'Sericulture a boon for rural and tribal women in India'

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Vaneeta Punchvedi | 19 Sep, 2014
Sericulture is making rural and tribal women more stable in their financial as well as their social life. Although the government is putting all their efforts to encourage Sericulture, but still women who are working in this sector asking for very small support from the government in their respective work.

Most of women entrepreneurs majorly from the north east India, who were in the national capital on Wednesday for a workshop and award function on silk production, told SME Times about their challenges they are facing with.

"We want that the rates of cocoons should be revised by giving us some higher amount, present price of per kg cocoons are Rs. 200 but this is not sufficient as some times there is very less margin of profit because we live in hilly areas and when ever we use transport services to carry our products we loose our heavy amount in that only," told 36 year old Manjeet to SME Times on an event 'Empowering women through Sericulture' in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Narmada Devi from Rudraprayag is doing silk spinning activities in her village from 2001 and she has earned 38000 in year 2013-2014 by her spinning activity but she is also not not happy with the price given her for her activity .

Narmada says silk in retail markets are so costly but we, who are making it, are not getting right amount for our hard work, we want that the government should take some major measure so that we can also increase our income.

"We need a big house for our silk production activity as there is no enough space in our homes which are previously given us by the government in Rs 15000," said Manjeet Kour from Panchkula Haryana. "We want that the government, should provide us a spacious home," she added.

Rural women of our country are now making their livelihood from Sericulture is quite overwhelming as the sector is giving these women to fulfill their dreams too. "Women who are indulged in Sericulture are able to send their children schools and university," a silk producer from West Bengal, Rubina Khatun told SME Times.

"I did not get the chance for higher education but I always wanted to educate my children, Now my children are well educated and this all happened because of Sericulture," she added. Khatun earned near about 4lakhs in last year her cocoons production.

Women from 27 States were rewarded in the workshop held in New Delhi on Wednesday. Sericulture changed the lives of the women and family who are working in this sector, women had made their own homes and feeling independent in their respective lives.

Addressing the award winners, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar said, "The Government is implementing various programs and schemes regarding silk production and sericulture and we want that these schemes should reach to every other corner of our villages so that they should take all the benefits from it said minister of textile."