GUWAHATI, March 5 - Over 30 women entrepreneurs from rural Assam who were part of Project Pragati were felicitated at a function held at Bamunigaon in Kamrup district recently.
Funded by Interglobe Foundation and implemented by Dhriiti � The Courage Within, Project Pragati involves women in making arecanut leaf plates that are hundred per cent biodegradable as microenterprise models.
Tapping into an abundantly available natural resource which previously went to waste, the women are able to complement their household income by running home-based enterprises. While Interglobe Foundation has funded the machines, Assam-based Tamul Plates Marketing Private Limited (TPMPL) provided the technical support. Dhriiti has helped these women manage their enterprise, create a network of raw material suppliers, learn accounting and balance their home and work environments.
During the felicitation ceremony, kits of spare machine parts were handed over to the two SHGs that the women entrepreneurs had formed.
This event comes at a significant moment in the project as the women have stabilized their business. They have tackled issues related to electricity, machine repairs and production.
Speaking on the occasion,�Priyanka Singh, Head, Interglobe Foundation, said that the project had two aims � one was to create women entrepreneurs who would make cutlery out of arecanut leafs, and the other to produce eco-friendly cutlery which would replace plastics.
