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Woman entrepreneurs’ creations making a mark at Ludhiana melas
With her tuma pashu masala (spices) for animals suffering from flatulence, the entrepreneur’s stall drew in crowds of livestock farmers.
For 54-year-old Ranjit Kaur, preparing different varieties of spices and displaying them during the Kisan Mela has been a tradition for the past 14 years. However, this time, inspiration to create something different came from a veterinary doctor Sham Singh at her native place Gurdaspur.
With her tuma pashu masala (spices) for animals suffering from flatulence, the entrepreneur’s stall drew in crowds of livestock farmers on the first day of the two-day Pashu Palan Mela that kicked off at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) on Thursday.
“With guidance from doctor Sham Singh, I prepared the new spice tuma pashu by mixing 15 different types of spices. I also prepared bitter gourd (karela) powder, tea and milk spice, garam masala, lassi masala, and parantha masala,” Kaur said.
GADVASU assistant professor S Siva Kumar said, “Her product will be useful for animal health. It will also benefit livestock farmers as it will lead to high quality yield of milk.”
“I have studied till Class 8, but when I started preparing a variety to products using different desi spices, I became confident and independent,” said Kaur, adding that it took her and a group of 12 women around two months to prepare the hit spices.
“I never force any visitor to buy the spices during the melas. People always prefer buying them as I have never compromised on quality and that is my unique selling point (USP),” she said.
“I think every woman who is sitting idle at home should join a self-help group and learn new techniques to prepare different types of products to have a better life,” said Kaur as she packed her stall for the day with around ₹10,000 in her kitty.
A story of self-motivation
Meanwhile, at the Kisan Mela at Punjab Agricultural University, 48-year-old Arvinder Kaur had a stall of mixed fruit jam, mango, lemon and aloe vera pickles, and an equally exotic story of self-motivation.
“I had been stuck at home doing household chores for the last 37 years. I visited this mela last year and motivated myself I will come here next time and display my creations. Following that, I decided to become independent and with the help of a self-help group, I learned how to make varieties of jams, pickles and sauces,” said Kaur, a Sangrur native.
“Among all the products which I prepare, the tomato sauce is very popular. I have also received a bulk order for the sauce recently. I am also planning to prepare khoya peeni (a type of sweet delicacy) and mathhi (a salty snack) in view of the upcoming festive season,” said Kaur, as she called it a day with around ₹5,000 in her bag, and hopes of more for the next day of the mela.
