Rani and her group are industrious and innovative

I met Rani at her residence in a village in Namakkal District on a cool Monday morning. It had been raining continuously for over two weeks in this part of the South, so when I was treated to a nice cup of hot coffee with spicy snacks on my arrival, I was grateful for the refreshment. Pushpa, Ramya and Karthika, three members from Rani's JLG were also present. They'd been expecting me and so had displayed some of their work for me to see. Rani and her group took a loan from GMF, Milaap's partner for the purpose of making and selling/renting kundhan jewellery. It's been almost three months since they've started their business. They attended a two-days training organised by Milaap through GMF for the purpose of acquiring the art of making jewellery. Now they have added their own style and innovation to the whole process. They use a variety of materials brought in from different places and are trying to sppeal to the youth by adopting latest patterns and techniques. Rani runs a beauty parlour and Pushpalatta has a petty shop of her own. So all the women display and sell their items through these outlets. Besides that, they also market through relatives, friends and their children who go to schools and colleges. These women get together everyday and spend two to three hours coming up with beautiful patterns of jewellery. They are confident that their business will pick up and be profitable.