Azmat: A Beautiful Journey

When I first joined Enactus SRCC, I wanted to Google the exact distance between Delhi and Nekpur. Now, after almost a year into the project, I’m glad I never had the heart to follow through on that thought. There are some journeys which are not measured by kilometers, but by something far more intangible.

This past year has been good for us, in terms of project achievements. We’ve finished the construction of 128 eco-friendly two-pit toilets, in collaboration with Sulabh Social Service International Organization. This has led to successful occupational rehabilitation by ensuring that the women will not return to the deplorable practice of manual scavenging. With emphasis on financial and literacy skills, basic weight and measurement

training was imparted to the women. In order to create an identity, we branded our detergent as ‘NEKI’, meaning a good deed. We identified three qualities of detergent to produce, to cater to different market segments – NEKI Basic, Active and Supreme.

More demand avenues were tapped, including a sales counter at the production center in Nekpur itself, stalls in rural fairs and rural marts organized by NABARD, hostels, retail and departmental stores in and around the village. A student volunteer program was successfully carried out, which widened our reach to residential areas as well.

We still have a steep incline ahead of us. Organising the women as a Cooperative Society is an important development, the legalities for which have already begun. Long-term demand contracts need to be identified. But there’s no denying that Azmat has come a long way since its inception, and the biggest gainers here, are the 21 women who have shown immense strength and determination to move forward in life.

Now the women produce the detergent on their own, and it is almost inspiring to see the confidence with

which they go about this task. They package and label the detergent with ease, having mastered the process. I remember the first batch they’d produced, and the countless others that followed, and when I contrast it with the days when they had still been receiving training in detergent-making, I cannot help but be awed at their growth.

I used to think, knowing the exact number of kilometers would help bring a little perspective to this project. Now, I know that the perspective lies not in the kilometers or the markers we cross on the road to Nekpur, but in the ride itself. And as we all know, the ride to Nekpur is a beautiful one.

-Aanavi Dewan