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SINCE 2015

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Empowering women, children, youth, and the differently-abled through inclusive education, skill development, and ecological responsibility.

Medicinal & Aromatic Plant Livelihood | Ballsy Group Foundation

Farm-based livelihood · Jorhat, Assam

Cultivating knowledge. Growing women-led livelihoods.

Ballsy Group Foundation trained 300 women farmers in medicinal and aromatic plant farming and primary processing—building practical capabilities that can grow into resilient, community-rooted rural enterprises.

Funding support: NABARD Technical support: CSIR–NEIST
A woman farmer tending medicinal and aromatic plants in a village garden in Jorhat
From scientific cultivation practices to primary processing, the initiative connects knowledge with livelihood potential.
300 Women farmers trained
14 Villages covered
02 Institutional partners

Project overview

Building skills across the farm-to-processing pathway

The programme was designed to strengthen women farmers' capabilities in the cultivation, handling and processing of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs).

Delivered across 14 villages in Jorhat district, the initiative combined grassroots mobilisation with institutional funding and scientific technical guidance. Practical participation helped translate training into locally relevant farm-level learning.

The intervention establishes a foundation for future support in input access, quality planting material, value addition, collective enterprise and market linkage.

Livelihood pathway

Skills that connect cultivation with value addition

The programme focuses on practical capabilities at key points of the MAP value chain, while creating a base for future enterprise development.

01

Scientific orientation

Introducing women farmers to medicinal and aromatic plants, suitable practices and the livelihood possibilities around them.

02

Cultivation skills

Strengthening practical knowledge of propagation, planting, crop care and responsible farm management.

03

Harvest & handling

Building awareness of careful harvesting, sorting and handling practices that help protect raw-material quality.

04

Primary processing

Creating a foundation for value addition, collective production and stronger future linkages with buyers and markets.

Women farmers participating in field preparation and sowing activities in Jorhat

Importance

Why medicinal and aromatic plants matter for rural livelihoods

Diversified livelihood opportunities

MAP cultivation can complement existing farm activities and widen the range of income-generating options available to rural households.

Women-led economic participation

Practical skills and organised production can strengthen women's role in farm decisions, value addition and collective enterprise.

Value retained within villages

Processing, grading and better handling create the potential to move beyond raw produce and retain more value closer to producers.

Knowledge-based cultivation

Scientific technical inputs can improve consistency, encourage responsible practices and reduce avoidable production and quality risks.

Potential for scale

A strong platform for the next stage of livelihood development

With continued institutional support, the skills created through this initiative can be developed into a more complete producer ecosystem—from quality inputs and farm planning to processing, enterprise and market linkage.

Cluster-based expansion

Deepen support within the 14-village footprint and extend the model to additional farmer groups through demonstrations, mentoring and peer learning.

Common processing facilities

Support appropriate drying, grading, storage and processing infrastructure to improve consistency and expand value-addition opportunities.

Women-led producer enterprise

Enable farmer collectives to strengthen aggregation, production planning, business capabilities and participation across the value chain.

Market and knowledge linkages

Connect producers with technical institutions, responsible buyers and suitable markets while strengthening traceability and quality awareness.

Field documentation

Learning in action

Photographs from field cultivation, nursery activity, harvesting and community-level primary processing.

Women farmers sorting medicinal plant leaves together
Community participation in sorting and primary processing
Medicinal and aromatic plant nursery beds in a Jorhat village
Plant nursery and cultivation activity
A cultivated field of medicinal and aromatic plants
Village-level MAP cultivation
Women farmers processing freshly harvested leaves
Hands-on primary processing
A woman farmer harvesting medicinal plants
Careful crop tending and harvesting
Women farmers carrying out planting activities in prepared field beds
Collective field preparation and planting

CSR & institutional partnership

Invest in the next stage of women-led green enterprise.

Strategic support can help translate foundational training into sustained production, quality value addition and stronger market participation for women farmers.

Explore a partnership
  • Advanced farmer training & field mentoring
  • Quality planting material & input support
  • Demonstration plots & local nurseries
  • Drying, grading, storage & processing
  • Quality assurance & product development
  • Aggregation, enterprise & market linkage
  • Monitoring, learning & impact measurement
  • Expansion to additional women farmers
SDG 1 · No Poverty SDG 5 · Gender Equality SDG 8 · Decent Work SDG 12 · Responsible Production SDG 15 · Life on Land