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Manipuri women have been a major contributor to the socio-economic and cultural life of the state. Several Manipuri womenfolk are seen selling vegetables, fruits, fish and other items in the market or along the roadside to earn money and send their kids to school with their little earnings. Even in the field of entrepreneurship, they are not lagging behind their male counterparts.
One such entrepreneur is Rajkumari Sarju Devi, proprietor of RVR Products, which produces hand-made shops and several others like organic dishwashers, handwashes, and glass cleaners. She is an iconic woman-entrepreneur who makes quality-oriented soaps and handwashing liquids and gels. Under the brand name RVR, she makes varieties of saps with extracts of fruits and herbs like lemon, papaya, bamboo charcoal, etc. She has innovatively used herbs and fruits, which are traditionally known to have positive health benefits, in her process of making soaps. Her soap brand is a symbol of women's empowerment and enlightenment. Sarju Devi, while speaking to ANI, said, "There is an impression that the women should cook food, wash clothes, and do other household chores. But in this day and age, I can't accept it. We should show that women can do anything. What do we like and show our talent?" Sarju Devi said she had gone to New Delhi for training in 2023. "The institution there taught me a lot." The wife of Heishnam Suresh, a pharmacist of Sagolband Bijoy Govinda temple, began her schooling at the Assam Board and dropped out of class 12. RajKumari Radha, an employee, said while speaking to ANI, "Since there is unemployment in our state, the government is unable to provide jobs to everyone. I think it is a very good opportunity the RVR is giving to the youth." "Here, we have seven employees working here. We have just started. They are giving us Rs 6,000 per month," she added. With her husband, she started small businesses in various capacities; she had worked in every avenue assigned to her by utilising the idle hours after house chores. This has led her to take a strong stand to earn money. Her ambition of becoming an entrepreneur since childhood could not be stopped and she was determined to start on a small scale by investing Rs 50.000. To empower women, she began making soap at her house using raw materials from outside the state and started making toxic-free, perfumed, luxurious and colourful organic soaps. Her soap business has gradually gathered a momentum of social recognition. Another employee, Bindiya, and sister of Radha, who has been working since September, told ANI, " It is a great opportunity to work here under the leadership of Sarju. I am very grateful to be here. Her products, being organic, non-toxic, beautiful and perfumed luxurious soaps, are sold in the market in the range of Rs 5 to Rs. 250 per piece. And handwashes from Rs 99-900. Her products have good demand both online and offline. She has been earning around Rs 1 lakh to 2 lakhs a month since September 2023. (ANI)
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