Now you will not have to travel all the way to Jawadhu hills, to purchase pure wild honey or Samai (little millet) and other agricultural produce from the tribal hamlets. You can order it from the comfort of your homes through e-commerce sites and it will be delivered at your doorstep under the brand name Jawathu Hills Divine Pure – thanks to the effort of the Tamil Nadu State Rural Livelihood Mission (TNSRLM) in Tiruvannamalai district.
A total of 12,795 families are involved in the production of little millet, honey, tamarind, gooseberry and other agricultural produce. “Annually, 12,400 tonnes of little millet, 22 tonnes of honey, 90 tonnes of tamarind, 20 tonnes of kadukkai, 20 tonnes of jack fruit and 5 tonnes of goose berry are produced. These used to be purchased by middle men and the tribals used to get a paltry sum. Few months ago the Tiruvannamalai Collector K.S. Kandasamy started the Jawadhu Hills Tribal Farmer Produce company and people started selling the produce through it,” said Y. Johnson, assistant project officer, TNSRLM.
Equipment was also purchased to process the produce and package them. “Earlier they used to sell in plastic packets. Now we are using the latest packaging methods including ziploc bags. It is similar to the ones displayed in major super markets and organic stores. We are also tying up with e-commerce sites to deliver these products, including jackfruit, to places like Chennai and Bengaluru,” said M. Kumaresan, block coordinator, TNSRLM.
A website – www.jawadhuhills.com has also been started and people can order the products by calling numbers given on the website. “We have also appointed a marketing manager who will coordinate taking orders, ensuring that it is sent on time to the customer and get payment for the same,” added Mr. Kumaresan.
Usha Rani, one of the farmers who is mainly involved in producing honey and little millet said that she used to earn around ₹ 5,000 per month earlier by selling honey to middle men. “After I started selling it to the Jawadhu Hills Tribal Farmer Produce company I am earning around ₹ 10,000 per month. Besides we did not have the marketing or branding skills. Through the company, we have learnt it now,” she added. board of directors.
Tiruvannamalai Collector said that the main aim is to market the produce better to give more profit to the producers. “The profit will stay in the company itself and can be used by the farmers during the off-season,” said Mr. Kandasamy.
