Maha: LED bulb assembly unit brightens lives of village women

A group of women from a village in Maharashtra has proved that lack of education can never dampen one's entrepreneurial streak.

Thirteen women, all members of Jai Santoshi Mata self help group (SHG), have set up an LED bulb assembly unit at Kanhegaon village in Kalamnuri taluka of Hingoli district, which is changing their lives for the better.

The unit, set up three months back, has not only given confidence to these women, but also slowly making them financially independent.

Thirty eight-year-old Varsha Khandare, a 10th pass, who is the most educated among them, said, "Earlier, we earned less money despite working in farms for hours. Recently, we came to know about the LED bulb assembly work. An NGO named Dhan Foundation helped us get training in it."

"We underwent a 20-day training session, during which we learnt the work of assembling LED bulbs. We had saved some money and borrowed Rs 20,000 to set up our own unit. We added some more money and brought raw material worth Rs 40,000," she added.

 

According to Khandare, who is the chairman of the SHG, in order to set up the unit, they hired a room in their native village that has a population of 1,300.

"The unit took shape three months ago. Here, we assemble LED bulbs and make them market-ready," she added.

Another member, Kaushalyabai Taarke, said, "I am illiterate, but I have now learnt the bulb assembly work. I am happy that after finishing the household work, we come to the unit and work for 4-5 hours in the afternoon."

Dhan Foundation coordinator, Akshay Deshmukh, said, "We made available raw material for them at slightly lower rates. We provided training in the bulb assembly work and also help find market for these bulbs. We deposit the entire profit earned by selling bulbs into account of the SHG."

Block development officer of Kalamnuri Panchayat Samiti, Manohar Khillari, said, "I have urged the local government offices to buy the bulbs assembled at the SHG unit. Some of our offices have opted for that. This kind of work will help women learn more and earn more.