How humble jackfruit is empowering women in Odisha

Koraput: The Orissa Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS) is empowering women of Koraput district by training them to prepare chips from jackfruit and earn a living out of it.

Recently, ORMAS and several other organisations jointly organised a training program on how chips can be prepared from semi-ripened jackfruits. Hundreds of locals including women and differently-abled persons from Sarispadar, Kellar and Doliamba areas took part in the event and learned how to prepare the chips without using any chemicals.

The jackfruit chips have now become a source of income for several families in Laxmipur Tehsil. "We attended a food processing training program and learned how to make chips from jackfruits and pack them to sell in the market. I am now hopeful that I can earn money by preparing and selling jackfruit chips being at home," said one Narahari Garada.

The organisers claimed that a jackfruit can fetch a huge amount of money after making chips out of it rather than selling it raw. "For the locals it is an easy mean to earn money as jackfruit is abundantly available in their villages. A jackfruit which is generally sold for Rs 20-Rs 30 in the market can help an individual to earn around Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 when they prepare chips and sell it in the market," said Gauri Priyadarsini Sahu, one of the organisers.

ORMAS officials said that they are not only helping residents to prepare chips from jackfruit but also organising exhibitions to help them sell the product. "We gave them training on how to prepare chips from semi-ripened jackfruits so that they can exhibit and sell in ORMAS' national-level exhibitions which are generally conducted in the southern states. Such products are in high demand in those areas," informed Roshan Kartik, an official of ORMAS.