Basically, people consume papad as taste enricher with the main course and also as a snack item. It has popularity throughout the globe and holds an important position in Indian cuisine.
Mahashakti Foundation in association with Vedanta Ltd., Lanjigarh under Project Sakhi is working to empower the rural women by forming Self Help Groups, engaging them in some income generating activities and linking them with banks since 2015.
The project staffs of Mahashakti Foundation identified few women of Chhatrapur village and educated them regarding the importance of working, earning and saving. Maa Sarala SHG was formed by 11 women members of the village in the year 2017. They started saving ₹100 per month each. They also provided internal loan facilities to their members.
In the year 2019, they started group income generating activities to increase their savings. All the women came together and started making papad and selling them in market. They made papad of different taste, flavours and types as per the demand of people in their locality. Varieties like Urad Papad, Rice Papad, Garlic Papad, Moong Papad, Methi Papad, Aloo Papad were made and sold. This increased their income and as a result of which, they started saving ₹530 a month each.
The formation of Maa Sarala SHG gave the women of the village to come together and earn for their families. It also gave them a social status and a satisfaction as they could support the family financially. Mahashakti Foundation with the esteem support of Vedanta Ltd. feels privileged to have got the opportunity to empower the rural women, strengthening their groups and encouraging them to get engaged in income generating activities.
