Kudumbashree - Success Story of C Bag Industries

Crafting life: Success Story of C Bag Industries

C Bag Industries is a bag making unit. This group is located at Valappad Grama Panchayath in Thrissur District of Kerala. The group consists of 5 members from the Kudumbashree family and they started their unit on 26 January 2017. Mrs. Jincy is the President and Mrs. Mallika (CDS Chairperson) is the Secretary of the unit. Mrs. Shailaja, Mrs. Sharmila and Mrs. Sunitha are the other members of the group. The initial capital investment of their initiative was Rs.2 lakhs.

The group members are from Kudumbashree families. The concept for starting a new enterprise evolved from the “Go Green Concept”. Using paper or cloth bags is a step ahead towards this green movement. Paper bags are very much in fashion and at the same time eco-friendly also. Its demand and popularity goes on increasing in the market as it is cheap in price; durable enough to hold more items at once and most importantly it is biodegradable.

The group members of C Industries have successfully completed the training from KITCO through Kudumbashree for both bags making and stitching. They are making the bags on demand by the customer.  More than 20 designs are developed in cloth bag/paper bag. Special care is given for the purchase of raw materials. It is a micro enterprises unit and they did not have any previous experiences in that field and it was their very first initiative. The average monthly profit per member is nearly Rs.4000. They sell their products to their Panchayath office, Haritha Kerala Mission, Kudumbashree Mission, Health Departments etc. They are also collecting work orders from textile shop, Fancy shop etc.

The major reason behind our success is the support of the Panchayath and Kudumbashree District Mission. Most of the work orders are placed through these institutions. During their journey they had to face many challenges too. Marketing was the main challenge that they had faced.  The rate of the good quality raw material available in the local market is very high. There was no considerable reduction in the cost of raw materials, even for bulk procurement of raw materials. Lack of modern technology was another challenge faced by the unit.

Making of flags for political parties for their local or district or state conference was a turning point in their life. Use of eco-friendly materials for election campaigns has helped them a lot in building their business. The aim of the C Bag Industries is to convert their Panchayath into a plastic free Panchayath. They want to get an award from State level through this activity. They are very much glad that they also could contribute towards safeguarding the nature from plastic pollution. They themselves call “Guards of nature”. The hard work of the group and the support they are getting from Kudumbashree are marked as the key reasons for their success. Finding the right markets for selling the products was also considered as a reason behind.

With their committed and socially committed work, C Bag Industries had been bringing in positive changes in the society thereby raising themselves. It is sheer confidence that brought the micro entrepreneurs of C Bag Industries to greater heights. By extending opportunities to many women like the entrepreneurs of C Bag Industries Kudumbashree Mission is giving wings to the dreams of many.