CHENNAI: While most women who work with Self-Help Groups (SHG) around the city are involved in businesses where quantity is the selling point, a small group of women from the Irula community have stormed the exclusive bastion of rearing ornamental fish. “Before we started this business, there was almost no source of employment or income for us,” explains Valli, who was part of the founding group of women who started ‘Pournami Fish Culture’, in Perungalathur. Though plenty of commercial farms had been set up in the same area by organised breeders, 13 women took up the trade in 2002 because it had the promise of good returns.“We are from a community that used to thrive on fishing in fresh water bodies,” explains Vijaya. “And so, when we heard about this business of rearing fish, we decided to try our hand at it.” Luckily for them, the business never slackened and has grown steadily. “We now have more than 30 varieties of fishes that sell for anywhere between `1 (guppies) and `500. This brings us an average monthly income of `8,000-10,000, that is putting our children through school comfortably,” she adds. In fact, over the last three years, the demand for fish from them has grown well above the amount they are able to cater to.How the sole SHG involved in growing fish began, is an interesting tale. “We were taught how to set up fish pond-aquariums behind our huts and how to care for certain breeds of ornamental fish by researchers from Krishi Vignyan Kendra (KVK), at Kattupakkam,” adds Valli. Once the TANUVAS researchers helped them acquire the knowledge on how to set up, only the funding remained. Popular varieties such as angelfish, goldfish, fighter and swordtail are their mainstays, she accounts.“We had no money for initial capital and so we turned to funds from the government,” explains Vijaya. Not only did the Kanchipuram district administration oblige, they have been extremely supportive since then, she says. “The DRDA even set up a sales counter where we can conduct our fish sales in a more professional manner with clients and buyers from the city,” she adds. While the majority of their takers are aquariums and fish houses from all parts of Chennai, there are the rare few individuals who approach them with specific requests. “We have a flowerhorn that we have been growing for five years now. Many people have offered to pay us even Rs 25,000 for it, but we are holding on to it still,” says Valli.
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