“These women, who are from the Garasia tribe and were previously employed as agricultural laborers, are illiterate. However, they have now joined a self-help group (SHG) and received training from NABARD on various aspects of the jamun fruit, such as identifying the right variety, collecting them, extracting the seeds, making pulp, preserving it, and packaging the frozen pulp. Fortunately, we already had the necessary machinery, so there was no need for additional investment. As a result, they now earn between Rs 5000 to Rs 9000 per month, depending on their specific tasks,” explains Sadaam Husain Chisti, an advisory board member of Ghummar Mahila Producer Company Limited (GMPCL), a women-run federation of SHGs.
The newly opened outlet, which offers Jamun shots, has gained popularity among locals who are interested in consuming this healthy juice. Sumi Bai, the director of GMPCL, shares, “Since its inauguration last month, we have been earning around Rs 50,000 monthly. In the previous year, we processed three metric tonnes of frozen jamun pulp. Apart from the popular healthy shot, we also sell frozen pulp packets and loose jamun shots. Additionally, we have plans to market jamun shots in bottles as well as jamun seeds.”
Sumi Bai further adds that this project has provided numerous women with an opportunity to increase their family income. She says, “We already have 5000 tribal women working on our custard apple project, but there were many others who had no means of earning money. Therefore, we identified and involved around 300 of them in this jamun project.”
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