Recycling of clothes offered at shrines transforming rural women into rural entrepreneurs   

Surendra Pal Singh | Uttarkashi 

An innovative effort by the district administration towards environmental protection and women empowerment has started yielding positive results on the ground. Things began when the district magistrate, Prashant Arya suggested recycling of the clothes offered by devotees at Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines which were later immersed in the rivers. Now the initiative envisioned by the DM and implemented by the district administration is not just preventing water pollution but also opening new avenues of livelihood for the rural women.

Presently, the women of the self-help group-Maa Ganga Cluster Level Federation- formed under the Gramothan Yojana or Rural Enterprise Acceleration Project (REAP), keep collecting these clothes and churning out multi-purpose products like folders, bags and mats among others. These products are now being used by the district election office during the Panchayat polls which are being organised under the theme ‘Green Election’. 

The DM met the women members of Maa Ganga Cluster Level Federation on Wednesday and appreciated their work. He instructed that these folders be sent from the collectorate to all the development blocks so that they could be used in the election process. 

Earlier, Arya had conducted a field inspection of the technical, financial and skill development facilities being provided to the self-help groups under REAP in the district. During one such inspection, he had suggested to the women to recycle the clothes offered at Gangotri and Yamunotri Dham, hoping that this initiative would push them towards rural entrepreneurship and self-reliance. The women had taken the suggestion seriously and in a few days they had started working in this direction. Success came their way soon enough in the form of the multi-purpose products whose demands are mounting.