GUWAHATI: A Common Facility Centre (CFC) and Raw Materials Bank (RMB) built by biodiversity research and conservation Aaranyak with financial support from Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) here, was inaugurated at Majrabari under Bhuyanpara Range of Manas National Park (MNP) on Tuesday.
The centre for which land has been provided by the villagers, was inaugurated by the Director of the IIE, Guwahati, Dr Abhijit Sharma and Director of Manas Tiger Reserve, Amol Sarma, Deputy Director of Manas Tiger Reserve, Raghu Nath Boro and President of Aaranyak, Ranjan Bhuyan.
The CFC and RMB have been set up under a project titled Scheme for Fund of Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) for the benefit of over 260 artisans from nine villages located on the fringe of the Manas National Park, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by a host of Aaranyak officials, staff, members and volunteers including Dr Bibhuti Prasad Lahkar, Namita Brahma, Manas Bhattacharjya, Jayanta Pathak, Ranjan Khound along with a large group of beneficiaries of the project.
The SFURTI project is aimed at providing alternative livelihood options to economically backward communities living in the fringe of Manas National Park so that they can sustain themselves without depending overtly on the resources extracted from the forest area.
Economic backwardness compels these people to bank heavily on forest resources of Manas National Park for their livelihood. Women represent almost half of the society, their status, skills and work participation, perception and desire for progression of family and society rightly reflect societal situation to a large extent.
This age composition indicates that there are women group with immense potential in the age group between 18 to 45 years. This section of women is a part of potential working population of the villages. If they were properly trained and their status was strengthened at per male in the line of development they may contribute immensely in the uplift of the society and economy as a whole. These artisans are economically, educationally backward and deprived from any developmental opportunities. Even though skilled in weaving but due to lack of awareness and capacity were not able to get proper economic benefits. The SFURTI project aims to upgrade and hone the skills of these traditional artisans besides providing raw materials and other support for their economic progress.