2 weeks ago
'Shakti On Wheels' Brings Maharashtra SHG Products to Navi Mumbai
Some women in Maharashtra work together in small groups to make tasty food like pickles, spices and jaggery, and also things like clothes and handicrafts.
They make these products very well, but it is hard for them to find enough customers to buy them.
A retired government officer named R. Vimala wanted to help these women sell their products.
She started a special van called 'Shakti on Wheels' that works like a moving grocery shop.
The van travels to city places and sells products made by the women's groups.
This way, the women can reach many more buyers, not just people near their villages.
The van was opened by a Maharashtra minister named Aditi Tatkare on August 4.
In its first three days, it made more than 30,000 rupees in sales.
Next, the van will visit Konkan Bhavan in Navi Mumbai to sell its products there.
R. Vimala hopes one day there will be many such vans all over India, helping thousands of women.
'Shakti on Wheels', a mobile retail van run by the AnirvedShakti Foundation, sells products made by women Self Help Groups (SHGs) from across Maharashtra.
Inaugurated by Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare on August 4, the van recorded sales of more than Rs 30,000 in its first three days.
The initiative was founded by retired IAS officer R. Vimala, who conceived the idea while heading the Maharashtra State Rural Livelihoods Mission (UMED).
The van stocks spices, grains, pulses, papads, pickles, oils, ghee, jaggery, honey, textiles and handicrafts, and will make its next stop at Konkan Bhavan in Navi Mumbai on Monday.
The foundation plans regular routes through housing societies, offices and corporate spaces, with a long-term dream of a hundred such vans in Maharashtra and other Indian cities.
- Who
- Retired IAS officer R. Vimala's AnirvedShakti Foundation and women Self Help Group (SHG) producers across Maharashtra; inaugurated by Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare.
- What
- Launched 'Shakti on Wheels', a mobile retail van selling SHG-made products such as spices, pickles, textiles and handicrafts directly to urban consumers.
- Where
- Navi Mumbai, with products sourced from women SHGs across Maharashtra.
- When
- Inaugurated on August 4; scheduled to visit Konkan Bhavan in Navi Mumbai on Monday, having recorded over Rs 30,000 in sales in its first three days.
- Why
- To give women SHGs regular, continuous market access to urban consumers, moving beyond time-limited exhibitions and melavas.
Key facts
- Initiative
- Shakti on Wheels - mobile marketplace van
- Foundation
- AnirvedShakti Foundation, founded by retired IAS officer R. Vimala
- Inaugurated by
- Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare
- Inauguration date
- August 4
- Sales in first three days
- More than Rs 30,000
- Vehicle
- Mahindra Veero specially fabricated with shelves and storage
- Products
- Spices, grains, pulses, papads, pickles, oils, ghee, jaggery, honey, textiles, handicrafts
- Next urban stop
- Konkan Bhavan, Navi Mumbai, on Monday
Quotes
R. Vimala
Founder of AnirvedShakti Foundation
“The ₹30,000 itself is not what brought me a quiet smile. It meant that somebody walked up to our little van, saw a product made by a woman somewhere in Maharashtra, liked it enough to buy it and take it home. That was the dream which is much older than the van.”
freepressjournal.in
“I have also been clear about one thing from the beginning. Shakti on Wheels is not about asking people to buy something out of sympathy for women. That is not empowerment. A customer should buy an SHG product because it is good and come again.”
freepressjournal.in
Sources
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