Shri. Charanjit Singh, Additional Secretary, MoRD, announces the launch of greenkraft.co.in, a groundbreaking online sales platform exclusively owned by women producers from rural communities during the National Livelihoods Conclave in Varanasi. GreenKraft, incubated by Industree Foundation, is an initiative to offer solely made-in-India products, made and owned by women-led producer groups, who are members of different Self-Help Groups(SHGs) in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Odisha.
Industree nurtures and specializes in high-quality, elegant hand-woven goods made from locally sourced natural materials such as banana bark, bamboo, and sal leaves. By eliminating middlemen and providing direct market access, GreenKraft is expected to significantly boost the income of these rural women entrepreneurs.
In this innovative business model, 100% of the revenue generated goes to the women producers, ensuring that they benefit fully from their labor and creativity. This initiative is aligned with the government’s mission to promote inclusive rural development by empowering women entrepreneurs and its commitment to strengthening livelihoods in rural India by harnessing the potential of digital technologies. This platform represents a significant step toward supporting talented women producers from rural India.
During the launch, Shri Charanjit Singh stated, “This approach ensures quality, competitiveness, and productivity while also ensuring transparency, fair wages, and stable incomes for women through direct sales of quality products in India and abroad.” The concept permits the construction of a vibrant, entrepreneurial, demand-driven ecosystem for inclusive growth, which could have an impact on a wide range of sectors. This initiative fosters sustainable livelihoods while highlighting the skill and craftsmanship of rural India.”
“Bamboo can drive economic change for women, creating opportunities to generate a million livelihoods by connecting their produce to markets. Government of India’s National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) is committed to strengthening bamboo as a key sub-sector for sustainable livelihoods. These sustainable festive decorations from GreenKraft put forward the idea of celebrating festivals without affecting the planet, while also making our women happy”, said Mr. Neju George Abraham, CEO, Industree Foundation.
The event was attended by representatives from various SRLM’s, home buyers, and development organizations, who emphasized the role of digital platforms like GreenKraft in enabling rural producers to compete in a global marketplace.
Industree is supporting NRLM in achieving their mission of implementing bamboo sub-sector initiative, and building a million smallholder women farmers to cultivate bamboo and connecting them to the market.