Buoyed by the encouraging response to project Pacha for making cloth bags following the Statewide ban on single-use plastic, the Ernakulam district Kudumbashree Mission is gearing up to scale up the production of bags to benefit maximum Kudumbashree units.
Out of the 206 Kudumbashree groups, 112 are getting regular orders raking in a collective weekly turnover of over ₹2.50 lakh since the launch of the project just over two months ago.
“It’s not that other entrepreneurs are not getting orders. They are either not able to deliver it on time or customize products according to the requirements of clients,” said P.A. Ajith, Ernakulam district programme manager, micro enterprises, district Kudumbashree Mission. Besides, Kudumbashree units are approached for piecemeal work by clients who supply both cloth and threads for stitching and pay around ₹50 per bag.
With the demand easily surpassing the supply at the moment and more members evincing interest in the project, the district Kudumbashree Mission plans to organise a major training programme for its entrepreneurs later this month for scaling up production.
“The idea is to give the unit members engaged in cloth making adequate training, which will help them with better delivery of orders. We are also planning to organise a machine expo alongside the training as part of a larger goal to make available modern sewing machines at subsided rates to members engaged in cloth making,” said Mr. Ajith.
This is expected to bring about standardisation of machines by replacing old and archaic machines used by some units, which is considered as one of the reasons for their below par delivery of orders.
Besides, the possibility of buying cloth in bulk and distributing it evenly among its units is also being explored for balanced distribution of benefits. At present, units buy cloth on their own.
Meanwhile, the district mission and individual Kudumbashree units continue to witness a steady stream of inquiries. Last week, the district mission received an order for 1,500 garbage bags for importing, which the mission forwarded to a unit at Parakkadavu block. Orders received directly by the district mission are given on rotation so that all units benefits from it.