Shimla administration is mulling to set up pre-fabricated product sale huts on the National highways in the district to promote local “Brand Shimla” products via self help groups (SHGs). These will feature local agricultural goods, handicrafts, and FSSAI-compliant food vans.
Shimla deputy commissioner Anurag Kashyap said that the objective is to provide a permanent market for SHGs and to give widespread recognition to local products.
“These huts will be developed at prominent locations along NHs to boost the sale of local products and make the district’s traditional goods available to the general public—including tourists—at a single location,” said Kashyap after presiding over a review meeting of rural development department.
This initiative will not only strengthen the marketing of local products but also play a significant role in bolstering the rural economy, making self-help groups self-reliant and giving the district’s traditional heritage and local flavours a new identity at the national level, the DC said.
“The district administration is continuously working towards giving a distinct identity to Shimla’s local products and establishing ‘Brand Shimla.’”
He directed the concerned officials to prepare a detailed proposal for this scheme. “Each cluster will sell its region’s best and most unique products through these huts. This initiative will increase the income of SHGs, provide better self-employment opportunities for rural women, and open up new markets for local handicrafts and agriculture-based products.”
{{/usCountry}}He directed the concerned officials to prepare a detailed proposal for this scheme. “Each cluster will sell its region’s best and most unique products through these huts. This initiative will increase the income of SHGs, provide better self-employment opportunities for rural women, and open up new markets for local handicrafts and agriculture-based products.”
{{/usCountry}}These sale huts will offer Shimla’s famous local products for sale, such as apples and apple-based value-added products (jam, juice, squash, vinegar), kidney beans (rajma), red rice, Himachali desi ghee, honey, pickles, chutneys, rhododendron (buransh) squash, mushroom products, walnuts, plums, apricots, local lentils, woolen shawls, caps, mufflers, handmade woolen garments, bamboo and wooden handicrafts, and other traditional items.
Under the project, a food van will also be set up alongside each hut to serve local delicacies and traditional food items. Full compliance with the standards prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will be ensured in all food vans to provide safe and high-quality food products to consumers.