to the establishment of the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Industrial Park (RIPA). The state government's innovative initiative has provided excellent support for these women. 300 Rural Industrial Parks (RIPA) are established in the gauthans of the villages, providing enough means and facilities for livelihood activities. This has made it easier for rural entrepreneurs to choose and operate their own enterprises.

In the Mahasamund development block, 10 women from the village of Kanpa formed the Durga Self-Help Group. These women have become self-reliant and confident through their association with Bihaan and RIPA. Although technical and hard work is usually considered difficult for women, these women have excelled in making fly ash bricks. In just three months, they have manufactured around 67,000 bricks, selling 40,000 of them to the panchayat, and earning over Rs 1 lakh. The group has also sold vermicompost worth Rs. 1.30 lakh and conducted internal transactions worth Rs. 1.25 lakh. Kalyani Dubey, the group's secretary, stated that women can now make bricks more easily after receiving training. The district administration has provided the necessary machines and resources for women to use in RIPA.

The group's president, Ahilya Sahu, stated that they sell the bricks at a rate of about two and a half rupees per brick. Other members of the group, Devki Soni, Deepalata, and Urvashi Dubey, expressed their amazement at being able to operate the machines themselves. The women are full of self-confidence and self-reliance; this was only possible due to RIPA's assistance. The excellent demand for brickmaking has created a wave of confidence among the women who are enthusiastically engaged in the work of brick manufacturing.