Hamirpur to Offer Market Stalls to Women's Self-Help Groups

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Tuesday, 27 October 2026

Women members of self-help groups (SHGs) from Hamirpur district in Himachal Pradesh will be allocated stalls at fairs and other major events. The initiative will allow women to bank upon the opportunity to exhibit and sell their locally manufactured food products and crafts.

This step has been taken to provide the women with increased access to markets along with the opportunity to connect with the consumers in order to earn some extra income by selling their produce. Asmita Thakur, Deputy Director and Co-Project Officer in the District Rural Development Agency Hamirpur (DRDA) of Hamirpur district, has informed that the stalls will be allocated to the women by the DRDA itself.

Key Highlights:

• Hamirpur to provide dedicated stalls for women-led self-help groups at major events
• Women can sell pickles, sweets, candles, crocheted goods and other local handicrafts
• The initiative aims to boost rural women’s incomes, self-employment and market access

The initiative calls for various locally made items available for sale at these stalls. Some of them include pickles, chutney, murabba, sweets, crocheted products, candles, and many more such crafts.

According to Asmita, women in rural areas were already making a variety of food items and handicrafts through their self-help groups. Giving them access to stalls during important occasions will give them an opportunity to showcase their goods effectively and interact with potential consumers of their products.

The program will not only make the rural women self-employed but also provide them with an opportunity to earn money by making use of their skills and the resources available in their areas.

Self-help groups are voluntary organizations where people, normally women having similar social and economic conditions, work in order to save and create joint fund and make small loans to their members. Such voluntary organizations contribute to the processes of financial inclusion, collective business and earning.

Himachal Pradesh has about 25,000 self-help groups which have considerable representation in the districts of Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Chamba, Shimla, Kinnaur, and Lahaul and Spiti. Creation of stalls will help the women connect to groups to earn more through better marketing opportunities.

The importance of the above program is in the fact that access to markets remains an essential component for guaranteeing that the rural women capitalize on their skills and abilities and turn them into money earners.

Although women in self-help groups manufacture diverse food products and handicrafts, lack of market access can inhibit the growth of their businesses. In that regard, the provision of stalls for women during fairs and other gatherings will serve the purpose of helping to fill this gap.

As a result, women will be able to have access to markets and sell their products with greater ease, efficiency, making money and ensuring that they maintain better control of their own sale process. In addition to that, such opportunities may help women develop their small businesses and make them more successful.