Something special for everyone

If you haven’t finished shopping for festivals, ‘Shravana Sale’, organised by Centre for Industrial Co-operatives of Producer’s and Artisans (CICOPA) at its outlet in RICM Campus, Padmanabhanagar, is offering you some great choices. More than 40 women associations have put their stalls up which sell items right from puja articles to silk saris.

The speciality of the sale is that all the goods are made by women co-operatives, self help groups, mahila mandals and women entrepreneurs. Moreover, all the items are available at a reasonable and discounted price. “Encouraged by the success of ‘Shravana Sale’ which we had conducted last year, we are holding the fair for the second time. This time the sale is three to four times bigger than last year,” said Pramila, the store manager. She included that the CICOPA also organises an annual fair at the campus which is a big hit among the residents nearby.

Handicrafts, handlooms, leather products, puja items, thorans, floating candles, wall hangings, garlands, artificial and one-gram-gold jewellery, wooden bangles, hand bags, cane and paper bags, gift articles, cosmetics, herbal beauty products, bedspreads, razais, kurtas, silk and cotton saris are some of the items on display. Among all, saris,
thorans, puja items and one-gram-gold are in great demand this time.

Sumana Balaji, a homemaker who had come to shop was happy with the reasonable prices of the items.

“I had been to the annual fair last year where I got the widest variety of items. I keep on purchasing goods here as the quality is good and the price is also reasonable. More than that, I want to encourage and support women entrepreneurs and help them be successful,” she opined.

P V Prabhu, the general secretary of CICOPA said that the aim of holding a fair is to strengthen the management and marketing skills of co-operatives.

“We are providing marketing, professional and managerial training to artisans and needy women to improve their skills, marketing capabilities and standard of living. We are happy that many people have been empowered and are creating employment opportunities for others,” he says.

‘Shravana Sale’ is on till August 31 from 10 am to 6 pm. Customers can visit the permanent shop at RICM Campus, (Training Campus), Padmanabhanagar, next to D G Hospital. For details, call 26690119.