Rural Development ministry appreciates e-marketing of Sikkim SHG products

GANGTOK,: The Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India has appreciated a Sikkim Rural Livelihood Mission initiative on e-marketing of SHG products.
The ministry, in a communique, congratulated the SRLM team led by Rural Development commissioner Dr. P. Senthil Kumar for their initiative to market rural products online.
MoRD joint secretary mentioned that the SHG products received by him were of good quality, and were packed in a professional manner.
To provide a platform for display and marketing of local produces by women Self Help Groups (SHGs) of Sikkim, the SRLM in collaboration with Ripples of Change Foundation and www. kalgudi.com initiated e-commerce marketing platform in December 2021 where e-marketing of Sikkim SHGs products are taken up under the brand name of “Swayam Sikkim”. A ‘Swayam Sikkim’ website and a mobile app were launched by Chief Minister P. S. Golay on December 4.
The products of Sikkim SHGs are available both at www.swayamsikkim.com and www.kalgudi.com for online purchase by individuals and organizations at national and international levels, informs a press release.
The joint secretary also conveyed his wishes to SHGs of Sikkim for success on this e marketing initiative. This initiative will benefit over 5200 women Self Help Groups in Sikkim to market their product online with the support and facilitation by the SRLM, the SRLM said.
In Sikkim, SRLM implements National Rural Livelihood Mission in all districts. There are more than 5,200 SHGs with around 50,000 members. The SHGs are federated into around 500 federations at ward levels, GP levels and block levels. There are 211 producers’ groups and seven producers’ organizations functioning under SRLM. These SHGs make unique food products, handmade products that include handicrafts, hand-woven textiles and natural remedies in a long list of noteworthy categories. Some of these products are extremely popular and widely recognized.