Selling eggs brings good income to the women’s group
Raipur, 19 July 2023
Rural women are making significant strides towards self-reliance by actively participating in the livelihood-oriented activities of Gauthans. In Mendoli village of Bastar district, women’s self-help group is generating substantial profits by selling eggs obtained through their poultry farming venture. Seeing the demand for eggs in the surrounding villages, rural women in the Bastar district started poultry farming. They supply these eggs to nutrition centers, hostels, army camps, and local markets, earning them a good profit.
Gauthans, operating under the ambitious ‘Suraji Gaon Yojana’ of the Chhattisgarh Government, have emerged as employment hubs for women associated with self-help groups. Many economic activities like vermicompost production, fish farming, and poultry farming are conducted in the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Industrial Park (RIPA), providing employment in rural areas. The women’s group started poultry farming with the support of the local Yuva Mitan Club. The Krishna group of the Gauthan rears advanced poultry species and includes five members of the women group and five of Yuva Mitan. The group has sold 2,500 eggs since March 2023. The women of the group are also associated with cultivating button mushrooms, manufacturing vermicompost, and procuring cow dung.
Nutrition is very important for a child’s growth and development. It can be accomplished by eating a diet rich in protein, iron, vitamin-A, and vitamin B, which are abundant in eggs. Small children eat eggs with gusto. Children are also given eggs in schools and Anganwadis in the Vananchal area. Through their association with these Gauthans, women associated with the self-help groups are becoming financially empowered and self-reliant.
