In Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, women are stepping out of their traditional roles and carving out their own paths to earning. By joining self-help groups, many families here are seeing a real shift in their finances, and women are leading that change. One such story belongs to a woman from a village in the district, who a few years ago started a modest venture of grinding and selling spices after joining a group. That small step has since transformed the entire course of her life.
From farming to spices
Renu Devi, who lives in the Araon block of Firozabad, shared her journey in a conversation with TrendKia. She explained that earlier she stayed at home and worked in farming. It was during this time that she came to know about the Rani Avantibai women's group. After joining it, she received training in making spices, which would later become the foundation of her business.
A machine and a financial push
Once trained, Renu Devi set up a spice-grinding machine right at home. To get the venture off the ground, the NRLM department gave her 35 thousand rupees in financial assistance, while another 50 thousand rupees in private support gave her an added cushion. With this capital, she gradually began producing spices. She prepares them in a completely pure manner, and that purity became the biggest reason her business took off. As demand grew, she launched her own spice brand, and today her products sell under that name in the market.
Pricing and earnings
Renu Devi says the spices made at her unit sell at a good rate. Packets of products such as gram flour (besan), turmeric (haldi) and pulses (dal) are priced between 30 rupees and 65 rupees. The business now brings her a solid income. Every month she earns between 25 and 30 thousand rupees from it, which adds up to lakhs of rupees over the course of a year. On a daily basis, she sells between 5 and 8 kilograms of spices.
Now reaching Anganwadi centres
The reach of Renu Devi's work is set to expand further. She has already received an order to supply spices to Anganwadi centres in Firozabad. She will soon begin delivering her pure spices to these centres. This will not only bring clean, quality spices to the centres but also push her monthly income even higher.
