Girls in Garo-inhabited Assam hamlet show way to self-reliance amid COVID
The girls from Kinangaon village, about 72km to the west of Guwahati, have found a way to become self-reliant in these trying times, making and selling chips processed from bananas and jackfruit in the local market.
From Our Correspondent
GUWAHATI:
Two waves of the pandemic have hit lives and livelihoods hard, but a group of brave, young women in a Garo-inhabited village near Boko in Assam’s Kamrup district are showing the way, not just to live with adversity, but also prosper.
The girls from Kinangaon village, about 72 KM to the west of Guwahati, have found a way to become self-reliant in these trying times, making and selling chips processed from bananas and jackfruit in the local market.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of people have lost their jobs and many petty traders have had to stay idle after shutting shop. But we decided to make the most of our vacation during the partial lockdown and indulge in making handmade chips from the locally available resources, which are jackfruit and bananas,” Sansilla D. Sangma, a college student said.
Currently, their handmade chips, albeit in low quantities, are available in the local markets of Boko.
Sansilla said that they could easily churn out 20 to 30 packets of jackfruit chips from just one jackfruit and sell each packet for Rs 10 in the market.
“On the other hand, 20 to 30 packets of banana chips are made from a bunch of bananas for the same price. For now, we have become self-reliant in terms of day-to-day expenses,” she quipped.
Asked whether she had taken any training on chips making, Sasitha D. Sangma, another college student, said, “No we have not undergone any training but have made the products after trial and error methods. We have improved a lot since we started some weeks back.”
People of the village have appreciated the young women for showing the way to many others and spreading positive vibes amidst hardship.
Benedict Alok Areng, a resident of Kinangaon village and a regular customer, said, “The quality of chips that they make is very good. The snacking products are tasty and a lot healthier than the branded, machine-made variety which are made from a range of unhealthy spices.”
“More importantly, the fact that their handmade jackfruit and banana chips do not have any spices as ingredients, but only salt, and are made from locally available fruit, they are nutritious and healthy for children, who consume more chips than adults," Areng said.
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