Empowering Micro and Small Enterprises

In Penthakata’s Migrant Colony, Sunita spreads her handmade badi under the open sky, hoping the sudden coastal rains spare her day’s labour. Like other women of the Harichandi Self-Help Group (SHG), she continues a generations-old craft, yet her income remains uncertain - vulnerable to dust, insects, and humidity. Despite their skill, the women lose both time and earnings to unpredictable weather and uncertain drying conditions.

The introduction of a badi drying machine offers a simple yet vital technological shift, ensuring cleaner, more consistent production. But real transformation extends beyond technology. With training in enterprise management, group coordination, and quality control, these women can move from informal production to structured entrepreneurship.

Through handholding support and market linkages for branding and sales, the Harichandi SHG can reposition their traditional craft as a reliable livelihood enterprise. By connecting them to better tools, business knowledge, and fair markets, the initiative turns vulnerability into opportunity.

For women like Sunita, this change represents more than improved income, it signifies dignity, stability, and the confidence to sustain their heritage through enterprise.