Hara Sona: Haryana women strike gold with forestry project

*Munni Devi of Barap village,who was from a below poverty line family,started making envelope with an initial investment of Rs Rs 500,and then opened a utensils’ shop. Today,she has a four-wheeler and earned Rs 2 lakh last Diwali

*A woman in Kanina village in Mahendergarh took a loan of Rs 2,000 under the project a few years ago,and today earns Rs 25,000 a month from the beauty parlour she opened

Each member of about 2,000 self-help groups formed under the Haryana community forestry project,funded by the European Commission and the state government,can script a rags-to-riches story. Once poor and dependent on menfolk,these women today earn between Rs 5,000 and Rs 25,000 a month.

The forest department has got a trademark,‘Hara Sona’,for all products made by the women,and incidentally the logo was also designed by them. Their products,whether it is Phulkari,artificial jewellery,sweet boxes,knitwear,crochet,pickles,candles or bangles,can be sold with the trademark seal.

Dr Amarinder Kaur,Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF),says when the project started ten years ago,there was just token presence of women. “Today,the women,who have become the new opinion leaders,actively take part in panchayat elections,saving environment,eradicating social evils,besides raiding liquor vends and spreading awareness about organic farming and the RTI Act,” she says.

More than 1,000 women from Ambala,Yamunanagar and Panchkula districts have mastered the art of Phulkari and are now weaving a bright future for themselves and their families. The CCF says their work was also showcased at Surajkund fair.

Chander Kala of Rewari has received state award for making vermicompost manure. In Bhurthala village in Rewari,they have been trying their bit to better the dismal sex ratio. They keep a track of pregnant women and once caught a woman taking her daughter-in-law for sex-selective abortion,says Kaur. Women in Asalwas Merheta and villages have started the practice of celebrating the birth of a girl child.

When a depot holder fouled up the ration record of an illiterate woman,she filed an RTI application. As a result,cars of officials lined up outside her house,asking her to take back the “complaint”,says Kaur.