V.Hema Malini– a mother of two and a member of the Bharathiyar Self Help Group in Anna Nagar–was, until six months ago, a housewife who had the dream to go beyond the obvious, but lacked the wherewithal to do just do that. An opportunity, professional training, and some investment later, she is now a woman entrepreneur who provides employment to 10 women like herself. It was this makeover that she tried to translate into words at the one-day seminar organised by Women Entrepreneur Association of Tamil Nadu (WEAT).
“An official from Canara Bank, where our SHG has an account, told us that a company called Sri Hari Industries was planning to train women to make doormats from baniyan waste,” said Hema Malini. On completing her training, she established her own doormat making unit at her house with the help of the company. Her unit comprises of three handloom machines that cost Rs.15,000 each and uses baniyan waste sourced from Tirupur and thread from Kangeyam.
“The 10 women who work in the unit are housewives from the neighbourhood (some are from the Bharatiyar SHG) and each of them can now make 30 mats in a day,” said Hema Malini, who pays the women Rs.5 per mat. For every kilogram of raw material (baniyan waste) three mats can be made, according to her. While the production cost for each mat is about Rs.16 to Rs.17, they sell them for Rs.25 at retail outlets. “Our industry requires no electricity, which is an added advantage in times such as these,” she said.
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Speaking about her life before she set up her unit, she said that her husband's income was not enough to sustain their family.
“I wanted to supplement my household's income by doing something that didn't require too much from me.” With many more women approaching her for work, Hema Malini is considering expanding her operations.
The meeting, convened by Prof. N. Manimekalai from Bharathidasan University, was held at the Tiruchirapalli District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association (TIDITSSIA) hall and was attended by about 50 members of WEAT. “Through its training programs, WEAT has already produced a number of women entrepreneurs who are today points of motivation for aspiring entrepreneurs,” said Prof. Manimekalai. She added that the association had trained women to be call taxi drivers, manufacture eco-friendly products and said that the sanitary napkin manufacturing unit set up by Sathyavani, a member of WEAT was a good example of social entrepreneurship. “Her enterprise has bettered the reach of a government scheme that provides free sanitary napkins to adolescent girls in government and government-aided schools and slum areas,” she said. The meeting also included a session on women's health delivered by Maheshwari, crown ambassador and health consultant, K Link International, Malaysia.
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