Gudiya Kanwar became a famous name in the pickle unit of Kayad (Ajmer) in present days. She is from Kayad village of Ajmer district. Her husband is working as a home guard and she was a homemaker. One fortunte day she was told that Manjari Foundation is forming Self Help Groups (SHGs) in her village and later on women will get livelihood opportunites as well. She joined the SHG for the sake of borrowing because the family didn’t have a steady salary. According to her family members and relatives that she makes pickles very tasty.

One day while attending the SHG meeting, it was discussed that Manjari Foundation is planning to set up a pickle unit in Kayad in order to provide employment oportunities to women. It was like that a dream is going to come true for her, but at the same time he remembered that her Rajput community’s tradition of i.e. sit at home and in Parda and work as a home maker would not allow her to go outside and work, however, she decided that she will not let this opportunity go from her hands and will face the all the difficulties. During the initial period she was provided training in preparing pickles and machinery operations.

After joining the Pickle Enterprise:
Even after joining there, the journey was not easy for her. She was finding it difficult to handle both the pickling unit and the household responsibilities. She also claimed that she had never seen a weight machine up close and had only seen them from afar before joining the unit, but that she now utilises the weight machine, which she finds quite enjoyable. In her initial days, she was only prepared pickles but now she operates machinery and monitor packaging and quality standards of all the pickles. If she is getting late and has to come early in the morning due to the hectic production schedule, at that time her husband supports her, he takes care at home and let Gudiya focus at her work. It shows that she is having a respected position in the community and in her family. Her first income was Rs.7,000 for two months, which she invested in her children’s education and household expenses. Following that, she made a contribution of Rs.10,000 to her husband’s family marriage ceremony, which was only feasible due to Gudiya’s income, as her husband does not have a stable source of income. Now Gudiya’s monthly income ranges from Rs. 4,000 to 5,000 per month.

Leadership Role:
Gudiya is now in charge of the pickle section, where she conducts trials on new pickle varieties and trains others in quality and packaging requirements. She also become the role model for many women.

Having Big Dreams:
Now, Gudiya’s ambition is to stay at the pickle plant till it transforms into a pickle factory. She also wants to be a helping hand for her family with the earnings from the pickle unit and she wants to finish the house that is still unfinished.

About the Enterprise:
The Sakhi Utpadan Samiti Pickle Unit is located in Kayad, Ajmer and has started operations from 21st October 2020 and providing employment to a total of 7-10 SHG women to prepare pickles using traditional methods. The main objective to establishment the unit is to boost microenterprises and women’s involvement in the workforce in rural areas. As a result of their involvement, rural SHG women were given the opportunity to earn and become self-sufficient.

It also seeks to give consumers with a classic pickle flavour, as these rural SHG women’s pickles were made exclusively utilising traditional methods and recipes. These women began by making Mango, Lemon, and Lisoda pickles. Pickles were initially made in modest numbers, but as time went on, they grew more popular, and as a result of the good reaction to their product, the amount produced has increased fourfold, and the women are making pickles in large quantities (about 10-12 tonne). These rural ladies aren’t stopping there; they are planning to start garlic, mushroom, and mix-pickles in the near future. The enthusiasm of these ladies shows that no one can stop them now, as if they had wings to fly, and their resolve shows that they will fly far and wide.