Skill development in preparation of cleaning reagents: Fostering women entrepreneurs

Introduction

In the present day the role of adequate cleanliness and hygiene has become inevitable in controlling the spread of infection in public places and private places. Cleaning reagents are substances (usually liquids, powders, sprays or granules) used to remove dirt including dust, stains, foul orders and clutter on surfaces. Purposes of cleaning reagents include health, beauty, removing offensive odor and avoiding the spread of dirt and contaminants to oneself and others. Women's empowerment is a fundamental human right enables them to take control of their life and positively influence society. Discrimination against women and gender inequality are widespread and some women experience several forms of exclusion and discrimination because of their background or caste. The link between a job and the workforce is skill. Women often have distinct training demands than men since they are more likely to work as low-paid seasonal laborers, home-based microentrepreneurs, subsistence farmers or contributing family workers in addition to taking care of their families and household responsibilities. Enhancing women's employability, incomeearning opportunities and household production are all dependent on skill development which can improve sustainable rural development and livelihoods (Girija and Shruti, 2024) [2] . The largest obstacles women entrepreneurs are facing include illiteracy, inadequate training and a lack of skill development. The right Women Entrepreneurship Programmes (WEP) can help remove these obstacles. Women should be treated as equal participants in the economy, free from economic, social, political, and genderbased discrimination as they contribute to the nation's economic growth (Chitra et al. 2017) [1] .

It is widely recognized that women's work and economic capabilities can help them achieve their own control over resources and grow in self-worth and confidence. The process of skill development for rural women involves organizing themselves to increase their own self-reliance, support their independent right to make choices, and control resources that will help them challenge and eliminate their own assistant. Due to a shortage of job opportunities, people from rural areas are moving to urban areas. The rural women lack productive skills and drop out of school. With the help of vocational skill training, the issues of unemployment and poverty will be resolved, and they will succeed as entrepreneurs (Madhu Kumari, 2015) [4] . Vijaya and Lokhandha (2013) [6] opined that training and skill development programs will increase women's income and empowerment with high efficiency. Ability and expertise will help women get the confidence they need to lead their businesses. In order to encourage women entrepreneurs generally, a specific path of mentoring for aspiring female entrepreneurs must be devised in order to improve their performance in their intended business (Kittur Praveen, 2014) [3] . According to Mamta (2014) [5] , women must develop their own strength and ability to begin their projects in this male-dominated society. Women entrepreneurs should be supported and encouraged by selfhelp groups, non-governmental organizations, government agencies and microfinance organizations. Therefore, in this skill training programme the participants will be given awareness on the importance of Household Cleaning Reagents in daily life and the production of these household cleaning products to start as a small-scale enterprise by women. The demonstrations on preparation of various cleaning reagents such as Detergent powder (Surf), Liquid Dish washer, Liquid Hand wash, Phenol, Liquid detergent, Floor cleaner will be imparted to the participants. Further demonstration on weighing the product, packing, sealing and labelling the product will be given so that the women can start it as small-scale enterprise for income generation. Objectives 1. To develop entrepreneurial skills among rural women 2. To give awareness on sanitation and hygiene to scheduled caste people in the rural areas

Methodology

Research Design: Quasi experimental design was used.

Sampling technique: Market survey was done to identify the existing cleaning reagents used by the rural women under SC category. Purposive random sampling technique was adopted for selecting rural SC women to impart skill development training programme on preparation of household cleaning reagents for income generation.

Locale of the sample: Two villages near Guntur city viz. Nidumukkala in Tadikonda Mandal, Venigandla in Pedakakani mandal were selected.

Sample size:

Research was carried out with a sample of 120 rural SC women from two selected villages 60 from each village.

Selection of the sample:

A list of women from SC category was collected from village panchayat in the two consecutive financial years from 2023-25. From the procured list 60 women were selected from Nidumukkala village The responses for pre and post training assessment test were collected using 3-point likert scale fully aware, partially aware and not aware with scores 3,2 and 1 respectively. Data were analyzed using frequency and percentage scores.

Results and Discussion

The results and findings of the present study as obtained from the analysis of the data under the following heads 1. General profile of trainees

I. General profile of trainees 1. Age of trainees

The age of the trainees selected for the training programme ranged between 18 to 35 years. Trainees between 18 to 25 years and 25 to 30 years were found to be 37.5 percent and 33.33 percent respectively. Nearly one fourth of the trainees belong to the age group of 30 to 35 years.

Education

The data pertaining to education revealed that nearly three fourth of the trainees (70.83%) were educated up to intermediate education whereas remaining trainees have to SSC (16.66%) and degree qualification (12.50%).

Occupation

Nearly half (58.33%) of the trainees were employed as daily wage labour whereas only 16.66% were self-employed and remaining one fourth of the trainees are home makers.

Monthly Income

Almost half of the trainees earn monthly income of below Rs.5000/-where as 41.66% earn an income between Rs.5000/-Rs.7000/-. Preparation and hands on experience on preparation of floor cleaner using various chemicals was given to the participants. Awareness on precautions needed to be taken care while preparing these household cleaning reagents was explained to the participants. Next session has started with the introduction of preparation of liquid detergent and liquid dishwash. They were trained in identifying the list of ingredients needed to prepare the liquid detergent and liquid dishwash. Demonstration on preparation of liquid detergent and liquid dishwash was shown and explained to the participants.

The last session has started with the preparation of handwash. Demonstration on preparation of handwash was shown and explained to the participants. The training programme was closed with a valedictory session. The trainees exhibited the household cleaning reagents prepared by them. Beneficiaries were given "Certificates of participation" of training programme. Participants were given information on the preparation of various household cleaning reagents to be used for various purposes along with proportioned chemicals, method of mixing and proper procedures.

They were briefed about precautions to be used in using chemicals to prepare the household cleaning reagents. The trainees were opined that they were satisfied with the training programme. Few of them expressed about provision of financial assistance to them by the institutes and provision for marketing avenues for establishment and marketing their products.

Dr. V. Prasuna addressing the trainees on need of awareness on importance of adequate cleanliness, usage and preparation of Household Cleaning Reagents

Trainees exhibiting various cleaning reagents prepared by them during the training programme

IV. Post training Assessment

The post-training assessment (Table 4) reveals a highly positive impact on participants knowledge, confidence and entrepreneurial readiness regarding cleaning reagent www.extensionjournal.com preparation. A majority (83.33%) trainees reported that they understood how to create household cleaning reagents. A significant change from previous knowledge gaps, 100% of participants reported complete awareness of the cleaning reagents for the washroom, kitchen, floor, personal hygiene and laundry. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the successful training programme. 66.66% of trainees felt entirely confident in their ability to make cleaning products on their own and another 29.16% felt moderately confident, demonstrating the effectiveness of hands-on experience strategies. Participants appear to have understood key elements of product presentation and consumer safety as evidenced by the fact that 66.66% of them were completely capable of creating and attaching appropriate labels such as name, use and expiration of the product. Additionally, 75% of trainees knew how to exactly measure and weigh components, demonstrating how well technical skills were understood from the training programme. 75% of trainees had a thorough understanding of product shelf life including how long cleaning products can be kept after preparation. This knowledge is essential for both quality control and consumer assistance. 83.33% of participants showed full understanding when it came to identifying the right ingredients for each type of cleaning reagent, indicating that they can now choose and mix products appropriately. The same proportion showed consideration for safe packaging procedures by knowing how to correctly seal containers. Significant progress toward entrepreneurial readiness was confirmed by the fact that 83.33% of trainees could calculate the cost of producing a cleaning product an aspect in which there was no prior awareness. Similarly, 83.33% gained knowledge of branding, which promotes the marketability and identification of products. All participants reported desire in leveraging their abilities to establish a small business or produce revenue demonstrating great entrepreneurial motivation. Additionally, all participants learned about government financial support programmes for launching firms. Lastly 100% of participants stated that they would suggest this program to other women in their community indicating their high level of satisfaction and understanding of its transformative potential. Overall, the data clearly shows that the training was highly effective in building technical skills, business awareness and confidence among women participants, preparing them to take the next steps towards self-reliance and enterprise. At the end of the training programme, feedback was collected from the participants and certificates were distributed to all the participants and a training kit consists of raw materials for preparation of various cleaning reagents were given to the participants.

Implications

The skill development training on preparation of cleaning reagents will enhance the technical knowledge and entrepreneurial skills of rural women. Through hands-on demonstrations, participants will gain confidence in making household cleaning products and understanding their applications.

Future Scope

This type of trainings will promote and train women to make and sell home-made cleaning reagents and support for small scale business that helps in empowering women in low-income and rural communities by creating selfemployment opportunities.

Conclusion

The skill development training on preparation of cleaning reagents successfully enhanced the technical knowledge and entrepreneurial skills of rural SC women. Pre-training assessments revealed significant gaps in awareness and practice especially in cost calculation, safety and product

References

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