vietexplorer0014

Hajipur (Vaishali), Bihar In March this year, six women living in villages in Vaishali district of Bihar started a Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) that produces yarns from discarded banana stems. The banana yarn is then used to make various products such as bags, sanitary pads, paper, and decorative items. The FPO, named Kera Jeevika Mahila Kela Resha Kisan Utpad Company, is the first banana waste processing unit in the state, supported by the Government of Bihar’s Jeevika project. The project aims to empower rural women socially and economically. Asha Devi, Renu Devi, Kumari Krishna Sinha, Susheel Kumari, Sonam Kumari, and Lalita Kumari are the co-founders of the FPO. Asha Devi, who has been a part of Jeevika since 2017, said, “At present, we are only making about Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 a month from the company, but we are confident that soon our earnings will go up a lot more.” Apart from the six co-founders, there are 15 to 20 women from Jeevika working as labore...