27-year-old woman spins yarn from lotus stalks in Manipur
Sep 10, 2020
Bishnupur (Manipur) [India], September 10 : Amid the coronavirus pandemic when people are losing their livelihood, a 27-year-old woman has started a unique venture of spinning yarn from the stalks of lotus in Bishnupur district of Manipur.
Bijayashanti Tongbram has also involved women of her village in making the yarn, with the hope that it will help generate income for them.
"I got the idea from an elder, did research on my own, and was able to produce yarn out of lotus stalks. Before this, I tried making lotus tea," she said while speaking to ANI.
"To successfully make the lotus tea, I have placed an order for some equipment from Kolkata. But, due to the COVID lockdown, the delivery has been delayed," Tongbram added.
The young entrepreneur has requested the government to sanction funds under Manipur Start-up-Idea Stage so that she can maintain her lotus farms.
"I have already started preparing nurseries for the farm and I am waiting for the funds to be sanctioned under Manipur Start-up-Idea Stage," she said and reiterated that the money will be of great help to carry out her business hassle-free.
Tongbram, who has keen interest in promoting agro-tourism, also said that she is in contact with entrepreneurs in the field to help market her produce. "A necktie made out of the lotus yarn would cost around 100 dollars. I am in talks in with some of the successful entrepreneurs."
Clothes that are made up of lotus yarn have medicinal value and have high demand in foreign countries.
