Amda (Kharsawan), June 19: Till a little over two months ago, Sunvar Madhuban of Manjkahi village in Kuchai block here was like any other homemaker, her life centred around bringing up her two children.

Now, life has changed for Sunvar, who is busy with her spinning machine all day, weaving silk yarns and earning a decent living.

The turn in her life came about thanks to the silk-art training centre set up at Amda by the state government in association with National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT).

Sunvar is not the only one to have found a new way of earning from the centre.

Rani Munda of Khejuda could hardly make ends meet with the meagre income from farming.

Now, nifty on her spinning machine, she is contributing quite an amount to her family?s earning.

Aakarshani, the training centre, was set up at Amda where around 100 villagers have already undergone training and are now working on the machines provided at a subsidy of over 90 per cent .

The project, initiated by chief minister Arjun Munda, has been set up here, keeping in mind the potential of the Kuchai block for sericulture.

According to project executive officer Chandan Kisku, the area is the highest producer of cocoons in the country ? churning out around 130 metric tonnes every year.

Kisku said those interested would be divided into groups, each comprising between 10 and 15 people, for training in reeling and spinning.

The idea behind setting up the centre here was to make residents in the area aware of the high value of cocoons and paying them the right price for them, he added.

?The tie-up with NIFT will be effective for four years during which 5,280 candidates selected from different villages across the state will be trained in reeling, spinning, weaving and computer-aided designing on Kuchai silk material,? said Kisku.

?The training will be conducted in 176 batches and the total cost of the project has been pegged at Rs 5.57 crore. The two best students from each batch will be sent to NIFT?s centre in Calcutta for further training.?

After the initial spinning and reeling programme, the trainees will be taught designing and weaving as well.

After completion of the course, the candidate will be awarded a certificate and a cheque of Rs 1,500, along with a machine at a 90 per cent subsidy and raw material.

Prem Kumar Gupta, the assistant superintendent, said within two months, the production of cocoon has improved tremendously and hopes that it will get better with time.