Dhapewada’s shirt, Gothangaon’s bangles now online

Nagpur: Want some locally made casual shirts, T-shirts and lac bangles that too within the reach of your pocket? Then, no need to face the hustle and bustle of any marketplace at this pandemic time. Just scroll through the Amazon site and get Dhapewada’s shirt and Gothangaon’s lac bangles delivered at your home itself.
The initiative of the ministry of rural development of the state through Maharashtra state rural livelihood mission, implemented last year to provide leverage to SHGs reeling under the lockdown effect, has started gaining ground. The shirts from Dhapewada and lac bangles of Gothangaon are now among the global online selling products after the state government roped in the international e-commerce portal to boost the economy of self-help groups (SHGs) from Vidarbha and elsewhere in the state.
The Dhapewada shirts are being made by an SHG, Gurumauli Mahila Bachat Gat, at Kalmeshwar taluka while the lac bangles by Savangadi Mahila Bachat Gat at Kuhi taluka.
Though there are still some hurdles at the ground zero, the development seemed to have brought a sense of pride among the women of two SHGs who wanted to strive and overcome the abject poverty. One of the major issues is transportation as the products being made around 70-80 km away from the city at Dhapewada and Gothangaon. “Every business requires some time to take off. It may be a six months’ time after which we are hopeful to get steady orders through the site. Our products were selected for Amazon around a couple of months back and it may take some time for us to get noticed,” said Mala Kohad of Kalmeshwar taluka’s Dhapewada-based Gurumauli Mahila Bachat Gat whose shirts are now part of the products of the e-commerce giant.
Mala is a self-tutored tailor and is also a part of several SHGs which supplies readymade shirts at different places of Vidarbha. “I kept on seeing the YouTube channels to groom myself and collect ideas from the videos of apparel designing. Later, I trained my other co-workers in the Mahila Bachat Gat,” she said.
“Our shirts already have a customer base in Nagpur and elsewhere as they are appreciated for finishing, fitting and quality material. Every woman in the SHGs earn around Rs 250-300per day and even more,” said Mala, who also owned a boutique in her village.
The pandemic lockdown has badly disrupted the functioning of Savangadi Mahila Bachat Gat, which is involved in lac bangles making, as it has stopped getting delivery of raw materials from Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh, forcing the women of the SHG to work on the plantation fields as daily wagers. “It was the forest department which had imparted us the training of making the bangles in 2015 after we were displaced due to Gosikhurd project and later our village became a part of the tiger project. Since then, we have been earning through making the bangles and selling it to a company at Balaghat,” Lalita Choudhury of Savangadi Mahila Bachat Gat said.
She said, “Around few months ago, our local panchayat samiti member had helped us to join the government scheme and get enlisted in Amazon. Though we are yet to resume our bangle-making unit, hopefully our efforts and products would get due recognition.”
“Transportation would remain a major challenge for delivery of goods but once we start getting encouraging supports through bulk orders then such issues may be tackled,” Lalita said and added that internet connectivity, modalities to operate the online platforms and meet deadlines are the other major challenges waiting to be met too.
Zilla Parishad CEO Yogesh Kumbhejkar, who had implemented the plan in Nagpur division, said getting enlisted on the site was itself a herculean task. “We have specific teams of groups which would help in getting financial assistances through linkages with the banks and also block development officer and team at Panchayat samiti who are tasked to iron out the other ground-level difficulties,” he said.