Kheti Virasat Mission: PM Modi hails women weavers from Faridkot in Mann Ki Baat

Modi lauded the school for transforming the lives of several people, particularly women, by helping them acquire skills and build new livelihood opportunities

A group of nearly 20 women weavers associated with “Nav Trinjan Bunkar Pathshala,” an informal weavers training school in Faridkot district’s Jaito town, were appreciated by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Sunday after PM highlighted the work of the non-government organisation “Kheti Virasat Mission” (KVM), which is promoting cotton cultivation and reviving traditional weaving practices, during the 139th episode of his monthly radio programme, Mann Ki Baat.

Started in 2004 by Umendra Dutt, KVM has trained nearly one lakh farmers from Punjab and Haryana about natural farming. (HT)

Modi lauded the school for transforming the lives of several people, particularly women, by helping them acquire skills and build new livelihood opportunities.

“What is heartening is that these traditions are now inspiring new experiments. They are being adapted to meet the needs of the present day,” PM Modi said.

Members of the organisation wanted to encourage natural cotton cultivation in Punjab’s semi-arid Malwa region, and the initiative was named ‘Nav Trinjan’. Highlighting one such initiative in Faridkot district, PM said that KVM had been working for some time to revive organic farming and traditional agricultural practices.

“You can imagine how much this is helping the environment,” PM added, highlighting the environmental benefits of adopting natural and sustainable methods of cotton cultivation.

Started in 2004 by Umendra Dutt, KVM has trained nearly one lakh farmers from Punjab and Haryana about natural farming.

“Under the initiative, indigenous or desi cotton is cultivated on around 60 acres without the use of chemicals. Farmers associated with KVM are also growing khakhi-coloured. Encouraged by the response, KVM has set the target to cultivate natural cotton on 500 acres in the next kharif sowing season,” said Dutt, KVM’s executive director.

Head of the Trinjan project, Rupsi Garg, said Nav Trinjan started in 2023 at Jaito as a weaving school to revive the traditional skill of weaving using charkha and looms.

She said that during the National Handloom Day on August 7 this year, Nav Trinjan was invited by the PM which apprised him about the women empowerment through the movement.

“In 2023, the weaving school was set up with 10 rural women working as labourers in fields or domestic help and trained them as weavers. Now, nearly 20 women are fully trained to weave a variety of products like bedsheets, khes (topsheet), towels, stoles, mufflers, fabric for garments, mats, rugs, woollen sweaters and phulkaris which are sold at the exhibitions held at various places,” said Garg.

In his broadcast, PM cited examples of four women weavers—Ramandeep Kaur, Rekha Rani, Suneha Devi and Rajni Kaur—highlighting the transformation in their lives.

A resident of Chaina village and a weaver, Ramandeep said that appreciation of their work by the PM made all proud. “It was like a Diwali for our homes today. We never imagined that the Prime Minister would talk about the initiative involving rural women. This was a moment of pride for us and our families,” she added.