Kudumbashree - Success Story of Navakavyam Jewelry Making Unit
Making Jewelry and earning livelihood: Success Story of Navakavyam Jewelry Making Unit
Anitha Murugan is a member of a Kudumbashree Neighborhood Group (NHG) in Thuravoor Gram Panchayat in Aluva Block of Ernakulam District of Kerala. This story is about Anitha, her NHG members and their jewelry making unit- Navakavyam.
She is from a goldsmith family, and was acquainted to the craft of jewelry making from her childhood days itself. So when they thought of starting a business, they considered jewelry making itself, as she already knew the craft, and could teach the same to her fellow NHG members. There are five women in their enterprise- Anitha, Nisha, Shanthini, Vimala and Shantha. Their enterprise is named Navakavyam Jewellery Works, and they started the unit in the courtyard of their house during 2016. They had got financial assistance from Kudumbashree Mission by means of capital subsidy, and they launched their enterprise by making small rings for infants. Today, each of them earn about Rs. 5,000-10,000 a month. Their willingness to learn from each other, team work and their agenda to never give up in life are the major reasons for success.
Being set in a Gram Panchayat, their major challenge was about not having a direct access to the market. There are dealers and agents who act as intermediaries. Though they make a decent profit today, they could make better money if theyhad direct access to the market in towns and cities. All the work they do is handmade. They do not have enough money to purchase machineries or advanced technologies that are available in today’s market. Hence, our production and designs are limited. The starting off of this business was the biggest turning point for them. The believed in ourselves, and the strength of their collective. They started off as a small unit in 2016. Now they are diversifying into new products such as bangle making and other ornaments. They wanted to widen their enterprise and mark a signature presence in the society.
Since ages, women in Kerala and beyond have lived a confined domestic life. They have been struggling hard to get rid of these retrograding restrictions. They have been trying to break free from the shackles of social discrimination, cultural bias, tags of being an inferior sex to fulfilling their responsibility of maintaining a home and a family.
That was our chance to move on and empower ourselves, while also supporting our family and earning a self-sustainable livelihood. With the money they earned from this enterprise, they were able to settle almost all their loans and liabilities. According to them that was their happiest moment, and they thank Kudumbashree Mission for extending this opportunity. In fact, joining Kudumbashree Mission itself was the happiest moment for them. Now they are able to think beyond, and move towards diversifying our activities.
According to them, the world has been a monopoly of men. Kudumbashree has showed them hope. We have power of a collective to do something together, and conquer the world. We should use it to the best possible limit. Navakavyam Jewellery unit could be considered as an epitome of unaltered will power and confidence. With a gradual yet steady growth, they had proved that belief in one’s self could take anyone to greater success.
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