Rani Marganakoppa is a member of Primary Agriculture Credit Co-operative Sangha Niyamit-Itagi in Karnataka, India. The sugarcane cooperative has been Fairtrade certified since 2012.

The cooperative was a lifeline for local families in 2020 as COVID-19 was shutting down communities and disrupting global trade. Thanks to Fairtrade Premium funds, Sangha Niyamit-Itagi was able to provide 2,500 households with soap, face masks and other essentials, and partnered with the government of India to deliver groceries to highly vulnerable families in the community. 

With life more back to normal in 2022, Rani participated in the first Fairtrade Gender Leadership School in India, conducted in 2022 by the Fairtrade Network of Asia Pacific Producers (NAPP).

The school not only taught women skills in finance, farming best practices, leadership and negotiation – it also provided the impetus for Rani and her fellow participants to start a women’s group within their cooperative. They developed a microenterprise proposal through the school, aimed at generating new sources of income through a community-based approach, particularly for women and young people.

The idea was simple: tap into the abundance of locally grown fruits and vegetables and create their own brand of pickles, based on flavour preferences popular in the local Indian market. Rani and her group started with mango pickles, reaching a production capacity of 800-1000 kilogrammes in the first year. The women market their products under their own brand names to local retail shops and other customers.

With the income earned in the first year, each woman received a portion as profit. In addition, the group has invested in other technologies and plans to expand the business further. They project larger production next year, and are expanding to lime, cucumber and chili pickles.

Rani feels pride in the income she contributes to her household. She’s also become a leader within the women’s group and the wider community, demonstrating the potential of women as farmers and entrepreneurs.