Udhampur (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], June 14 (ANI): A woman entrepreneur from Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur has set up a spice processing unit under government-supported horticulture and entrepreneurship initiatives, saying that such schemes are helping create livelihood opportunities for women and strengthen rural value addition in the region.
The entrepreneur, Avilasha Salaria, has established an organic spice manufacturing unit named ‘Salaria Food & Spices,’ which procures raw materials directly from local farmers and processes them into a range of value-added products, while also providing employment opportunities to local women.
Speaking to ANI about her venture, Avilasha Salaria said, “We have set up a spice processing unit named ‘Salaria Food & Spices.’ We source local produce, such as turmeric, garlic, and ginger, directly from farmers and process it here to create various spice blends, including tikki masala. In doing so, we employ our unit to local women who are unable to work elsewhere.”
Calling upon other women to take advantage of government support schemes, she said, “My message to women who stay at home is to step forward and become aware of the various government schemes available. The government offers significant support to encourage women to work and progress, thereby helping to eliminate unemployment.”
Her husband and co-entrepreneur, Rohit Salaria, also explained the functioning of the unit and its product range, stating that local sourcing and value addition remain central to their operations.
“Our unit is called Salaria Food and Spices. We process spices and pickles. Most of the raw materials we use here are sourced from local farmers, such as turmeric and garlic. Our district has also been included under the ODOP (One District One Product) scheme for garlic. Through this initiative, we manufacture garlic pickles and garlic powder. We also make Kashmiri Tikki Masala, which features garlic, alongside various other spices like garam masala, meat masala, rajma masala, and our local chilli,” he said. “We process spices and pickles.”
Rohit Salaria further said the unit has benefited from consistent institutional support, adding that government departments have helped them scale and showcase their products.
“We manufacture these items by processing them right here. We have been running this operation for a long time, during which we received significant support from the Department of Horticulture of the Government of India, as well as the Department of Planning and Marketing,” he said.
He added, “They have consistently provided us with platforms to showcase our products in different regions, including opportunities to participate in multiple buyer-seller meets.”
“The government offers excellent projects across all departments for various types of processing units. Since we were highly interested in this field, we explored the schemes and established our business,” he said. (ANI)
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