These women in Mulanthuruthy are the ‘stars’ ahead of Christmas as they have launched a programme to make and sell LED stars for the 2017 season. The Vanitha Vedhi women’s group under Mulanthuruthy Public Library hopes to sell around 300 of the stars which feature LED lighting systems assembled by them.

The ‘stars’ initiative is the continuation of a project to locally assemble and repair LED lighting systems launched in August this year. The women’s forum received a lot of public attention with its initiative. The price of the stars being sold ahead of the festival this season ranges between ₹130 and ₹230.

The women are confident that the products are priced competitively. The group of women is already well-known in the area with their brand of LED lighting systems under the name ‘Sooryakanthi’. They have been selling LED bulbs and tube lights under the brand name.

Ajitha Ramachandran, who is among the group of women, said on Saturday that they expected good response from the public as the people were aware of the novelty of their initiative. Besides selling stars during the Christmas-New Year season, the group of women also hopes to popularise LED lighting systems to save energy.

Early this year, Ms. Ramachandran along with Benny Lalan decided to get trained in making LED lighting systems. They were part of a group of around a hundred women in three batches who were given training in LED assembling and repairing. The initiative has helped substantially in increasing the reach of LED lighting systems in the neighbourhoods of the Vanitha Vedhi.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / Kochi – December 04th, 2017