Laxmi Devi from Niyamatpur village tailors for a living, making blouses, kurtas and so on. She often felt bad that there was so much discarded material that she just had to throw away.

But an initiative by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in her Shahjahanpur district in Uttar Pradesh helped her put the tailor discards to good use. She now makes doormats out of them and sells them and earns an additional income.

“I recently attended a training capsule by KVK between November 28 and December 4, and learnt to make these doormats which are then sold in my village itself. In less than a month, I have already earned Rs 4,000 from them,” Devi told Gaon Connection.

The initiative was launched to help women in rural areas earn some money, said NC Tripathi, who is in charge of the Shahjahanpur KVK.

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“Many women do tailoring, and they can easily use the leftover cloth to make doormats. There is no extra cost to get the raw material as it is readily available and now many other village people bring their own rags which are used to make them. This extra income they make is of great help to the families,” Tripathi told Gaon Connection.

The training session was supported by Meerut-based Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology. Vidya Gupta, who heads the training said that 25 rural women attended the training capsule.

The initiative was launched to help women in rural areas earn some money, said NC Tripathi, who is in charge of the Shahjahanpur KVK.

“The women are from the villages of Niyamatpur, Bichhada, Ladhauli, Chinaur, Satwan, and Bhanderi. Their ages range from 20 years to 60, and now all of them make the doormats at home,” Gupta told Gaon Connection.

For Ram Rani who is in her 60s, making and selling the doormats has made her feel independent and productive. “Best of all I am able to buy things for my grandchildren,” she beamed.

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“Learning doesn’t have an age limit. Making doormats is interesting work and it helps me get some additional money,” Rani told Gaon Connection.

“The cost of a doormat depends on the design and the raw material. If the villagers provide us with their old clothes then the doormat is cheaper but if we use our own rags then it is costlier,” she said.

Doormats made by rural women.

The prices of the doormats range from Rs 150 to Rs 300 depending on the raw material used by the women. If the villagers provide the women with the raw material, then it costs Rs 150 but if the women have used their own tailoring leftovers, then it costs Rs 300.

The KVK initiative has encouraged women to earn a little extra. And, especially for those women who are not used to going out to work, this is a way of making money inside their homes itself.

“This can bring about social change. There is always a shift when women start contributing to their family incomes,” Gupta said. There are plans to train a lot more women to make doormats from rags and sell them for a living. This addresses the issue of both waste materials and livelihoods.

The KVK initiative has encouraged women to earn a little extra.