GANGTOK: The Department of Forest and Environment Department of Sikkim through the ENVIS Cell has been operating a marketing outlet at Forest Secretariat Deorali, to provide a small scale retailing platform for local natural produce such as sweet honey, sour honey and bamboo crafts.
These products are the outcome of green skilled manpower resources located at rural areas of the state who had under gone capacity building and livelihood based skilling under the Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP) implemented by the department.
The marketing outlet featuring the products of Green Skill Development Programme includes bamboo crafts, naturally extracted honey and beekeeping tools, briquettes and skilled manpower resources for outsourcing services for solar PV installation and so on.
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The products displayed for sale in this outlet are prepared by green skilled manpower from rural communities.
The outlet intends to provide marketing opportunities to these beneficiaries for generating a source of livelihood through sustainable development initiatives. So far 425 local youths, school dropouts and farmers from Sikkim have been benefitted through the Green Skill Development Programme under the ENVIS scheme funded by the Ministry.
The GSDP marketing outlet of Sikkim ENVIS Hub is located at a strategic location near inter-state taxi terminus at Deorali, Gangtok.
The marketing space has been allocated by the Forest and Environment Department in its office premises at the peripheral unit of Forest Secretariat D-Block.
This makes tourist and commuters to stopover at the store to explore and buy gift items, household items of bamboo and other products such as honey and so on.
The marketing outlet which was inaugurated on 7th March 2022 has made some impact on boosting the rural economy of GSDP beneficiaries.
Many of the candidates are also marketing their products themselves at local level through bazaar haats, melas, exhibition, trade fair etc