Jharkhand tribal women make 'Rakhis' to help India become self-reliant

Ahead of this year’s Raksha Bandhan festival, the tribal women of Jharkhand have prepared hand-made Jharkhandi Rakhi by weaving together pulses, torn-old clothes, leaves from the useless palm-dates, grass and jute. These rakhis are not only unique but also cheaper than the common rakhis.

Jamshedpur: As the imposition of nationwide lockdown led to a rise in unemployment. A group of Tribal women in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur has decided to become self-reliant following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to become "Aatmanirbhar" and started making 'Jharkhandi rakhis' to boycott Chinese products.

Troubled by their husbands' unemployment, loss of income, these women started to make rakhis, which in turn became a source of income for many of them.

For this, a self-help group comprising the members of Kala mandir art culture organization have been actively involved in making the ‘rakhis’.

These women plan to set up a stall to sell rakhis. They are expecting to earn a good amount of money out of it. These rakhis are being prepared with gondha grass and jute in addition to lentils, torn clothes, and some useless palm leaves.

Currently, the Bangalore-based organization has ordered them to prepare 10,000 rakhis and the range of their handmade rakhis is between Rs 5 to Rs 40. Social media platforms are being used to sell these rakhis. At the same time, some acquaintances are coming directly to the office and purchasing them.

Women making rakhis say that it takes at least two minutes to make a rakhi and they manage to make around 500 rakhis during the course of the entire day.

The founder and president of Kala Mandir, Amitabh Ghosh, said, "This drive would also help in reviving the rural economy that is facing unprecedented challenges owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Especially, the rural area was worst affected. Keeping this in mind, these rakhis are being made with the aim of making them self-reliant."

"There is a lot of demand for these handmade rakhis. From here, about 10,000 Rakhi will be sent to Sonari, Army Camp, Ramgarh, Deepatoli and Namkum Army camp of Jamshedpur. More self-help group women from the rural pockets will be part of the indigenous rakhi-making initiative," Ghosh said.

Notably, the festival of Raksha Bandhan falls on August 3 and the Jamshedpur tribal women group movement has spread across the state and is now on a firm footing.