Shikha Jain (left) is representing Neev in Ethiopia. Telegraph picture

Jamshedpur, May 19: Organic soaps manufactured in villages are going places, literally.

Fifteen self-help groups (SHGs) working under city-based NGO Neev (New Education and Environment Visions) to manufacture herbal soaps in Hurlung under Ghurabandha panchayat will get a platform at the second Africa-India Summit at Addis Ababa in Ethiopia from May 20 to 25.

The summit, a platform for the governments of both countries to strengthen their multi-sectoral ties and tackle contemporary opportunities and challenges will see six NGOs participating from India, including Neev. Shikha Jain, one of the directors of Neev, will showcase the initiatives by rural women at the global summit titled Enhancing Partnership: Shared Visions. Leaders of both countries, members of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and external affairs ministry, and representatives of NGOs will attend the event.

Neev will make its presentation under Dastkari Haat Samiti, a nationwide association that brings craftsmen from across the country to expand the reach of handmade products. “Currently, Shikha is in Ethiopia to present how we work and what actually our product is. Since the summit is to explore opportunities and collaborations between two countries in the handicraft product sector, I think this is a huge opportunity for rural women producing organic soaps. The demand for Neev herbal soaps is already high wherever we have marketed them. It’s going to get bigger now,” said another Neev director Anurag Jain.

Neev herbal soaps sell like hotcakes at the annual India International Trade Fair in New Delhi. But Ethiopia is not their first global outing as the soaps earned a following at Canton Trade Fair in Guangzhou, China, last year.

”Neev herbal handmade soaps are made from vegetable oils such as coconut, olive and palm and purest essential oils without using chemicals or artificial colours. Freshness and quality of ingredients and gentle processing all contribute to our exceptional product. Currently, we have collaborations with retail stores in cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune, where the products are greatly appreciated,” said Jain.

At present Neev produces 5,000 soaps a month in five varieties such as neem and tulsi, olive rose, almond rose, patchouli and lemongrass. A new variety — aloe vera — is on the anvil. The soaps are also certified by AYUSH under Union ministry of health and family welfare and registered under Khadi Village Industries Commission.