SHUBHANGI SHIFA
Ranchi, Mar 5: The Jharkhand Literary Meet on Saturday felt the presence of the Army Wives’ Welfare Association that set up handmade products, including artisan soaps, candles, brocade coasters, oil and watercolor paintings, shawls, stoles, saris, block painting, etc.
“The setup by the association forwards all proceeds from the sale to families of martyrs and retired army personnel. This is the first time that we are participating here at the Lit fest. It’s been a week since we’ve been preparing. The set up has been done for the International Women’s Day celebrations by the army wives,” said Manisha, wife of an army official.
“We make paintings, coasters, earrings, plant hangers, cushions, etc as our personal contribution to society and the army. We plan to organize more such festivals and setups so that we can carry forward this tradition, based on the response that we get. Else, we have our vocational training centres, where we also train other women in crafts such as these,” said Deepika Tomar.
Vishvendra Singh, managing a stall of artisanal soaps said, “These displays showcase soaps made from things that are readily available at our homes. The goal is to provide an alternative to the chemical-ridden market products. We focus on removing the amount of chemicals for a better and healthier alternative and to provide independence in entrepreneurship to women.”
He further continued saying, all off shelf products are used, for instance, coffee, vanilla essence, rose, charcoal, honey, oats, etc. Along with this, he explained, “Prices have also been kept at reasonable rates with comparison to Khadi products sold in markets.”
