By Express News Service CHENNAI: Aligned to their goal of creating socially responsible citizens, the MOP Vaishnav College for Women on Saturday launched ‘Thozhil Seiyyalam Thozhi’, a year-long project aimed at teaching entrepreneurship skills to rural women. Under the programme, students of the college will conduct skill-training workshops in different villages in Tamil Nadu to enable economic independence and empowerment of rural women. The first session was conducted by the students of the Department of Business Administration at SKDJ Higher Secondary School in Tiruverkadu. Nearly 100 women participated and learned different skill-based works including incense stick-making using cow dung, pot and diya painting, quilling and tassle jewellery making, hairstyle and make-up, cooking without fire, quilled envelope, candle and paper bag making. The training material kits were provided at the venue. “Every year, we have been coming up with such initiatives. Last year, it was Pagir to promote a plastic-free environment. Doing the skill-imparting project in one school is only a small step. We want to take it to all the villages and empower every woman seeking economic independence,” said Lalitha Balakrishnan, principal, MOP College for Women. The skills have been chosen in such a way that not much investment is required. For about an investment of Rs 500, the women would be earning a profit of Rs 200 per day, explained the students imparting training. “Despite having a need for money, I am unable to work because I have to take care of two kids at home and my education qualification too is not great. These kinds of skills will help us earn from home while taking care of the family. I want to learn paper bag making because, given the plastic ban, the demand will be more. In our village, we don’t have much alternatives to plastic,” said 39-year-old Maheshwari Dhanasekharan from Thiruverkadu. The participants have issued certificates after completion of the workshop.

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