Jeevika didis in Bihar’s Purnia district have sent handmade Rakhis, fabricated from mulberry silk, to the President and therefore the Prime Minister this Rakshabandhan. Jeevika didis is that the popular name for ladies who run self-help groups (SHGs) in Bihar. They said the rakhis made of mulberry silk, drawn from cocoons, were meant to symbolise the purity of ‘Resham ki Dori’ accustomed tie brothers and sisters during a bond.
“The rakhis we made for the PM and also the President were same as ‘Resham ki dori’ and symbolised our wish to determine the Prime Minister’s ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) bid become a reality,” said Meera Devi and Munni Devi, who were involved within the running of the Adarsh Jeevika Mahila Mulberry Resham Utpadak Samooh, a women’s cooperative for production of Mulberry silk at Amari village in Dhamdaha area of Purnia district. The Prime Minister had mentioned this group in his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat on February 23, 2020.
Like Meeera Devi and Munni Devi, Reena Kumari, Rukmani Devi, Sukeshwari Devi and 60 others were busy making attractive rakhis out of mulberry silk with a concept to sell them within the market. “Last year we did it on atiny low scale but this year we’ve got planned to create a minimum of 50,000 handmade rakhis,” they said and added that they were hoping for a decent return.
The stuff besides mulberry silk cocoon was being supplied to those jeevika didis by the women’s collective of silk producers at Dhamdaha and Jalalgarh.
“These silk rakhis were being sold at ₹15 to ₹50 and ladies were showing a keen interest in buying these rakhis,” one Jeevika didi said, adding, “Each rakhi earns us a profit between ₹5 and seven and every one amongst us can structure to 50 rakhis every day to earn up to ₹10,000 in 15 days’ time.
About 50 such women from Dhamdaha and Jalalgarh block were engaged in making rakhis from mulberry silk and these are being marketed by Adarsh Jeevika Mulberry Resham Utpadak Samooh.
Rajeev Ranjan, manager, communication, Jeevika Purnia said, “During the pandemic, Jeevika didis have shown the thanks to others by not allowing themselves to be delayed by matters and have come up with fresh and profitable ideas to sustain themselves and their families.”
