The district administration is planning to serve healthy millet snacks during official meetings in Coimbatore. It has proposed to procure them from women Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
The initiative is to help SHGs functioning under the Mahalir Thittam, a socio-economic empowerment programme for women implemented by the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women (TNCDW) Limited, improve their livelihood.
K. Selvarasu, Project Officer of Mahalir Thittam, said that he took the initiative as part of reviving five dormant kiosks set up in the district to promote SHG products.
During February this year, the TNCDW invited expression of interest from SHGs to run the kiosks and 15 SHGs showed interest in producing quality home-made snacks from small millets such as ragi, varagu, samai and kambu.
Before extending the rights to run the kiosks, the TNCDW asked the SHGs to supply sample snacks on cost-to-cost basis to the meetings organised by them. This process of receiving samples to test the quality of the products began a week ago.
The SHGs that were selected for best quality would be asked to supply snacks during the official meetings to be held at the Collectorate and elsewhere in the district in future with the consent of District Collector T.N. Hariharan, he said.
The snacks supplied by the SHGs were sesame seed balls ( ellu urundai ), laddu made from ragi, kambu, varaghu, thinai and samai, sweet poli, and gulab jamun.
Besides, handmade jewellery, value-added embroidery textiles, toys and toiletry items would also be made available at these kiosks to operate them as viable business opportunity for SHGs.
The kiosks to be revived were located at Coimbatore Collectorate, foothills of Marudhamalai temple, Karamadai bus station, opposite Pollachi bus stand and Sulur bus stand.
