In collaboration with its CSR partner, SoA - CII has established several livelihood centers in the Banspal, Telkoi, Harichandanpur, Ghatagaon, Joda, and Jhumpura blocks of Keonjhar district, as well as the Sukinda and Danagadi blocks of Jajpur district. These centers aim to support rural start-up enterprises by offering guidance on product innovation, technology support, common infrastructure facilities, capacity building, and training. Additionally, they will facilitate market and credit linkages. The centres follow the “One Block One Product” strategy, which provides a framework for value chain development, aligns with support infrastructure, and integrates with existing government schemes.
The focus areas for these centres include agriculture, poultry, goat rearing, textiles, horticulture, art and crafts, non-timber forest products like honey and Sal, and other products that may be identified in the future.
(A) Keonjhar District
1. Maa Tarini Producer Group
A Sal Leaf Processing and Paper Plate Making Unit has been established in Sanajiuli, Ghatagaon block of Keonjhar district in Odisha, spearheaded by the Maa Tarini Producer Group. The unit is currently operational with 10 active members out of the 250 identified beneficiaries, covering 8 villages.
Key Information:
Location: Ghatagaon, Keonjhar district, Odisha.
Sales Performance: The unit's sales have been encouraging, serving the local region effectively and motivating greater community participation.
Support and Inputs from SoA-CII: SoA-CII regularly inspects the books of accounts, assists in organizing sales and stock registers, helps in drafting meeting resolutions, assisted in setting daily labour charges, and has also created a unit-wise WhatsApp group for communication.
Support by CSR Partner: They have successfully installed the plate-making machine, provided training, and inaugurated the unit. Additionally, they supplied 500 pieces of 210 GSM paper for training and an initial batch of 10,000 pieces of 210 GSM paper for production.
Current Progress: The unit has completed its 2 kW commercial electrification work and has produced approximately 2,100 plates and ‘danas’ (paper and leaf bowls) to date.
Community Impact: The unit offers processing services at minimal charges and provides capacity-building training and value-addition services to the local community.
2. Maa Santoshi SHG (in collaboration with Mission Shakti)
A Sunflower Oil Extraction Unit has been established in Harichandanpur block of Keonjhar district in Odisha, led by the Maa Santoshi Self-Help Group (SHG). The unit currently has 6 active members out of the 250 identified beneficiaries.
Key Information:
Location: Harichandanpur, Keonjhar district, Odisha.
Sales Performance: The unit's sales have been encouraging, serving the local region effectively and motivating greater community participation.
Support and Inputs from SoA-CII: SoA-CII regularly inspects the books of accounts and helps organize sales and stock registers. It assists them in drafting resolutions for meetings, identifying local dealers and markets for oil sales, and have recently encouraged the unit to explore coconut processing for steady returns. LA also provides labels and stickers for marketing phenyl and toilet cleaners and has created a dedicated WhatsApp group for communication among members.
Support by CSR Partner: They have successfully installed an oil extraction machine, conducted training sessions, and inaugurated the unit. Additionally, we have completed paintwork and branding for the unit. They had also arranged a farmer training session with over 100 participants, featuring scientists from the SoA Instititute of Agricultural Sciences Campus who conducted a training on sunflower cultivation and marketing.
Current Progress: The unit has completed its 2 kW commercial electrification work.
Community Impact: The unit provides processing services at minimal charges to the community, offers capacity-building training and value-addition services, and has expanded to process other oils, such as coconut, castor, and groundnut oil.
3. Gonasika Producer Group
A Mustard Oil Extraction Unit has been established in the Banspal block of Keonjhar district in Odisha, led by the Gonasika Producer Group. Currently, 14 out of the 190 identified beneficiaries are actively participating in the project.
Key Information:
Location: Banspal, Keonjhar district, Odisha.
Sales Performance: The unit's sales have been encouraging, serving the local region effectively and motivating greater community participation.
Support and Inputs from SoA-CII: SoA-CII has inspected the books of accounts, helped organize sales and stock registers, and advised drafting meeting resolutions. It has assured the replacement of the faulty oil extraction machine in the unit, provided marketing support through labels and stickers for phenyl and toilet cleaners, and facilitated a tie-up with Odapada FPO for selling the remaining mustard inventory. Additionally, it suggested transitioning to a Khali leaf plate-making unit due to the defective oil extraction machine and has created a WhatsApp group for better communication.
Support by CSR Partner: Installation of the oil extraction machine, training, and unit inauguration have been successfully completed. Additionally, paintwork and branding of the unit have been finalized.
