Vaagrikai, a store for jewellery made by Narikuravars, inaugurated

Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin inaugurated the store; NABARD has supported the training imparted to Narikuravars by jewellery designers in the last six months in Kancheepuram district

A unique store called Vaagrikai has been set up at Sriperumbudur, a town panchayat in Kancheepuram district, to sell jewellery made by the Narikuravar community in and around the area.

“The store will be run by a team of Narikuravars with the support of the district officials. We are hearing that there are students from the community who have done degrees in marketing, finance and MBA. We will pick them and train them to run the business,” Kancheepuram Collector M. Aarthi said.

Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin formally inaugurated the story on Wednesday.

In the last six months, several members from the Narikuravar community were provided training by jewellery designers. This was done with the help the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) under its Micro Enterprise Development Programme (MEDP). SIDBI has given ₹5 lakh for this venture as part of its CSR programme.

“We intend to train more people from the community as demand for silk jewellery is high. We have spoken to online platforms like Amazon for a tie-up. We are in discussions with the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) to house these products at their counters across the State,” Ms. Aarthi said.

According to her, the community is very good at jewellery making but they have always under-priced their products. “Through this store and the e-commerce platforms, they will get a good deal for their work,” she said.