Mendi Agarbati Center, women-run cluster here, aims at utilizing bamboo resources of the state for economic growth.
The center, which started with the funding of the Indo-German Development Co-operation Project (IGDC), besides employment generation and livelihood creation also plays a role in environmental protection within a cash economic framework particularly for the rural women who do not have much employment scope in their remote villages.
Most of the women engaged in the center are originally from jhumia families. They were also involved in meager earning by collecting firewood from the jungle, both posing the direct threat of deforestation.
The cluster started only a year back, with technical support of Tripura Bamboo Mission (TBM), adopting a community-based industrial approach that is market driven using bamboo which is readily available in the area.
In Tripura, there is a very high acceptance of the use of bamboo in housing and as a result the people of the state are naturally skilled in building with bamboo.
Keeping this in mind and with the primary goal to create new employment to secure adequate income for the rural poor women through sustainable bamboo-based livelihoods, the center started training women in incense stick making and rolling of incense sticks.
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"We have chosen agartbati making for the tribal women as bamboo is readily available here, they are already familiar with the trade and more important is that they can be engaged with this staying in their hoses. We developed their skill in making of bamboo sticks, rolling of incense stick and utilizing of machines which we have provided them," said Dr A K Gupta, CEOand Project Director, IGDC.
"Now, this has increased their household economy by several folds and they have enough time to up bring their children in proper manner. This in the long term has also saved the ecology as the new trade has diverted them from jhuming and collection of firewood from the forest in which they were initially engaged in," he added.
In a very short time, more than 60 women in three groups took the training as it would help them meet the incremental cash needs of poor rural households for education of their children besides providing food and housing.
Though initially they were trained in hand rolling of incense sticks, but they shifted to mechanical production later with installation of machines.
With success of the training, the center imported some 30 automatic incense stick making machines along with other required machines for cutting and slicing of bamboo to make the sticks and mixing of raw materials for incense.
The center's initiative of introducing of incense production as a livelihood option has in fact shown the rural women a pathway out of poverty as they got an employment and income during their leisure time and after completion of their household chores.
Today on an average, 20 women are regularly working in the center. They work here for around three hours daily at their convenience between 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and can earn around Rs. 1,000-1,200 per month.
They do not have any investment here as everything from sticks, raw materials and machinery is provided by IGDC.
Chitra Debbarma, a jhum farmer turned incense worker said, "Here we work in cluster of around 24 women in our team. We took one month training by IGDC on incense stick production and now we are earning which we save in our bank accounts."
Another tribal woman Mamata Debbarma also expressed similar views.
"We have developed by working in this center and we are able to save money. Now I have around Rs. 2,000 in my bank account. We are around 20 women in our team and are engaged in incense stick production and got training for it," she said.
Beside contribution in empowering rural women by utilizing locally available raw materials, the centre has also played a major role in afforestation as with the new employment scope provided now these women no more are engaged with devastating jhuming and in collecting firewood from the forest.