Current Progress: The unit has completed its 2 kW commercial electrification work.
Community Impact: The unit provides capacity-building training and value-addition services to the community.
4. Telkoi Unit
A Sal Leaf Processing and Paper Plate Making Unit has been established in the Telkoi block of Keonjhar district in Odisha, under the leadership of the Telkoi Unit. The unit currently has 35 active members out of 280 identified beneficiaries.
Key Information:
Location: Telkoi, Keonjhar district, Odisha.
Sales Performance: The unit's sales have been encouraging, serving the local region effectively and motivating greater community participation.
Support and Inputs from Livelihood Alternatives (LA): LA regularly inspects the books of accounts, helps organize sales and stock registers, and advises drafting resolutions for meetings. It has assisted the unit in calculating the per-unit cost of paper plates to maximize profits. LA has also provided marketing labels and stickers and created a WhatsApp group for improved communication among unit members.
Support by SoA-CII & CSR Partner: The installation of the machine, training, and inauguration of the unit have been successfully completed, along with paintwork and branding of the facility.
Current Progress: The unit has completed its 2 kW commercial electrification work, and most statutory records are now in order. Sales have been very encouraging.
Community Impact: The unit provides capacity-building training and value-addition services, benefiting both the workers and the community. Employees earn ₹0.10 to ₹0.20 per plate produced. The production process benefits 30 members directly and 250 Sal leaf collectors indirectly, with the unit purchasing Sal leaves at ₹40 per kg. Collaboration with Mission Shakti and government schools has led to regular orders for Sal plates. The unit also promotes eco-friendly alternatives by replacing thermocol plates with Sal plates.
(B) Jajpur District
5. Biraja Producer Group
A Soap Manufacturing Unit has been established in the Danagadi block of Jajpur district in Odisha, under the leadership of the Biraja Producer Group. The unit currently has 10 active members out of 55 identified beneficiaries.
Key Information:
Location: Danagadi, Jajpur district, Odisha.
Sales Performance: The unit's sales have been encouraging, serving the local region effectively and motivating greater community participation.
Products Available: The unit has produced 40 bars of soap, 5-10 bottles of dish wash, 66 litres of phenyl, and 89 toilet cleaners. The products are priced at ₹50 per soap bar, ₹50 per dish wash bottle, ₹30 per litre of phenyl, and ₹50 per toilet cleaner.
Support and Inputs from SoA-CII: SoA-CII regularly inspects the books of accounts, assists in organizing sales and stock registers, and provides training on maintaining records. It advises drafting resolutions for meetings and has supported in calculating the unit cost for each product. LA has also provided marketing labels and stickers and created a WhatsApp group for improved communication.
Support by CSR Partner: A 14-day soap-making training program was organized for 55 women beneficiaries in collaboration with the Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC). Additionally, the unit has completed paintwork and branding.
Community Impact: The unit offers capacity-building training and value-addition services to the community.
6. Biraja Kshetra Producer Group
A Sal Leaf Processing and Paper Plate Making Unit has been established in the Sukinda block of Jajpur district, Odisha, under the leadership of the Biraja Kshetra Producer Group. The unit has 6 active members out of the 60 beneficiaries identified for the project.
Key Information:
Location: Sukinda, Jajpur district, Odisha.
Stock Levels: The unit currently has no available raw materials due to defective paper cardboard bundles (~20 bundles) and lacks paper sheets. However, they have approximately 1,500-1,600 paper plates ready for sale.
Sales Performance: The unit's sales have been encouraging, serving the local region effectively and motivating greater community participation.
Support and Inputs from SoA-CII: SoA-CII regularly inspects the books of accounts, assists in organizing sales and stock registers, and provides training on maintaining records. It advises drafting resolutions for meetings and has supported in calculating the unit cost for each product. It has also suggested increasing daily labour charges to attract more workers and assured support in supplying raw materials such as cardboard paper for plate production. Additionally, it has created a WhatsApp group for improved communication.
Support by CSR Partner: They have successfully completed the installation of the plate-making machine, training, and unit inauguration. We supplied 500 pieces of 210 GSM paper for training and an initial batch of 10,000 pieces for production. They also conducted a successful plate-making training program in the Danagadi Block. The paintwork and branding for the unit has already been completed.
Current Progress: The 2 kW commercial electrification work has been completed. The unit has produced over 20,000 plates and 'danas' (paper and leaf bowls) to date.
Community Impact: The unit provides capacity-building training and value-addition services to the local community.
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