Training for the women entrepreneurs was organized in the Satyam Community Centre, Poothurai village for three days from 15 July to 17 July 2021. Around 150 women entrepreneurs from various villages who were involved in 4 different trades such as agriculture, cattle rearing, tailoring, and petty shop business attended this workshop.  Expert trainers in each trade were invited to provide training and it was a great learning experience for the women entrepreneurs to learn new concepts.

Last year, skill training and EDP training were provided to all the women entrepreneurs and the main objective of providing this 3-day training is to help them enhance their trade and also to provide them ideas to widen their income-generating methods. Also, this training aims at providing innovative ideas that will help them go to the next level in their business.

Considering the lockdown and COVID-19 protocols, training was conducted by following all the safety measures and the wellbeing of all participants was given the highest priority.

The training was conducted in an interactive method using videos, PPT, and other audiovisual aids.  This helped the women entrepreneurs learn things easily. Group discussions, interactions, and games were arranged during the training which provided an opportunity to discuss and learn from each other. A question and answer session was also conducted at the end of the session for clarifying the doubts of all the women entrepreneurs.

For the cattle rearing trade, a veterinary doctor was invited and he spoke on various schemes that are available for them to safeguard their cattle from diseases and also from natural calamities. He gave new ideas through which they can improve the income generation and also he gave some precautionary tips to keep their cattle safe from diseases.

For agriculture training, useful seeds and organic seeds were provided to the women entrepreneurs and they were also explained on how to maximize the yield and the profit using simple tips.  The significance of enrolling themselves in the Farmer-Producer Group and the various benefits of becoming a member were explained to them.

New trends that are available in the tailoring trade were explained by the trainer and the new machines that are available in the market to stitch more clothes were also introduced to the women entrepreneurs.

New marketing strategies to be followed in petty shop trade were explained by the trainer and the manner in which they can enhance their income and business was explained in detail by the trainer with real-time examples.

To help the women entrepreneurs throughout the year, a handbook was provided to all. The materials used by the trainers were collected from them and it was compiled as a handbook.  A different handbook was prepared for each trade and it was provided to the women entrepreneurs which can be used by them all throughout the year.

All the women entrepreneurs were happy and their confidence level was high after attending the three days training. For more than a year they were not able to attend any training because of the pandemic.

After hearing the success stories of many women entrepreneurs, many new and aspiring women of the village showed interest in joining these training and becoming future women entrepreneurs.