It is well-known that the Annai Teresa Women’s Complex at Nungambakkam near Valluvar Kottam, frequently holds exhibitions of various organic food products made by women, belonging to self-help groups (SHG).
Recently too, over 40 stalls were set up at the complex, where women entrepreneurs and farmers sold various products like fruits, vegetables, greens and cooking oils among others.
Executive, Tamilnadu State Supply and Marketing Society, B Senthil Kumar, speaks to News Today, on this.
“The main idea of the Tamilnadu Corporation for Development of Women (TNCDW), which is behind this initiative, is to empower the female gender through self-help groups. We conduct training, workshop, entrepreneurship, skill development and also support them to sell their products,” he says.
“We follow a concept called F2C- farmers to consumers. The main objective of this exhibition is to support women organic farmers in selling their products without a middleman,” he adds. He goes on to explain how a marginalised person is selected for this.
“A woman belonging to SHGs can reach out to District Officers of TNCDW. Once they authorise the products sold by the woman as 100 per cent organic, we then give them the opportunity to sell their products in our exhibition. We do it free of cost and provide them the space to set up their stalls. Our main goal is to empower women both economically and socially,” he says, adding that the next All Women Organic Mela at Annai Teresa Women’s Complex will be on 6 and 7 April.