In Sirkazhi’s villages, palm leaves are helping women weave peace into their lives

At a modest training hall in Agani village near Sirkazhi, women sit cross-legged, their fingers gently folding strips of dried palm leaf. There’s no hum of machinery, no urgency in the air — just quiet concentration and the occasional shared laugh. This is not a factory or a business hub, but something rarer: a place where rural women, many of them struggling with domestic problems, find focus, companionship, and relief.

The initiative is led by Valanadu Sustainable Agriculture Producer Company, a women-run farmer producer company supported by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.

Since launching a palm-leaf handicrafts training programme, the company has drawn in women from across Sirkazhi taluk — housewives, farm labourers, and informal workers aged 18 to 50 — offering not only skills, but also emotional space, its CEO Subhashini Sridhar said.

“The original idea was to help women supplement their income through palm leaf-based products such as baskets, garlands, puja trays, earrings, and phone holders. The raw material— palm leaves — is locally available and sustainable. While the target is to help each woman eventually earn around ₹5,000 a month, the real impact so far has been psychological, not financial,” she said.

“Many women come from households affected by alcoholism and stress,” said K. Malathi, a trainer who leads the sessions alongside G. Parvathy. “Some are discouraged from leaving their house. But once they start working with the palm leaves, they feel calmer. That’s why they stay.”

The training sessions are modest — for every two months, about 30 women may begin in a batch, but only those truly interested continue. Roughly 20 persist. They either come to the centre or take the materials home, working at their own pace. Though sales happen occasionally at temple stalls, especially near Vaitheeswaran Koil and Thirukkadaiyur, the group earns little at present. The company is planning to set up stalls at all temple festivals in the vicinity.

Rajeshwari V., an agricultural worker from Aachapuram village, said, “My husband rarely comes home sober. I used to feel like I was breaking from the inside. Now, when I do this work, I feel peaceful. Even if I don’t earn much, I’ve gained something else — mental peace.”

Others echo the same feeling. “You can’t do this work if you’re angry,” said Subathra S. from Nanthiyanallur village. “Your mind has to be calm. That’s how it teaches us to be still,” she added.

The participants say the work builds not only skills but also solidarity. Caste and village boundaries dissolve over shared craft. “We sit together and talk. That itself is a kind of healing,” said Priyadharshini from Agani village.

The company hopes to become a full-fledged cooperative one day. For now, though, it functions as a quiet support system — giving women a sense of purpose, creative outlet, and emotional relief.