Empower Women Farmers in India

Dear friend,

Tessa from the UK who is volunteering with us currently on this project that you are supporting. She has written a small note to share with you. I hope you would enjoy reading the progress the farmers are making with your support. Thank you for helping these farmers.

With regards,

Deepti

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In the last year the Dal Mill has acquired new clients from the commercial sector, most notably the Taj Palace Hotel – a high end hotel based in Udaipur.  Over the last 3 months Taj has requested over 1,400 kg of dal and remains a loyal customer.  By attracting and retaining new commercial businesses, like the Taj we have ensured that there is constant demand for the pulses.

2012 also saw the introduction of two new products in the form of green and black gram in recognition that an over reliance on one dal product (tuar) leaves the dal enterprise vulnerable to market price fluctuations.  By diversifying our product portfolio we have countered this risk and responded to a demand in the market.  The sourcing of different dal pulses also means the Dal Mill functions throughout the year as each pulse has a different harvesting time, increasing the processing period across the majority of the year as opposed to just three months.

With more villages now being involved in the Dal Mill a new collection centre was set up to make it more accessible for farmers to deposit their raw produce.  This has meant that farmers do not waste unnecessary time and money transporting their goods which has in turn encouraged more farmers to get involved in the project.

With a steady increase in dal production, a result of new pulses being introduced and more farmers becoming involved in the project, the Dal Mill has become more sustainable, reaching out to more farming communities and ensuring a greater share of profit reaches local farmers and their families.

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