| Paravoor Taluk Flower Society, Paravoor, Ernakulam |
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The single room stall of Paravoor Taluk Flower Society is a beehive of activities. For the flowers produced by the 500-member society is brought here for trading and for further export to Gulf and other places.
Theirs is a success story of collective effort changing the habit and occupation of an entire village. Started with 40 members, the society has now grown in strength to 500, a majority of them being women. Most members cultivate jasmine that has good demand locally and even abroad. What is more important for the budding cultivators, the cultivation is ready for harvesting in just 4 month.
Komalam Jayakumar, Vice President of the society and a retired teacher of Chemistry, cultivates jasmine in 250 pots. According to her, there is good demand for jasmine during marriage season and she gets an average of 1½ kg of flowers everyday. This translates into approximately Rs.10000 per month.
Jayalakshmi of Kaitharam is another successful farmer of jasmine. In their water-logged 85 cents of land, she has planted about 600 saplings. In addition to spending time creatively once her husband and children leave for work and study respectively, she is able to generate about Rs.10000 per month. Another venture of hers is the sale of jasmine saplings. She has already sold about 60000 saplings for Rs.2 lakhs.
For unemployed Omana Bose, deserted by her husband, the question of bringing up her children was a big problem. But once she started cultivating jasmine in her 10-cent land, she was able to earn Rs.5000 per month.
Other visitors to the stall include women who weave flowers into garlands, collection boys, office staff etc. Some students collect buds before going to school, thus earning a little pocket money. Other service providers arrange to pluck flowers from the households and take it to the Society on behalf of the owner.
In all, a fragrant change is taking place in the village with the women taking up the leadership role.
Courtesy: Gruhalakshmi, January 2005
Contributed by: Administrator
