Srinagar: With an aim to display the richness of arts and crafts reflecting the Jammu & Kashmir’s bountiful culture ,through their skills & art Jammu Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (JKRLM) Umeed market place & a Millet cafe put up in SKICC wowed the G20 delegates during the G20 summit held in Kashmir.
From exploring the mouth watering delicacies of Millet prepared by Umeed women to shopping for authentic handicraft of J&K from the Umeed marketplace, the foreign delegates were all praises for the warm hospitality of J&K..
JKRLM’s core belief & objective is to empower women by providing them avenues of livelihood and at Umeed marketplace festive atmosphere celebrating women power was witnessed wherein the different livelihoods like Handicrafts, Willow Wicker items, Black cumin, Honey, value added products, Paper Mache, Traditional Pottery, Basholi Paintings and other captivating items apart from this a separate “Millet Cafe” for foreign delegates was also set up at SKICC here.
Eight women entrepreneurs from Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (JKRLM) set up their vibrant stalls at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) to showcase their unique products and captivate the attention of G20 delegates, Whereas 12 SHG members were seen serving the mouth watering Millet based delicacies.
Delegates applauded the craft of Kashmiri women. The delegates were very happy to see the Umeed market place which had some agricultural produce (Saffron, Lavender) value added products (Soaps, Chabhri Binna) apart from the handicraft products made by women. These products were made by the self-help groups working under JKRLM throughout Jammu and Kashmir.
Explaining the purpose of the Umeed market place & Millet hub, Mission Director JKRLM, Indu Kanwal Chib stated, “Setting up the Umeed market place Millet Hub and Millet Cafe in SKICC was to give an exposure of international standard to the SHG women and reinforcing the spirit of strength & resilience.
To ensure authenticity, each showcased merchandise was affixed with a brochure that provided detailed information about the product. The participating women, hailing from different districts across J&K have been meticulously trained and empowered by JKRLM to become self-reliant.
G20 platform provided a golden opportunity for these women to showcase their talent and enabled the delegates to immerse themselves in the richness of traditional varieties of J&K, she added.
Under the leadership of Commissioner Secretary Department of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Mandeep Kaur, JKRLM has taken various transformational steps like SARAS and now G20 being one of the few.
Mission Director JKRLM said that Commissioner Secretary has inculcated creativity and market essence in SHG women participating in this event which otherwise also have been part of quite a learning process, Mission Director said.
The progressive journey of SHGs is a representation of transformation wherein JKRLM has ventured out in the past two years to fill up the marketing gaps and connect the buyers directly with SHGs. With the focus of JKRLM at overall development of Rural Women and continued training and exposure, it made it’s presence at G20 platform to showcase and sale the SHG made products, she maintained.