Ernakulam District Kudumbashree Mission eyeing return of ₹4 crore from its 250 Onam fairs

The Ernakulam District Kudumbashree Mission is organising around 250 Onam fairs targeting a sales turnover of ₹4 crore.

The stalls set up across the district offer an eclectic blend of products ranging from pickles and snacks to vegetables and flowers. Marketed under the campaign ‘Onam with Kudumbashree’ targets to offer a range of unadulterated and quality products to the public.

“The products are priced reasonably. Locally made products always have a crowd of dedicated buyers. Apart from these fairs, customers can buy Kudumbashree’s Onam products via the app Pocketmart. We are expecting sales to the tune of ₹4 crore this year. The Ernakulam unit has been consistently doing well with our Onam fairs,” said Rajeena T.M., coordinator, Kudumbashree District Mission.

“During last Onam, the Kudumbashree registered a sales turnover of ₹3.59 crore. Our units have also received several pre-bookings for Onasadya,” she added.

Jincy Sunil, who is part of the unit in the Kottappady Community Development Society (CDS), is pinning her hopes on food harvest, offering over five varieties of vegetables and marigold flowers. “The response from the public has been good, as they prefer our pesticide-free products,” she said.

Jincy Shaji of Neeleshwaram panchayat said that for the past six years, Onam fairs had been running successfully in the panchayat. She remains hopeful of a bumper sale this time as well.

However, the erratic weather has proven a challenge, with production in some regions sustaining more damage this year when compared to the the previous year, said Ms. Rajeena. Under the ‘Onakkani’ initiative, as many as 1,712 joint liability groups (JLGs) are engaged in cultivation across 1,318 acres. Owing to heavy rainfall, approximately 111.23 acres of cultivated area have been damaged. Meanwhile, under the ‘Nirapolima’ initiative, a total of 242 JLGs are engaged in cultivation across 93 acres, she added.

Heavy rainfall damaged approximately 9.25 acres of cultivated area. “Heavy rainfall has affected a total cultivated area of approximately 120.48 acres under the Onakkani and Nirapolima initiatives,” Ms. Rejeena noted.