Vadodara: After Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) banned plastic bags, Nikita Gangadharan, who lives in Sama, had a tough time to segregate vegetables from her cloth bag. But after she purchased a bag made by women living in the slums of Parshuram Bhatta in Sayajigunj, Gangadharan’s task has become easy.Eighteen women living at Parshuram Bhatta, who make designer products under the brand ‘Churni’ recently designed a cloth bag with multiple pockets for carrying vegetables which have made work easy for more than 600 households in the city and elsewhere.“I had to carry multiple bags to keep the vegetables segregated and if I carried only one cloth bag, I would have to separate vegetables after reaching home. But with this new bag having multiple pockets the problem has solved,” said Gangadharan.The idea of such bags was proposed by trustees of city-based NGO Srotosvini Trust that supports these women to become financially independent. “We had randomly received an image of a bag having multiple pockets so we thought if ‘Churni’ can also make bags. Initially the women made six to seven bags and we shared the images on social media,” said Juin Dutta, founder-president of the trust. She added, “Within few days we received multiple queries about the bag so along with other designer products the ladies started making these bags in bulk.”The bag has seven pockets and it can carry vegetables up to seven kilogram. Vegetables in smaller forms like okra, French beans and leafy vegetables among others can be kept in smaller pockets while bigger ones like cabbage, cauliflower can be kept in bigger pocket.It has only been a month since these women have started making the bags, but they have become so hit that more than 600 bags have already been sold. The brand’s motto behind the idea of these bags was to reduce the plastic which resulted in win-win situation for all. While the homemakers have found an alternative to plastic bags to carry vegetables, the women living in slums have got additional income from the bags. The profit earned from the products they make is passed on to these 18 women.Dutta also told TOI that they have received bulk orders from industries and residential societies for these bags and even from faraway Kolkata and Singapore.

Stay updated with all the Latest Vadodara headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.