Thanks to an initiative by students of Ethiraj College and a microfinance company, women from slums become financially independent.

The rear end of Ethiraj College once had a large vacant land which was used for parking. Now, there stands a thatched hut which is changing lives of eight women from Thideer Nagar slum close by .

These women were trained to grow mushrooms , which provides them with a monthly income. Their lives changed when a couple of students of Enactus Ethiraj, a group promoting social entrepreneurship, along with representatives of Equitas, a microfinance group working with people from low-income groups, approached them.

“After a couple of hours of brainstorming, we zeroed in on the project we wanted to take up. We decided to grow mushrooms. We thought of teaching them where they lived. But, who would be interested in buying mushrooms in a slum. That’s when the management of Ethiraj College stepped forward and offered help. They not only decided to offer financial assistance but also gave a small piece of land for growing mushrooms,” says John Alex, programme director, Equitas.

The ground work began in December 2014 and the shed was ready by March 2015. These women were trained by Raghupathi, an expert in mushroom cultivation.

He taught them everything about oyster mushrooms and the conditions they are grown in.

“We built the shed, which is where these mushrooms grow in plastic packets. The temperature is controlled. It has to be humid all the time. Right next door, we have a room where these women do all the preparations. They pack the final product and put it out for sale,” says Kanchi J. Shah, president of the Club.

Sanjana Murali (vice-president), Maduvanthi Birla (joint vice-president), Kavitha Ramesh Kumar (secretary), Vidhyalakshmi C.A. (treasurer) and Kimberly Jane Moses (joint treasurer) and staff member Sumathy Ravi are the core members of the project. Those involved in the project are happy about the way it has panned out.

Forty-two-year-old Lalesh Mary says, “I wanted to do something out of my house, for a long time. When this opportunity came, I grabbed it. It opens avenues for other business opportunities. Moreover, I have learnt to cook mushrooms. Two months ago, I did not know such a thing existed.”

Oyster mushroom is healthy and high on proteins.

The college sells these products under the brand En-Kalan at the college premises.

It is also sold at departmental stores. For more details, write to enactusethiraj@gmail.com

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> DownTown / by Vipasha Sinha / March 14th, 2015