SFURTI- Balijana Dress Making and Handicraft Cluster, Goalpara
Promotion of Horticultural Activities and Skill Training
Skill Development Training
Skill Upgradation Programme for Weavers
Capacity Building for Adoption of Technology (CAT) through Exposure Visit
Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods through Targeted Skill Interventions in NGH
Supporting Human Capital Development in Meghalaya
Computer Training for Youth At Risk, Umrangso
Computer Training for Youth at Joropara
SFURTI- Balijana Dress Making and Handicraft Cluster, Goalpara
The project SFURTI – Balijana Dress Making and Handicraft Cluster, Goalpara is implemented through Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati. It is an initiative of Ministry of MSME to promote Cluster development and to organised the traditional industries and artisans into clusters to make them competitive and provide support for their long term sustainability and economy of scale.
It is implemented in selected six villages with 250 weavers and artisans (161 are female households’ members and only 89 are male) who belongs to the Scheduled Tribe Rabha Community. The weavers and artisans under Balijana Dress Making and Handicraft Cluster are experts producing the items like – dokhona, mekhela, gamosa, bihuan and maflore, urna / chador, shawl, dakbanda, mugamekhela and chador, ladies jacket, bag, bamboo mat, other bamboo furniture and decorative items.
Promotion of Horticultural Activities and Skill Training
Promotion of Horticultural Activities and Skill Training in the Hill district of North Garo Hills, Mendal, Meghalaya – India, is non-formal and targets school dropout youth who are economically poor, unemployed, and lacking skills. The skill training will enhance the professional and social skills of the marginalised youth, enabling them to find employment, generate enough income to support themselves and their families and escape social isolation. Most of the trainees who received gardening training initiated farm-based activities such as Agriculture, Horticulture, Floriculture, and Medicinal Plants. They started to earn and increase their income.
The training centre has a poly house, a work shed with a small store, a pump house, and a greenhouse for horticulture, floriculture, and medicinal plants nursery. Presently, the trainees carry out practical work in the greenhouse. Construction of a marketing outlet to enable the farmers to display and sell their produce is in progress.
Skill Development Training
Skill Development Training on Carpentry, Food Processing, Plumbing and Light Medium Vehicle (LMV) Driving, was conducted in the Tribal Development Fund project areas of Chirang and Goalpara districts of Assam for migrant workers who had returned home from their workplaces during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, leading to joblessness for many of the nation’s most vulnerable and marginalized people.
These trainings had encouraged and promoted skill development for the migrated youth, employed migrant workers closer to their homes who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 lockdown, promoted self-employment and created employment opportunities for others, prevented migration towards big cities and urban areas, and facilitated bank credit linkage for the development of rural entrepreneurship. A total of 150 jobless trainees received skill development training in LMV-driving (30 trainees), plumbing (30 trainees), carpentry (60 trainees), and pickle making (30 trainees) with the support of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Assam.
Skill Upgradation Programme for Weavers
The skill upgradation training for weavers, under the Livelihood and Enterprise Development Programme (LEDP), was conducted in areas where the project ‘Integrated Tribal Development Programme’ is implemented in the districts of Chirang and Dibrugarh in Assam. The programme aims to promote hands-on training on the construction and use of Warping Drum, familiarize and train weavers on the use of Throw Shuttle Looms, acquaint and train weavers on the use of dobby/jacquard machines for designing, orient the weaver’s community towards manufacturing their products more professionally, familiarize the weavers’ community with supply chain management and merchandising, and bridge the gap between the weaver’s communities and the global market.
Capacity Building for Adoption of Technology (CAT) through Exposure Visit
Exposure visits address various gaps and constraints for small and marginal farmers. This programme helps in converging and synergizing multiple ongoing and planned projects. The role of field days and exposure visits is to introduce traditional farmers to new technologies and techniques that they can practically apply in different areas of agriculture to fulfil their desire for double income. This form an integral part of acquiring knowledge as ‘Seeing is Believing.’ It is an opportunity for the participants to interact with Subject Matter Specialists and learn from them.
Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods through Targeted Skill Interventions in NGH
Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods through Targeted Skill Interventions in North Garo Hills, Meghalaya, carried out at Don Bosco Skill Development Centre Mendal in 2022, is a non-formal training programme designed for school dropout youth who are economically poor, unemployed, and lacking skills. The programme aims to mobilize the youth of Meghalaya, especially from the North Garo Hills district, for various Skill Development Training in the Agricultural Sector, such as Organic Farmer, Mushroom Grower, and Piggery Farmer. The training’s primary goal is to promote the prosperity of native Agriculture and Allied Activities while providing entrepreneurial opportunities for the youth near their hometowns, thereby reducing the need to seek jobs outside the state.
Supporting Human Capital Development in Meghalaya
‘Supporting Human Capital Development in Meghalaya’ was carried out at two centres of BRO, Agriculture Training Centre Joropara and Rongjeng Centre, both in the Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. The marginal farmers and landless households were encouraged to take up the Integrated Farming System (IFS) and make themselves more self-sufficient. The training course included Integrated Farming System – the concept of integrated farming system and different components of integrated farming; Compost Preparation – bokashi compost, vertical compost, vermicompost, bokashi bucket; Bio Fertilizer – liquid manure, oriental herbal nutrient, fish amino acid, fermented plant juice, fermented fruit juice, bamboo vinegar, indigenous micro-organism, labs; Bokashi Piggery; Bokashi Poultry; Beekeeping; Rice Husk Charcoal; Agriculture – keyhole farming, hotbed nursery; Gardening; Soil Management; Water Management; Horticulture – grafting, agroforestry; Mushroom; Post-harvest – introduction to food processing and preservation, value addition of different agriculture produces; Rural Entrepreneurship Development – entrepreneurship, marketing aspects, bookkeeping, banking, knowledge related to schemes and supporting agencies, farmers market concepts. The training had an average batch of 30 trainees. 458 marginal farmers successfully attended the course training on Integrated Farming Systems, implemented the activities and improved their family income.
Computer Training for Youth At Risk, Umrangso
Computer Training for Youth at Risk at Boarder Areas of Dima Hasao District of Assam has been implemented at Bosco Reach Out Socio-Developmental Centre, Umrangso aims to bridge the gap of lacking vocational training centre in the region and large number of unemployment among the local tribal population even though Umrangso is an industrial town, with number of heavy industries set up in the locality.The centre has 20 computer set for the training the students and 3 staff. Students were divided into two batches a day.
Computer Training for Youth at Joropara
Computer Training Centre set up a Computer Lab with 14 computers to provide a three-month course on basic computers at Joropara, NorthGaro Hills district of Meghalaya. The course content included instruction in Computer Software Applications of MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Typing, and Internet uses such as e-mail. Also, Spoken English and Personality Development were incorporated for better opportunities for job placement. During this, they learned how to write job applications, Curriculum Vitae and joining letters. It enabled the marginalised youth in the region to gain basic computer skills and enhanced their professional and social skills to find employment. The youths could generate enough income to support themselves and their families, thus overcoming their social isolation.