Background:

Wool is a type of fabric derived from the hairs of various animals. While most people associate the word “wool” with sheep, there are, in fact, a variety of distinct types of wool that producers derive from animals other than sheep.

To make wool, producers harvest the hairs of animals and spin them into yarn. They then weave this yarn into garments or other forms of textiles. Wool is known for its durability and thermally insulating properties; depending on the type of hair that producers use to make wool, this fabric may benefit from the natural insulative effects that keep the animal that produced the hair warm throughout the winter. Throughout the centuries, wool and cotton have vied for supremacy as the most-used textile in the world. Today, each of these fabrics fills a particular niche, and wool remains prized for its unique attributes. While cotton consists almost entirely of plant cellulose, wool consists of approximately 97 percent protein and 3 percent fat, which makes it uniquely suited for certain applications that cotton isn’t suited for.

Gaps Identified:

Supply of raw material, Time consuming, low volume production, less mechanization & limited market, Seasonal market.

Interventions of ORMAS:

Women members of Producer Groups under ORMAS are playing an important role in breaking the Poverty barrier by earning some livelihood to support her family. The Gruhalaxmi PG, Nilgiri was formed under the intervention of ORMAS in 2013, Since then it has been a shining star in the district PG list. The PG has motivated several women in the Block to form Producer Group and become self-reliant.

Since inception the PG has been progressing continuously. Their journey is very inspiring. Earlier they used to Procure wool from one other group of Bhubaneswar, who used to supply for very high cost. After some time, they started to procure wool from Kolkata. Even in Kolkata they weren’t getting wool at cheaper price. Once they were sent to Amritsar SARAS, there they did good business and in this time one member went to Ludhiana and visited several wool sellers and brought samples. Since then, they have been procuring wool from Ludhiana. The quality and pricing are much better there, this way they found the right pricing and right quality of raw material. Their product quality is superior and has huge demand. Since then they have participated in several District and state level Exhibitions.

The PG has been Provided several financial and handholding support. They have been given IB/CB & Equipment cost, Additional equipment cost, thematic training & Working capital support from ORMAS.

The PG is involved in making of Sweaters, Ponchu, Skarf, muffler, Gloves, Socks, etc. The PG has procured several machines to refine their production and minimize the production time as well as cost. Several women from the PG as well as 60+ outside members are getting benefitted due to the PG activities. The PG is able to provide Rs. 5000-10000 per month earning to its members.

Outcome & Present Status:

Their income in 2019-20 stood at Rs. 7,45,000. This year i.e., 2021-22 till now they have done an income of Rs. 5,95,000 till December despite getting affected due to Covid-19 lockdowns.

Now a days PG is on the path to achieve Self-Sustainability. They have recently done several tie-ups with local and nearby vendors as well as started to promote their products on online marketplace such as Amazon, Indiamart etc. Their Products have huge demand in local market as well as in exhibitions due to their quality and they are wishing replicate the same via Online marketplaces too by creating a Brand value for themselves.

Details of Activity: