Enabling Women of Kamand

[[File:Salgi Village EWOK Jan20 D72 13798 01.jpg|thumb|300px|left|EWOK

office, Salgi Village, Jan 2020 (marked in yellow near right edge)]]

In 2014, a student team from IIT Mandi conducted a survey of women in nearby villages. The study revealed that about 75% of them had not completed schooling (12th grade), limiting them to low paid, unskilled jobs. However, they showed a keen interest in being trained and guided. A lack of awareness, guidance and training has restricted the potential for growth and employment for local women.{{cite web|url=https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1279&context=iqp-all |title=Info |publisher=digitalcommons.wpi.edu |accessdate=2020-04-12}} EWOK was formally started by IIT Mandi in April 2016.{{cite web|url=http://iitmandi.ac.in/|publisher=Indian Institute of Technology Mandi|title=Indian Institute of Technology Mandi|access-date=2 April 2020}} On 18 November 2019 EWOK was registered as a society under the Himachal Pradesh Societies Registration Act of 2006.{{cite web|url=http://ewok.in/|title=EWOK - Enabling Women of Kamand|publisher=Indian Institute of Technology Mandi|access-date=2 April 2020}}

EWOK aims to create an eco-system of women-centric entrepreneurship and employment in the Kamand valley of Himachal Pradesh. It focuses on imparting skills training to rural women to enable them to start village-scale businesses. Aiming to bridge the gap between academia, industry and the local community, EWOK has partnered with women from the four panchayats of Kamand, Kataula, Katindhi and Navlaya in Mandi District.{{cite web|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2018/jul/12/himachal-pradesh-iit-mandi-helps-rural-women-turn-entrepreneurs-in-queen-of-hills-1842182.html|title=Himachal Pradesh: IIT-Mandi helps rural women turn entrepreneurs in Queen of Hills|publisher=The New Indian Express, 12 July 2018|access-date=2 April 2020}} EWOK's goals include: helping local women develop employable skills and get better access to relevant information; building a network to bring information on employment and training opportunities to local women, and to connect them to potential employers; and, to enhance the language and communication skills of women, along with their computer proficiency and general professional skills and confidence.

In May 2017, the Government of Himachal Pradesh awarded EWOK a grant of Rs. 30 lakhs in order to support entrepreneurship in the region.

In March 2020, IIT Mandi and EWOK signed an agreement with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to set up 3 farmer producer organisations in Mandi District over a 3-year period. NABARD provided Rs. 35 lakhs funding for this purpose.{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/nabard-sanctions-rs-35-lakhs-to-iit-mandi-ewok-3-farmer-producer-organisations-divd-1651577-2020-03-02|publisher=India Today, 2 March 2020|title=NABARD sanctions Rs 35 lakhs to IIT Mandi and EWOK Society to set up 3 Farmer Producer Organisations|access-date=8 April 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/iit-mandi-inks-pact-with-nabard-for-setting-up-3-fpos-in-himachal-pradesh/1886567/|publisher=Financial Express, 2 March 2020|title=IIT Mandi inks pact with NABARD for setting up 3 FPOs in Himachal Pradesh|date=2 March 2020|access-date=8 April 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/education/nabard-sanctions-inr-35-lakh-to-iit-mandi-for-framer-producer-organisations-2188567|publisher=NDTV, 2 March 2020|title=NABARD Sanctions INR 35 Lakh To IIT Mandi For Farmer Producer Organisations|access-date=8 April 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/iit-mandi-receives-funding-from-nabard-to-set-up-farm-producer-bodies/articleshow/74441627.cms|publisher=The Economic Times, 2 March 2020|title=IIT Mandi receives funding from NABARD to set up farm producer bodies|newspaper=The Economic Times|access-date=2 April 2020|last1=Venugopalan|first1=Anjali}} Each of the FPOs specialises in certain crops and value addition. EWOK provides them with technical and other assistance, in collaboration with IIT Mandi. On 7 June 2022, EWOK conducted a training session on tagetes cultivation during which seeds were distributed to 60 farmers. Oil is extracted from the tagetes seeds using an extraction unit from CSIR-IHBT, Palampur.{{Cite news

|last=Tribune News Service

|date=20 Jun 2022

|title=Farmers given flower plant seeds in Mandi

|work=The Tribune (Chandigarh)

|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/himachal/farmers-given-flower-plant-seeds-405554

|access-date=18 Jul 2022}}

So far, EWOK has incubated over 12 start-ups generating employment for over 60 rural women.{{cite web|url=https://www.thestatesman.com/cities/shimla/nabard-iit-mandi-signs-mou-develop-farmer-friendly-tech-1502861948.html|publisher=The Statesman, 2 March 2020|title=NABARD, IIT Mandi sign MoU to develop farmer friendly tech|date=2 March 2020|access-date=8 April 2020}} EWOK publishes regular newsletters with a summary of its activities.{{cite web|url=http://ewok.in/newsletters.php|title=EWOK - Enabling Women of Kamand valley < IIT Mandi|website=ewok.in}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://www.ewok.in/}}
• [http://iitmandi.ac.in/ Indian Institute of Technology Mandi]

Category:Business incubators of India

Category:IIT Mandi

Category:2016 establishments in Himachal Pradesh

Category:Organisations based in Himachal Pradesh

Category:Organizations established in 2016

Category:Women in India