125 Stalls: Madurai's 'Shakthi Sandhai' Builds a Direct Market for Women

One hundred and twenty-five stalls run by women entrepreneurs filled Mahatma School Baba Campus at Surveyor Colony in Madurai on October 24, as the 'Shakthi Sandhai' expo turned the school grounds into a working marketplace for women-made products.

Green Fem Producer Company, an initiative of VAPS, organized the event in collaboration with Soroptimist International-Madurai and Mahatma Group of Schools. The organizers frame it as a community initiative leading towards women empowerment — but the practical mechanics matter more than the framing for anyone selling at this scale.

What does the expo change for sellers?

It removes the middleman. Mrs. R. Elamathi, Director of Green Fem Producer Company, said the initiative has now become a strong local market for grassroots women to sell their products directly to customers.

"There were 125 stalls of women-made products by Green Fem members and other women entrepreneurs who sold homemade masalas, millets, value-added foods, organic vegetables and greens, natural and organic cosmetics, honey and biodegradable bags," Elamathi said.

That product range tells its own story. These are low-capital, home-production categories — masalas, millets, honey — where direct customer access decides whether a producer earns a margin or hands it to intermediaries.

An 18-month journey from 'Arogya Sandhai'

The market did not appear overnight. Elamathi said the initiative started as 'Arokyya Sandhai' one and a half years ago — roughly 18 months of weekly or periodic selling before it grew into a 125-stall expo.

For practitioners watching similar models, that growth curve matters. A market that sustains itself for a year and a half has cleared the basic survival test that kills most pop-up trading platforms.

Training before the stall

Mr. S. Arul, secretary of VAPS (Voluntary Association for People's Service, Besant Road, Chokkikulam, Madurai), said proper training is the first step towards a successful enterprise.

VAPS provides the supporting infrastructure around the market: entrepreneurship guidance, financial counselling, confidence building, and information about Central and State government subsidy and credit schemes, according to a press release.

That last piece — subsidy and credit scheme information — is often the binding constraint for micro-entrepreneurs. A marketplace without financing literacy gets footfall; one paired with it gets compounding.

Who backed it

Ms. Tanoo Singh IPS, Assistant Superintendent of Police (Oomachikulam Sub-Division), Madurai district, attended as chief guest. She said platforms like 'Shakthi Sandhai' help women showcase their products, earn income and become economically self-reliant.

Mrs. Premalatha Panneerselvam, founder of Mahatma Group of Schools, put the host institution's position simply: women need opportunities to grow their business and reach the market. Donating campus space is one way a school can supply exactly that.

Mrs. Mehroon Ismail, president of Soroptimist International-Madurai, welcomed the gathering, and Elamathi proposed the vote of thanks. Mrs. Anita Rajarajan, founder president of Soroptimist International Madurai, attended the inaugural along with office-bearers and members, the press release said.

Beyond Madurai

The exhibition also reached into neighboring Theni district. It displayed silk cotton pillows made by women of Thensudar Pengal Iyakkam, a women's movement supported by Arogya Agam at Aundipatty in Theni.

That detail signals the model's replicability: a producer group 70-plus kilometers from the venue still found a sales channel through the Green Fem network.

For women's producer groups elsewhere in Tamil Nadu, the question 'what does this change for me' now has a working answer — a demonstrated 18-month pathway from small health-focused market to a 125-stall expo, backed by training and scheme-linkage support.