The Hindu Business Line : Healthy indication of enlargement

The Ayurveda drugs packaging unit here was perfect. I joined in 1973. It is a easy working atmosphere and there is no incarnate toil.' WFS On the job:

Packaging units championing ayurvedic medicines employ a large number of women.

Ajitha Menon Even as more and bounteous people are looking at Ayurveda for holistic healing, the popular elderly Indian system of medicine is sacrifice a counteractant in the area of gender development.

In Kerala, the booming production has been of service in the empowerment of women near pleasant them in all side of the trade & 8212; from cattle rearing and tending herb gardens to contractual work as herb collectors and sifters to contributing as doctors, masseuses and packagers.

Every morning, bad line die outside Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala, an Ayurveda centre in Trichur district. Women from the neighbourhood Thykattussery village supply fresh milk to the centre, which is used for manufacturing medicines.

Over 200 women in the village have invested in milk cows. The milk required close to the Oushadhasala has to be of very good quality so we have invested in cows. I started with one cow, now I have three. I supply milk to the centre the year round.

The cows are fed suitably and kept in clean surroundings. They also undergo common veterinary check-ups.

The Oushadhasala is a confirmed buyer and we assemble skilled money," says Girija, 40, whose mother and sisters have joined her in the venture. After testing the drain for purity, the Oushadhasala buys around 700 liters diurnal at a competitive rate of Rs 11 per litre.

Source of income Before they started deriving economic avail from the Ayurveda centre, most women in Thykattussery either worked as domestic help or farm labourers. However, now the milk business gives them a regular income.

Girija's sister, Rati, 26, says, "We took a loan from the noblewoman of the house where Girija used to work as a domestic help to buy our first cow. On the other hand the next two cows were bought from the profits made by selling the milk."

Centres like the Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala play a huge r“le in the economic boost of the earth and thousands of women are piggy-backing this wave of prosperity.

Doctors, nurses and masseuses sense the list of qualified professionals that carry found favor with the industry. Massage practice Dr Ambika Rahulan, 56, joint owner of Aswathy Bhavan Vaidyasala in Tiruvalla, says that while doctors and nurses require relevant degrees, masseuses can enrol for a six-month training course the centre offers, during which they are paid a stipend.

After completing the course, the women are qualified to dawning a massage unit of their own or join any centre or caravanserai as masseuses." Besides those qualified to elbow grease in this sector, there is a large section of marginally educated women who take household a decent pay packet."

Approximately 500 bucolic women, living mostly in forest and hill regions prize Amdallur, Velikulangara and Peachy, are involved in collecting herbs for our pharmaceutical wing," says T.

Unnikrishnan, General Manager, Vaidyaratnam Oushadhashala. We impart preliminary knowledge to the women on the herbs we need at the lab. While some are natural, having lived amidst these plants throughout their lives, others are taught." We amass herbs passion tulsi, kuruntoti and ketakamuladi, which are easily available. Depending on the herb, we are paid Rs 15 per kg.

From http://thehindubusinessline.com/life/2008/02/29/stories/2008~.htm