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KOHIMA — Minister of Women Resource Development and Horticulture, Salhoutuonuo Kruse, on Tuesday launched the “Myki village adoption initiative” under the transformative livelihood intervention (TLI) project for 2024-25 in Khonoma village under Kohima district.
In her inaugural address, Kruse highlighted various programmes initiated by the Women Resources Department (WRD) aimed at empowering women and girls. She stated that Khonoma village was chosen for the initiative with a focus on local garlic cultivation as the village is known for its long-standing garlic farming practices.
The minister explained that the project aims to support and promote sustainable livelihood activities for women, which would not only strengthen the local economy but also improve skills, resources and production levels.
Kruse also encouraged beneficiaries to fully seize the opportunity and urged them to actively and wholeheartedly participate in harnessing agriculture's potential. She emphasised that their efforts could play a vital role in the uplift and empowering the entire community.
The commissioner and secretary of WRD, Zhothisa Dawhuo, stated that the TLI project is the department's core activity, supporting various livelihood and skill development programmes. He mentioned that through TLI, the department is implementing diverse livelihood activities to uplift women from both rural and urban areas.
Dawhuo asserted that the programme aligned with the government’s “One district, one product” policy by introducing a “One village, one product” approach in order to encourage villages to focus on large-scale production of a specific crop.
He also informed that a committee comprising department officials, three representatives of village women leaders and one representative each from the village council and village youth organisation has been formed to oversee planning, implementation and monitoring.
Dawhuo announced that training, skill development and up-skilling programmes would be provided to 30 selected women beneficiaries under the initiative.
In celebration of the project, a ‘Garlic Festival’ is proposed to be held in Khonoma village.
Dawhuo further mentioned that a long-term goal of the programme was to establish adequate infrastructure for village women to sustain their activities, including product marketing.
Meanwhile, WRD director Vilone Sakhrie, encouraged healthy competition among beneficiaries, which he believed would benefit not only the women but also the entire village.
It may be noted that the women-centric initiative, spearheaded by the Department of Women Resource Development, was aimed at empowering women from all backgrounds by supporting sustainable livelihood and income-generating activities.
As a pilot phase, Khonoma village has been selected for the Myki village adoption initiative with a focus on sustainable income-generating activities, especially local garlic cultivation.
Under this project, 30 women beneficiaries have been selected for garlic cultivation and seed money was handed over to the women by the minister.