Writes: Yougan Tamang
The 15-month-old venture initiated by talented and enterprising Daughter of Sikkim Miss Devika Gurung of Gangtok has been selected under the social sector services category. The nomination was submitted during the month of October and after having undergone the screening process, the project has made to the finals. The UPSTART award is one of the features of the North East Startup Challenge & Festival 2016-17.
The final event is scheduled to be held in January, 2017 at Guwahati, Assam. Devika Gurung will also be presenting a virtual presentation on her social entrepreneurship project in a concise form during the final event to pitch up her business of her project. Started in September 2015, Fidgety Fingers is a social entrepreneurship endeavor which aims to help women belonging to various necessitous backgrounds become socially and financially empowered.
The project also intends to preserve and promote the vanishing art form of fiber art in a non-conventional way.
Currently, 10 women are undergoing training free of cost and 3 are reaping benefits out of the project. In the long run, the project aims to set up production units in all four districts of Sikkim and further expand to the northeast simultaneously covering the Darjeeling hills and North Bengal. Speaking to this corrospondent , Devika Gurung has expressed her happiness over the selection. It comes to me as a great news on New Year. The selection itself is a great encouragement to work more towards my goal of women empowerment. May the best win. Devika Gurung (29) basically hails from Namthang, South Sikkim but currently residing at Gangtok, East Sikkim.
She is the youngest daughter of Tika Gurung and Lt. P.K Gurung. She completed her schooling from Holycross school, Tadong and her further studies from Regional Institute of Printing Technology, Kolkata.
She is an artist by profession but before venturing into the social project she used to work as a sub-editor for a local media house. She is also one of the portfolio holders of the first registered art organization of Sikkim, ‘Oviya Art Circle, Sikkim’.
She has been participating in a number of state and regional art workshops and exhibition. Devika also involves herself in solid waste management. Following the 3R Concept- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, she creates useful crafts.
She has been attending many waste management events organized by the Government Department.
She has been training many women of her locality to knit, craft and crochet. She has also been invited as a resource person in various programmes of Government and Private agencies to train and speak on self-reliant programmes and training and women empowerment.
Currently, she is also associated with various projects under the Government of Sikkim. Devika has been successful in creating the market for her handmade products virtually, she is selling her handmade products online which gradually seems to be gaining much popularity.
She aims to open up production units in different parts Sikkim and train and employ more women in the project.
[Via: TNT - The Northeast Today.]
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