Five women met at a training programme organised by the Responsible Tourism Mission. It not only changed their outlook towards tourism, but also their lives. 'Candle Queen', a small candle-making unit they launched post training, is now the pride of Beypore and is an inspiring outcome of the Integrated Responsible Tourism Development project in Beypore.
Jasitha T.V, Anju M.P., Aiswarya Udayan, Mini V.P and Sheeja met at the two-day candle-making workshop in February this year. Even though there were training sessions in a variety of handicraft products, they chose candle-making due to its comparative ease.
However, they fell in love with the craft gradually and launched a unit together. Besides the various types of candles they were trained in, they managed to develop the Herbal Candle series all by themselves, which is now a much sought-after product in resorts and spas.
"We had some basic understanding of the medicinal values of various herbs such as Tulsi, Neem, Mimosa and so on. We conducted some research online as well before launching the series, which has been well received'', says Jasitha.
The unit makes gel wax candles, soy wax candles, normal wax candles, water candles and spices candles, besides their innovative herbal candles, most of which exude alluring scents when lighted. Besides herbs and spices, even the shells and sands of the Beypore beach add beauty to the products of Candle Queen. The price of the products ranges from ₹20 to ₹250 apiece.
Candle Queen has been a constant presence in programmes organised by the RT Mission since its inception. Meet them at the 'Rethinking Tourism' event to be held at Beypore this World Tourism Day.
