Jammu, Feb 12: The rural women from across the country have come under one roof to showcase their talent through handmade products and crafts during the Saras Aajeevika Mela 2.0 being held at Jammu.
The national-level fair spanning 11 days, has brought Indian rural products to a single venue for public exhibition at AquaPlex ground Baghe-e Bahu Jammu.
The event is organized by JKRLM and has brought in together the women SHG from across India with their handcrafted products.
Pertinent to mention here, this is the 2nd edition of SARAS Aajeevika Mela celebrating the ingenuity of rural women entrepreneurs of DAY-NRLM . This event serves as a pivotal platform for women from diverse rural backgrounds, including Jammu & Kashmir, to showcase and market their products.
Shugfta Begum from Kishtwar, who has set up her stall, told Rising Kashmir that she has crafted products and dry fruits for sale. The crafted products have received a good response from buyers, and sales have been tremendous over the last three days.
“The JKRLM (Umeed) has given us an opportunity to set up the stall here, and we are attracting more buyers, expanding our product reach to a wider audience. We have had an average sale of around 30 items each day,” she said, adding that she has also put up the famous Kishtwari ‘Rajma Dal’ for sale.
Nazima Akhtar from Assam has also set up a stall at the event and said that she has crafted numerous kitchenware products from bamboo. She expressed satisfaction with the response she is receiving.
“These kitchenware products, along with many other handcrafted goods, have garnered significant public interest. The product range also includes table lamps made of bamboo, crafted by us,” she said.
Mridhu Slathia, Additional Mission Director, JKRLM speaking to Rising Kashmir said that they also organized the first chapter of Saras Aajeevika last year and received an overwhelming response from the people, paving the way for the second edition as well.
“Rural Self Help Group (SHG) women from across India have come here and set up stalls, exhibiting their crafted items under one roof. The event brings together rural SHGs from across the country, aiming to empower the women so that they don’t face any huddles in life,” she added.
