Green chilli, red chilli, Paan, butterscotch, coconut and praline are some of the many flavours of chocolates which are being made by the rural tribal women of Nagri block of Ranchi.
Ranchi district administration, along with Jharkhand IAS Wives’ Association (JIASOWA) is training around a dozen women of a self help group of Jajpur village in the art of chocolate and confectionary making, the first batch of which will go on sale on February 14, the Valentine’s Day.
The women are being trained by a Mumbai based consultancy, Chocoindulge. The training started on February 5 and in just two days these women have learned the art of making different flavoured chocolates and laddoos.
Shanta Xalxo, member of the SHG, who is among the women being trained said, “Initially we thought we will not be able to do it but now that we have started, I am confident that with a bit of time management, our business would flourish.”
The women have procured a refrigerator, oven and blender with the money of SHG and once the training is completed on February 12, the electrical equipment will be moved to the SHG office in their village Jajpur, where the women will continue making chocolates and confectionaries to be sold in the market.
Neelam Devi, a trainee said, “This is for the first time that we are making something for the urban population and we are hoping a really good response. This is a very good opportunity of income generation and once we are back in the village we will train other women who are interested in baking and chocolate making.”
The items being made at the training includes over 20 varieties of chocolates and truffles, a number of cookies and biscuits including oat, chocochips, cashew and butter and also a variety of laddoos like moong, ragi and besan.
However, the women are not just being trained in baking and packaging but also in time management. Harmeet Kaur of Chocoindulge, who is training these women said, “They are quick learners but they will also need to know the importance of time management. When one starts their business, they have to manage the time for the business as well as their family and this is something they need to learn here.”
Just a day after the training session started, the women got their first order by the Ranchi DC’s office of delivering over a 100 packets of chocolates. Nagiya Tigga, a trainee said, “This is such a wonderful opportunity for us and we are really lucky to get the first order in just a day. I hope that we continue getting the orders like this.” Ranchi Deputy Commissioner Rai Mahimapat Ray said that the chocolates were distributed among DCs of various districts who really enjoyed the taste. “We have already got some confirmed orders and are looking forward to see the chocolates get a good market,” he said.
DC Hazaribag, Ravi Shankar Shukla praised the taste of chocolates. “The chocolates were good, both in taste and spirit and all of us enjoyed it. It is really good to taste handmade chocolates in today’s time of machine manufacturing,” he said.
JIASOWA secretary Richa Sanchita said that this initiative will help make women self dependent. "Once trained, these women will earn a good income to support their families," she said.