Guwahati: Aaranyak, the region’s premier biodiversity conservation organization, conducted a workshop on ‘Entrepreneurship Development’ for team members of its Tiger Research and Conservation Division (TRCD), Elephant Research and Conservation Division (ERCD), and Conservation and Livelihood Division (CLD), along with a selected group of community members from Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong and Manas Landscapes. The workshop took place from 10th to 18th February, utilising a combination of online and face-to-face training methods.
The program saw the participation of 18 individuals from these three divisions and was organised in collaboration with Kalpavriksha Trust, Guwahati. The primary objective of the Entrepreneurship Development program was to enhance the capacity of Aaranyak team members and community leaders, enabling them to support community partners in strengthening their entrepreneurial ventures through innovative ideas and approaches.
The online sessions of the workshop, held between February 10 and 13, covered the basics of entrepreneurship, its aims, objectives, and scope, with a special focus on local, state, and national contexts. Participants gained insights into entrepreneurship based on traditional knowledge and natural resources in forest fringe areas, critical case studies of entrepreneurial ecosystems, and the potential for innovations in entrepreneurship ventures.
The face-to-face workshop on Entrepreneurship Development took place on February 17 and 18 at the Manas Conservation and Outreach Centre (MCOC) in Bhuyapara, Baksa district of BTC in Assam.
On the first day, participants were introduced to the concept of entrepreneurship, different types of entrepreneurship, Indian approaches to entrepreneurship, mentoring modalities for budding entrepreneurs, compliance requirements for upcoming ventures, and the basics of enterprise creation and management. Successful entrepreneurial ventures from the state and country were highlighted, addressing challenges faced by participants, with trainers providing valuable inputs for overcoming these challenges.
The second day of the workshop involved a revision of key topics from the previous day, followed by a group exercise where participants developed product prototypes for hypothetical entrepreneurial ventures using nearby resources. Two prototypes, namely Green Cooking (Dung-based Charcoal fuel) and Blessing (a flower industry based around waste flowers), were created.
The plenary discussion covered ideation, resource selection, process review, and testing of product quality in entrepreneurial ventures. During the post-lunch session, participants interacted with Mrs. Anu Mandal, Managing Director of Ava Creations, and gained insights into entrepreneurship styles.
Mrs. Mandal emphasized that successful entrepreneurial ventures can be built and sustained by understanding specific product needs and following the five Ps of marketing – product, packaging, pricing, placing, and promotion. Feedback from participants, including Miss Bidisha Baruah, expressed enlightenment on entrepreneurship possibilities for uplifting rural populations.
In post-workshop discussions, participants were tasked with developing small green ventures through community-based entrepreneurial initiatives in their respective landscapes. The success of their experimental entrepreneurship ventures would be the basis for evaluating their understanding of the topic.
Both online and face-to-face sessions were mentored by Dr. Pranab Kumar Sarmah and Shri Himanshu Barman of Kalpavriksha Trust, with coordination from Dr. Jayanta Kumar Sarma and Dr. Partha Sarathi Ghose on behalf of Aaranyak.
The workshop was organized as part of the IUCN-KfW supported project “Securing population of tigers, habitats and biological corridors in Assam, India.” The tireless support from individuals such as Dr. Binita Baruwati, Binod Deuri, Jeetu, Pankaj Das, and the entire team of Manas Conservation and Outreach Center contributed to the program’s success.
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Aaranyak remains committed to the conservation of forests and the improvement of the lives and livelihoods of forest-dependent communities in Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong and Manas Landscapes through education, training, and capacity-building.
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