Altogether 600 youths of the Northeast are going to be trained to make utensils from tree leaves under an entrepreneurship-training programme at the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) in Hyderabad. The Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD) is collaborating with the initiative.

The two institutes are organising the programme for youths of eight northeastern states which will help address the unemployment problem in the region.

The first batch, comprising 30 youths from West Imphal, Thoubal and Kakching districts of Manipur, have received training on “leaf plate and cup making” held on the NIRDPR campus from December 9 to 14.

“They were exposed to different kinds of leaves available in abundance in the Northeast that could be converted into plates, cups, glasses and spoons, replacing similar plastic products,” director-general of the NIRDPR, W.R. Reddy, said.

Reddy exhorted the trainees to become employers providing jobs to other youths in the Northeast by becoming successful entrepreneurs instead of looking up to others to provide employment.

Vasanthi Rajendra of the RGNYID said: “The skill development programme to youths from the Northeast will immensely help them as they can stand on their own by initiating enterprises. Their products will not only meet the requirement of local areas but will also be supplied to other parts of the country.”

Under this programme, the trainees will be taught mushroom cultivation, making compressed stabilised earthen blocks, sustainable housing technologies, making home-based products like phenyl, dish wash powder, detergent powder, solar lights assembling installations and maintenance, making leaf plates and cups, herbal beauty care products, neem products, vermi compost and vermi wash liquid, honey processing and packaging, ethnic bag making and food processing through solar dehydration, among others.

The first batch of trainees got hands-on training on machinery. They were told about various aspects of entrepreneurship, marketing and raising financial resources. Raw materials were given to the trainees upon completion of the training.