Bastar
Nema Ekka, a widow, comes to work in Udaan — situated in the Shilpa Nagari or Craft City area of the district — from a village 13 km away. For daily commuting, Ekka depends on shared autos or any vehicle for that matter that would help her beat the morning rush to reach her workplace.
Ekka, who has studied till Class 10, works at the tikhur milkshake section which is an original product made here. The women at this section make the milkshake and bottle it.
“Before this, I used to work in agriculture fields. I have studied till Class 10. I came to know about Udaan through the village samuh or self-help group called Jeevan Jyoti Mahila Samuh. It has 10 members and mainly concentrates on savings,” Ekka shared with The Indian Tribal.
Udaan was started around 2020 and Ekka joined it in 2021. She joined as there was no one else in her family to work. She has to take care of her twins after her husband and in-laws passed away. The children are aged 10. She starts from home at 9 am and goes back by 5.30 pm.
Santoshi Poyam comes from a nearby village on a bicycle. She attended high school. Yet unmarried, Poyam joined Udaan in the same year as Ekka. She works at the coconut oil unit where it is pressed and packaged.
A member of the Board of Directors, Hemantin Nag, said, “Many women used to be at home before Udaan started. Initially, training was imparted to the women and then the company opened. The women who work here are happy as they are contributing to family income.”
Today, some 45 women work here. Kumari Patel, who is another member of the Board of Directors, among a total of eight, said most women in Udaan are tribals. They come from nearby villages lying within 10 km of Kondagaon. Some even come from villages as far as 30 km away. Their daily income ranges from Rs 250 to Rs 350.
The main concept behind Udaan is the value addition of farm produce. Earlier, its name was the Udaan Ajivika Centre. Now, it is known as the Udaan Mahila Krishak Producer Company Limited, a farmer producer organisation, with some 3000 shareholders.
The women who work in Udaan make products like agarbattis, milkshakes, coconut oil and millet cookies among others. The products are sold through a shop called C-Mart which is nearby.
The items made by the women of Udaan are sold under the brand name of Kondanaar. However, to increase footfall at the shop, popular brands are also stocked.
Udaan’s Chief Executive Officer Devendra Rao joined a couple of months back. “The women who work in Udaan are yet to penetrate other markets besides that of Chhattisgarh. Right now, markets are being explored in Kolkata, the nearest metro city.”
Besides the regular sections like that of milkshake, cookies and puja items, there is also a suposhan or nutrition unit in Udaan. Two women’s self-help groups are associated with this unit.
Rao admitted that the main challenge lies in marketing and so he looks after it as well as daily production. “The women are given targets on a regular basis. Before they started, training was arranged for them. There were separate trainers for separate sections.”
