Rural artisans of Prayagraj bag first international order for their Moonj products
The moonj grass products made by one of the SHGs, managed by Bibi Fatima, 29 of Mahewa village in Chaka development block of Prayagraj have attracted an order from the US—the first international order for the women artisans.
One District One Product (ODOP) initiative of the state government has started showing positive results here at Prayagraj. The different products being made from Moonj (dry grass) by the rural women as members of self-help groups (SHGs) in the trans-Yamuna area of the district are slowly and steadily gaining national and international recognition.
The moonj grass products made by one of the SHGs, managed by Bibi Fatima, 29 of Mahewa village in Chaka development block of Prayagraj have attracted an order from the US—the first international order for the women artisans.
The woman customer, Neeta Pawar, is the principal of a school and also owns a shop in Virginia, a southeastern state of the USA.
“She came across our products online and has asked me to send a specimen of all the products that we make here. These products would be put on display at her shop and as the orders come, I would be sending more pieces of the given items which have been asked by the customers,” shared Fatima who is an intermediate pass and a mother of two.
Fatima shared that her SHG has around 200 women members and all are busy making the items that they would be sending soon to the USA including wall hangings, toys, bouquets etc. “Although it would be a small order, going by the amount (Rs5000), this is for the first time that we have a customer from a different country who wants our product and we are excited as our Moonj product is already in great demand in various cities across India,” added Fatima, who learnt the art after her marriage, in 2013, from her mother-in-law, Aisha Begum, 54.
These women artisans working from their homes in villages like Mahewa, Dandi and Badoka among others in the Chaka development block, located around 20 km from Sangam city, are producing a wide range of products made from moonj like a basket (daliya), coasters, bags, decorative items, pen stands besides Jewellery pieces that are already attracting orders from different parts of India including Goa, New Delhi, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Interestingly, while a range of colours is used to make Moonj products more attractive, in the order received from the US, the customer has requested that no colours be used, shared Fatima.
The ODOP has changed the lives of over 500 women workers engaged in manufacturing Moonj products in Prayagraj. Earlier products like a ‘Dauri’ were sold for barely ₹50 while now a small paperweight sells for ₹120. The making cost is hardly ₹15, but the hard work makes it worth much more. On the other hand, wall hanging ranges from ₹500 to ₹700 each and bouquets also start from ₹300. Moonj’s artificial jewellery is priced at ₹300 and above.