Pink Perch fish chaklis: Four women from Laila village sell 150kg

MANGALURU: Four women from Laila village of Belthangady, about 75 kms from here, are on a journey of becoming successful entrepreneurs with a variety of chaklis and sandige made from pink perch fish. Representing the Sneha Self Help Group of Samagra Sanjeevani Okkota, the women were trained at a programme organised by the Bharatiya Vikas Trust, NABARD and College of Fisheries in the last week of August.
Savithri HS, Shaheeda Begum, Naseema and Harshiya have sold about 150 kgs of fish chaklis and sandiges since the launch, with the support of the fisheries department. This is probably the first successful product under the 'One District, One Product' (ODOP) scheme to promote the micro food processing industry.
Savithri HS told TOI, "The fisheries department has given us the opportunity to put up stalls at events. At the Krishi Mela in Bengaluru, we sold fish 'Kodubale'. We are noticing a good demand for these products from North Karnataka districts, including Chitradurga, Davangere and Kalaburagi. Currently, we prepare about 25 kgs per day. Under the PM Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PM FME), we hope to procure machinery and increase production," said Savithri.
They sell fish chaklis in pepper, chilli, ginger, garlic, mango and palak flavours. They also sell fish chutney and fish biryani masala. The team is in talks with the Karnataka Fisheries Development Corporation for marketing the products, she said.
Dr Sushmitha Rao, deputy director, fisheries department, said that under the ODOP scheme to promote the micro food processing industry in the state, marine products has been selected for Dakshina Kannada and Udupi based on the prevalence in the district and considering the scope in the market for them. The department is currently focusing on training women to produce value added products so that individual enterprises will get support under the PMFME scheme through credit linked capital grant at 35% of the eligible capital expenditure with a maximum ceiling of Rs 10 lakh per unit. Beneficiary contribution should be minimum of 10% of the capital expenditure with balance being loan from the bank, she said.
"Currently there are about three SHGs that have been identified and selling various value added marine products. While the sales for the products are good, the focus should now be on marketing and branding," Sushmitha added.