Women self-help groups in the Lohaghat tehsil have revived the traditional occupation of ironworking, dominated in the past by men
Members of the Purnagiri self-help group in Lohaghat, Uttarakhand, carve iron utensils (Photo: Varsha Singh) Narayani Devi can beat large blocks of iron into the shape she wants. And she is not the only woman in Lohaghat tehsil of Uttarakhand’s Champawat district to have acquired this skill.
For the past six years, 40 women of the Pragati Gram Sangathan, a group of five self-help groups (SHGs), have taken up ironworks, marking a shift in the history of metalcraft for which Lohaghat is known.
“Traditionally, men used to make the products and women would go to sell them from village to village,” says Devi, a resident of Raikot Kunwar village in Lohaghat and president of the Sangathan.
“Over time, demand declined. We could only sell one or two pans. The occupation began to fade away,” she recalls. In 2017, officials started promoting SHGs under the National Rural Livelihood Mission.
Sensing an opportunity, Devi and six other women from Raikot Kunwar formed the Purnagiri SHG. “Initially we were scared to heat and cast iron, and sought help from men. As we became proficient in using the hammer and the anvil, more SHGs joined us to learn the skill,” says Devi, who heads Purnagiri as well.
Eventually, all the SHGs joined to form the Sangathan and started to handcraft utensils like pans and griddles, farm tools like spades and other products like knives and tridents.
The group got a boost in 2020, when the state government set up a growth centre in Champawat as part of a scheme to identify and promote niche rural sectors.
“Machines for iron cutting and moulding are installed at the centre. It is now run by the Sangathan,” says Vimmi Joshi, assistant project director, Champawat District Rural Development Agency.
The next challenge was marketing. “Demand for iron products had declined due to popularity of steel, aluminium and non-stick cookware. But people are now returning to iron as they become aware about leaching of chemicals with other products,” says Amit Kumar, Devi’s son, who helps the Sangathan market its products.
“We began to display and sell our iron products at SARAS (Sale of Articles of Rural Artisans Society) melas, trade fairs, and through online platforms,” he says.
The SHGs also began to obtain orders from the state agriculture department for tools worth Rs 2-3 lakh. “Further, the state purchases kitchen utensils for midday meals in schools and for anganwadi centres from the SHGs,” adds Joshi.
The ironworks are also included in the state brand for locally made products, Hilans. These efforts have raised incomes of the group. “Purnagiri SHG earned Rs 2 lakh in 2022, up from Rs 60,000 in 2017, while the Sangathan earned Rs 7-8 lakh last year,” says Devi.
This was first published in the 16-30 April, 2023 print edition of Down To Earth
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