P. Tamil Selvi, 47, from Kangeyanallore in Vellore district, and her six-member women’s self-help group (SHG) that makes wooden toys, are elated — for the first time, they have received an order for a wooden cow through an e-commerce site.
Ms. Selvi’s SHG has been part of the Tamil Nadu Urban Livelihood Mission (TNULM) for three years. Recently, TNULM officials called for a meeting between representatives of the e-commerce site and nine SHGs from Gudiyatham and Vellore that have been involved in making toys, glass paintings, lungi, wall-hangings and other gift articles.
The idea was to sell their products through the e-commerce sites. “Our families have been making wooden toys for generations. We make walkers for children, horse cradles and wooden animal figurines for children. Most of our customers have been from Vellore and its surrounding areas. Now, we hope to get more orders from other parts of the country,” said Ms. Selvi.
Business hit
Similarly, S. Hemavathi, 44, from Katpadi and her SHG members have got their glass paintings put up on the e-commerce site. “We make emboss paintings and fur toys too. We were trained under TNULM in 2019. We spoke to banks and colleges and started getting orders. But due to COVID-19, demand has been low,” she said.
M. Ramadasu, city livelihood centre manager, Vellore, said that earlier, the products used to be sold in exhibitions or to customers in Vellore and its surrounding areas.
“We wanted to help them market the products better. We hope to add more products in the coming days,” he said.
