YourStory # HerStory :This food scientist is helping women in a Uttarakhand district to become entrepreneurs

"Little initiatives can lead to big change" ~~Kirti Kumari~~

Here is the Example.

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This food scientist is helping women in a Uttarakhand district to become entrepreneurs

Working at Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, Kirti Kumar is empowering women’s entrepreneurship through SHGs focussed on the production of nutritional foods.

By Nirandhi Gowthaman

Most often, dedicated government employees are not given their due. The red tape, bureaucracy surrounding government work has tainted entire departments, bracketing employees under one umbrella – as inefficient and corrupt. 

Despite this, it’s important to note that from district employees to Central ministries, Government employees form a crucial link in the development of the country. 

One such enterprising woman is Kirti Kumari, a food scientist and subject matter expert at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), in Tehri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand. 

A social nutrition activist and nutritional counsellor, Kirti has trained over 1,000 women in food processing, created self-help groups (SHGs) and turned them into food entrepreneurs. The 28-year-old joined the KVK in 2013 and has taken nearly seven years to nurture the district’s women farmers and turn them into entrepreneurs. Apart from the KVK, she is also a lecturer at the VCSG Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry in Tehri Garhwal.  

Empowering women and promoting indigenous crops 

At least 80 percent of farmers in the hilly terrains of Uttarakhand are women. After shifting from Rajasthan to Uttarakhand for the job, Kirti took three years to understand and explore ways to help farmers in the region.

"When I came to the region in 2013, the crops were of very good quality fruit and vegetables to even millets, which the government has declared as 'miracle grains'. With such good crops, the people here were not able to bring out value-added products to the market because of a lack of knowledge and technical know-how. So, I started to work in this direction and created SHGs."

Kirti also revived inactive SHGs and cooperative societies that were part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission and sought help from local NGOs to create more SHGs. Armed with an M.Tech in Processing and Food Engineering and a B.Tech in Food Technology, Kirti saw the scope for creation of food processing activities in the state. She says that with current food trends like organic foods, Uttarakhand has a huge potential because most of the farming in the state is free of insecticides and pesticides making it ideal for organic products.  She understood the scope of indigenously grown fruits, vegetables and flowers and combined it with efforts to help women create better livelihoods and increase their income. Using locally-well known foods like hill orange or malta, hill lemon, squash and temperate fruits like plums, peaches and apricots, she started teaching the women to scientifically process these in their own homes. There are at least nine active self-help groups currently creating nutritional sweets and snacks including jams, jellies, squashes, pickles, chutneys, murabbas, nutribars, ready-to-use therapeutic foods for babies, pregnant and lactating women, and adolescent girls............................. (Continued)
Read more at: https://yourstory.com/herstory/2020/04/food-scientist-women-uttarakhhand-food-entrepreneurs?utm_pageloadtype=scroll

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Kirti Kumari

(Food Scientist and Certified Nutrition Counselor)

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Tehri Garhwal

Brand Ambassador “Beti Bachao, Beti Padao” 

Govt. of Uttarakhand