Oct. 29: They have been cheated of the colours of the world, but they are replacing the disability with fragrance — in their lives and that of others.

The students of Guwahati Blind School are making incense sticks, under the brand name Glory, as a means of livelihood. Altogether 30 boys and girls of the school learnt the intricacies of the craft at a programme conducted by the Vocational Rehabilitation Centre for Handicapped from September 22 to October 10.

An official of the centre said the students were extremely eager to learn the work. “This shows they want to live a life of their own despite their handicap,” he added.

The students’ zeal and the excellent quality of their work prompted the centre to open a manufacturing unit at the Blind School. “We did not want them to remain idle after completing the training programme. Moreover, the quality of their product is excellent. So we decided to support them by starting a manufacturing unit,” an official of the Vocational Rehabilitation Centre for Handicapped said.

The unit, also named Glory, will be inaugurated at the Blind School on Tuesday.

The centre has already sent samples of the incense sticks to various corporate houses. Impressed with the work, many of them have decided to provide marketing support to the incense-stick makers.

The Blind School students have a target of making one lakh incense sticks per month. “If they can meet the target, we might set up more units for them,” the official added. The returns will be divided among the incense-stick workers.

Among those who have promised to provide marketing support to the venture are NEDFi and the Assam Financial Corporation. The Lions Club has also pitched in and their district governor, M.P. Agarwal, will be the chief guest at the inauguration of the manufacturing unit.

The official said marketing support was essential for the initiative to succeed, adding that the corporate sector’s response was very encouraging.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Centre for Handicapped, set up under the Union ministry of labour and employment, identifies persons with disabilities and helps them with job opportunities and integrated education programmes. It identifies the physically challenged under five categories — the orthopaedically challenged, the hearing impaired, the visually impaired, the mild mentally retarded and the leprosy cured — and accordingly provides them training.