Haldi or Turmeric is coined as the most powerful spices of all and is a permanent member of every Indian kitchen and a staple in all Indian cuisines. Considering the number of health benefits turmeric offers, this spice can be added to a variety of dishes in order to keep improving the quality of our lives. Apart from its culinary usage, haldi is also used for boosting up immunity, moderates the insulin level of body, heal cut/burn/infections, helps in digestion.
Mahashakti Foundation with the esteem support of Vedanta Ltd., Lanjigarh started Project Sakhi in March 2015, to create opportunities for households to undertake Income Generating Activities and to work in the entire value chain. The project staffs of MSF strengthened a federation named, Shaktimayee Foundation, groomed the leaders as its Board of Directors to take up enterprise and generate revenue for the trust. A Turmeric Processing unit was then set up.
Staffs of MSF formed a group of the SHG women and named it as Maa Manikeswari SHG and also arranged them with the raw materials for making of turmeric powder. They started their business in a traditional way i.e. by means of mortar and pestle. The women divided all the duties among themselves and started the turmeric processing work. The business went on well and they were also linked to the market. Proper branding and labelling of the turmeric packets were done.
Looking at the dedication of the women of Maa Manikeswari SHG, Vedanta Ltd. decided to provide them with a turmeric processing machine in the year 2019. Till now they have processed and sold 923 kilos of turmeric and have earned a profit of ₹51,345 by selling the turmeric powder at ₹240 per kg.
With the support of Mahashakti Foundation & Vedanta Ltd., they are planning to get a food license for their processing unit and want their product to be recognized at national level.
