WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

By Rajesh Ghadge

WHERE THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY

Every woman can empower herself. “

What she needs is faith in herself and the support of her loved ones. The stories of women's empowerment are becoming more plentiful and relevant these days.

And that can be attributed to the freedom and encouragement they now receive compared to how it used to be in the

past. ”

The story of Pranita Kadolkar is one such story that will redefine your perceptions of dedication and hard work. D e s p i t e f a c i n g s e v e r e adversity in life, Pranita struggled hard to achieve her dreams. She wasn't fortunate enough to enjoy the kind of privilege lots of women get easily but her persistent efforts and belief in herself made her the empowered woman that she is today. While working for almost five years under a Women Self Help group, Pranita always wanted to do something to establish her identity in this society. “I wanted to have my own identity and that made me become the trader of Agarbattis (Incense Stick) and started buying small stock from the manufacturers,” she said, adding that initially she used to buy in bulk and later on transfer them into smaller packets and sell door to door. “I was doing this day by day every day until the pandemic struck and things came to a standstill.” Pranita could not complete her formal education and she had to leave her studies halfway. “I was the eldest in the family and we were financially not stable during that time. At the age of 17 I started working as a salesgirl in the departmental store in Panaji,” she said adding, that they gave her initial training which helped her a lot in the future. “After working for almost a decade, I got married at the age of 27 but I did not leave my job and continued working as a salesgirl for the same place in Panaji.” But after having her first child, a baby girl, she had to leave her job to look after the newborn. “I had no other support to take care of my daughter and with each day passing, I made sure that I kept myself busy. I tried my hands at various things to see what works best for me while taking care of my daughter at home,” she said. Pranita did not give up her hope and she decided to start selling tender coconut on Coco beach. “I set up a stall on Coco Beach to sell tender coconut and Fresh Lime Soda. I was selling almost 100 Tender Coconuts a day and the daily sale was dependent on the number of tourists visiting the beach.” Pranita used to work the whole day under the scorching sun but despite that, the income was not sufficient enough to t a k e c a r e o f t h e d a i l y expenses. Soon she had another baby girl and her responsibility doubled. She used to bring her also on the beach since no one was there to take care of her. But she continued her pursuit to earn some money to support herself and her family. “After having my third child, a baby girl, I decided to join the Women's S e l f H e l p G r o u p . A f t e r enrolling in my name I saw that everyone in the self-help group is engaged in their own business activities and that made me think if they can, why not me.” Finally, after thinking for some time Pranita decided to start the business of Agarbattis. “Before starting, I did a little bit of research and found out there there is potential in this business as no was engaged in this work in the village I was staying,” said Pranita noting that all the ladies from herselfhelp group were engaged into other activities but none were into Aggarbatti making. “I wanted to make use of the opportunity given to me by the Self Help Group and I decided t o s t a r t t h e t r a d i n g o f Agarbattis, but soon I realized that there was not much profit in trading and I decided to e n t e r i n t o A g g a r b a t t i manufacturing.” After doing the research online and watching the Youtube channel Pranita learned about Aggarbatti making. “When I decided to start my own manufacturing business of Aggarbattis, my husband came to my rescue. He helped me in finding the process of Aggarbatti making on Youtube and Google,” she said adding, that initially, her husband learned how to make via Youtube before teaching

her the same. "After learning the entire process of Agarbatti making I started doing it myself. But when Aggarbattis were ready the next challenge in front of me was distribution.” P r a n i t a w a s s e l l i n g t h e Aggarbatties, but those were the established brands such as Cycle Aggarbatti while her product was new to the market and selling was a challenge. “People were used to the branded Aggarbattis and they were not ready to t a k e u n b r a n d e d a n d t o overcome this I decided to participate in the exhibitions such as Saras organized by the State Government to promote the Cottage Industry and Self Help, Groups and the stalls was free,” said Pranita adding that she participated in the exhibition and received a v e r y g o o d r e s p o n s e . Everyone took her number to place repeated orders. But here was another challenge she had encountered and that w a s t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f Aggarbattis across the state. “ T h e s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t provides the platform like stalls and branding but sales and distribution were still nonexistent. “According to me, Aggarbatti is something that is a most essential part of all religious activities and I am sure that my product will get a good marketplace in the near future.” Pranita has also taken a shortterm loan from the Self Help group but due to lack of sales, she is finding it difficult to repay the same. “We have already created a branding for our Aggarbattis and it is k n o w n a s ' O m S h r e e Aggarbattis' and I sell them in packets of 100 and 200 grams in the market. Our Aggarbattis are available in 3 fragrances i.e. Diwali Musk, Lavender, Good News, and Six Plus. The packaging of the Aggarbattis is done in two forms, a Plastic pouch, and paper packets,” said Pranita. According to Pranita, her husband helps her even in distribution. “Since I cannot travel far places with the stock, I take help of my h u s b a n d , w h o t a k e s m e a r o u n d a n d h e l p s m e distribution of the stock in different locations across G o a b u t t h e i s s u e o f competing with the branded Aggarbatties still remains a major challenge before us. I a l w a y s a p p e a l t o t h e shopkeepers to support the local makers,” she said. Although there are many hurdles in her journey, Pranita doesn't believe in giving up her hope. “There are many hurdles and I know that they won't go away but what gives me e n c o u r a g e m e n t i s t h e repeated orders from my c u s t o m e r s , i t m a k e s m e believe that I am on the right path and sooner or later I will succeed in my mission,” said Pranita. “The major challenge in front of me is the marketing and branding and that will happen only when I get the support from the government. I h a v e t h e c a p a c i t y o f manufacturing any quantity provided it gets a good response from the market,” she added. According to Pranita, the support of Goenkars will solve half of her problems. “I need the support of our Goans, once they come ahead and start buying my products, half of the job will be done, and the rest half I can do by increasing the capacity. Pranita has overcome many obstacles in her journey. With every challenge she faced, she has become stronger and wiser and that helps her in devising new ideas for selling her products. “I have started a new way of reaching out to the people and selling my A g g a r b a t t i s t o t h e prospective customers by v i s i t i n g t h e G o v e r n m e n t offices and I have received a very good response,” she said. Pranita believes that no hurdles or challenges can stop you from achieving your dreams. “I want to become big and I know it will take some time but I won't give up the hope and keep going my way till I accomplish my dreams,” she concluded. May the fragrance of success always waft along the path for this determined woman.