A Promila Entrepreneur of Kauna

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E-Pao! Profile Feature - Akhom <I>ongbi</I> Promila

Akhom ongbi Promila
— Entrepreneur of Kauna products —

By: Thingnam Anjulika Samom *

Every conceivable inch of her courtyard bears testimony to her work. Half woven kauna cushions, mats and bags are strewn across her outhouse and the shumang. They have to be softened in the overnight dew to be ready for the next day’s work, she explains.

The overhanging beams of her house are heavy with bundles of the reed, waiting for their turn to be shaped by deft and magical fingers and an imaginative mind into all kinds of items.

Akhom ongbi Promila has been in the business for nearly one and half decade now. But when she was growing up in her parents’ house in Singjamei Leishangthem Leikai, she had not even an inkling that the very reed mat on which she crouches every morning and evening for her morning lessons would be the key to unlock the creativity and the businesswomen in her.

Perhaps it was from her father late Leishangthem Indrabi, a businessman and shopowner, that Promila got her talents at entrepreneurship.

Or perhaps from her mother Tamuhen who ran a jewellery shop that she got her creativity. Or perhaps it was a bit from both parents that made Promila and her work a huge success.

Promila is the third among eight siblings. She did her early as well as higher secondary schooling at the nearby Singjamei Girls Higher Secondary School.

But bookish studies were never her cup of tea. Instead the creative artist in her made her explore various creative fields such as singing and drama.

She is trained in adhunik or modern Manipuri music from an early age and has represented her school in many competitions. She also enrolled for a one year training course in make-up at the Manipur Dramatic Union (MDU) in Yaiskul during her Class XII. It was here that she met her husband Rasho, who was also a young actor at MDU.

It was after their marriage in 1994, that Promila’s true calling was nurtured in a way. Her husband’s family had a long tradition of working with kauna reeds. Rasho remembers his own grandmother making kauna reed mats to sell at the market.

His own mother also made kauna mats, but also introduced kauna cushions as part of her products. Promila along with her sister-in-laws soon learnt the art, and started channeling her creativity into the work at hand.

Sometime later she and her husband, along with the help of her sister-in-laws together set up a new venture called Akhom Handicrafts to produce a range of innovative kauna products.

For eighteen long years, they worked together, patiently with dedication – struggling not only to make the products but also to get new trainees.

Kouna Products in display at 2nd Eco-Crafts Bazaar

In 2002, Promila opened her own venture under the name Promila Kauna Crafts at Kongba Nandeibam Leikai with an all-women team to produce besides the

traditional mats,
creative works such as cushions,
baskets,
handbags,
mats,
footstools,
table lamp shades,
wall hangings,
fruit trays,
mobile covers and
jewellery boxes.

However she hasn’t gone in for any kind of training for her new innovations, most of which has sprung up from customer’s demands and her own originality. She also spends part of her day in imparting free training to interested students.

Promila’s kauna products have carved out a niche market for itself; she has regular customers not only in Manipur but also in Nagaland and Assam. A sales outlet was recently opened in Guwahati too under the initiative of the State Art and Culture Department to showcase her products. “It is an eco-friendly product, and we have a huge demand both in India and abroad as well,” she explains.

Ultimately she plans to set up an export unit as well as a raw material bank. “I need adequate supply of raw material that is kauna reed if I am to start exporting,” she explains and adds that she is arranging to set up a plantation unit for kauna reeds to ensure regular supply.

“But a problem area is that kauna is a seasonal plant, and as such we have to store a whole year’s supply at one go after a drying process. Sometimes if the drying is not done properly, we lose most of the reed to fungus,” she said.

However despite all setbacks, Promila is happy with her role as proprietor of Promila Kauna Crafts. “The work itself is creative, and also a good thing is that it is self-sustaining,” she said, exhorting that working with kauna could play a major role in bringing down the unemployment figure in the state.

Promila has two sons – 12 year old Jenish and 11 year old Ronish. She has taken part in many exhibitions across the state as well as the country including Bhopal, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Guwahati and Delhi.

She also bagged the second prize in the state level REGP exhibition in 2006/7.

Thingnam Anjulika Samom wrote this article for The Sangai Express . You can contact the writer at thingnam(at)yahoo(dot)com . This article was webcasted on April 18th, 2007

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