SHGs add festive touch with Goa govt's Chaturthi E-Bazaar platform

Panaji, Aug 27 (PTI) After a successful debut last year, the Goa government has decided to continue with its ambitious project, the Chaturthi E-Bazaar, which provides a digital platform for self-help groups (SHGs) to sell food products and handicrafts across the country ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

The Chaturthi E-Bazaar initiative was an instant hit when it was introduced by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in 2023.

“Women from SHGs would prepare food items that are in demand during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, but they were in the dark about marketing their products,” Sawant said.

This was when the state government decided to introduce the scheme of connecting the rural SHGs to the mainstream markets through an online platform.

SHGs were also allowed to sell handicrafts on this platform to widen the scope of the initiative, he said.

The directorate of planning and statistics, which designed the entire project, was surprised by the response it received last year.

“We booked more than 500 orders online, recording a sale of Rs 20.37 lakh,” said Vijai Saxena, director of the planning and statistics department.

Saxena said in the first year, 152 vendors came on board with 250 plus products.

“Food products were delivered within Goa, but the handicrafts found demand in Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Bihar,” he said.

Saxena said the debut success has encouraged the SHGs for the current season.

The success of the initiative is mirrored in the smiles of women from Pragati Mahila Gram Seva Sangh in Chicalim near the port town of Vasco.

Ranjita Naik, who heads the group, said, “Most members of the group are housewives. This scheme has helped them to earn money and become swayampurna (self-reliant).” Muskan Mahesh Naik, the internal mentor with the National Rural Livelihood Mission of the state Rural Development agency, recalls how she approached housewives and brought them together for this scheme.

“This scheme has helped many housewives find their identity. Even their husbands sometimes help them in their business,” she said, adding that linking their products to markets has made them self-reliant in the real sense. PTI RPS ARU