Making handicraft products using banana fibre provides employment to women in UP's Kushinagar

Making handicraft products using banana fibre has provided a means of employment to many women in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar.

Pooja Devi, 27, was busy making a flower vase while Manorama Devi, 35, was making ropes. About 30 women were busy making handicrafts out of banana plant fibre in Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh.

In Hariharpur, Tamkuhiraj, Gazipur Panchayat Bhawan and 10 other such villages, women were engaged in weaving several items ranging from wall hangings, flower vases and slippers to carpets.

More than 550 women in this district have received training in making handicrafts, out of which, 350 are earning through this profession.

Several women spoke toand said that they receive a daily wage of Rs 300 and a monthly income of Rs 5,000 through this profession.

Manorama Devi from Gazipur Panchayat Bhawan said, "This has made us economically independent and also boosted our confidence a lot. Before this, none of us here knew that we could make such products. The money we earn helps us to educate children. We can afford expenses for school and tuition fees, books and uniforms."

"We are making these products here to earn a livelihood. I save this money for emergency use," said Draupadi, another handicraft worker.

The extraction of banana fibre from the plant and making handicrafts has received the status of One District One Product (ODOP) in Kushinagar. It was introduced by the Uttar Pradesh government to encourage and revive aboriginal arts and craft products.

The scheme would help Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) to produce and promote the products that are unique to the state. However, as it is at the initial level, the cluster that comes under ODOP is yet to be formed.

It all started when Ravi Prasad belonging to Hariharpur village, Kushinagar district went to Kerala and saw the utility of banana plant there. He received training from there and then began producing handicraft products using banana fibre in Kushinagar.

He took a loan of Rs 5 lakh through Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Yojana for buying a machine and working capital. This double-decker banana fibre machine cost him Rs 2.25 lakh, a generator of Rs 65,000 and the rest he kept as working capital.

He said, "I initiated this project in 2018 and till date have trained more than 550 women in this entire district. I have involved both men and women in this work. Men cut the plant, put them in trolleys and then extract banana fibres. The labour cost amounts to Rs 300 per day."

"Banana plants have multiple uses. The leftovers from the extractions are used as decomposers. We also use banana water in multiple ways from painting to pouring it in the fish pond," Prasad said.

He said the order for these products comes via online platforms and contacts.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the project failed to flourish but is gaining pace again as orders have started coming from all over the country.

Uttar Pradesh including Kushinagar constituency will go to the sixth phase of polling tomorrow in the ongoing state Assembly elections, determining the fate of 676 candidates, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in 57 Assembly seats spread across 10 districts of the state.

The 10 districts going to the polls in the sixth phase are Gorakhpur, Ambedkarnagar, Ballia, Balrampur, Basti, Deoria, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Sant Kabir Nagar and Siddharthnagar.

The 2022 Assembly elections to elect 403 members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly are being held in seven phases. The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on March 10, 2022.

( With inputs from ANI )