NAMCHI (SIKKIM)
It’s not business as usual at the Namchi District Collectorate once a week. Every Thursday, groups of villagers set up stalls on the Collectorate’s courtyard, measuring about 138 square metres, to sell their wares – home-cooked meals, snacks, farm products and utilitarian handicraft items.
They also utilise a passage in the Collectorate building, the district’s epicentre of administration, 78 km southwest of Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim.
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For Nirpara Rai and other members of the Nirpara Self-Help Group (SHG), travelling 2 km from their village Dabuwa to be trade-ready at the Collectorate by 10 a.m. every Thursday has become a habit. Ditto with Laxmi Tamang and fellow members of the Samjhauta SHG from a village 6 km away.
Yet, they did not expect Thursdays to be their best-selling day of the week when Anupa Tamling, the District Magistrate, experimented with Prayas almost a year ago after finding that farmers and villages engaged in small-scale industries struggle with visibility, value, and volume.
Prayas, meaning effort, was born from a simple idea: What if places of governance that generally record high footfall on work days can also serve as platforms for empowerment?
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Prayas, meaning effort, was born from a simple idea: What if places of governance that generally record high footfall on work days can also serve as platforms for empowerment?
“The common people often hesitate or are not comfortable enough to come to administrative offices or government spaces, which are meant for them. In September 2024, we offered rural collectives free space at the Collectorate to try and sell what they produce,” Ms. Tamling told The Hindu.
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The offer came with riders. Only SHGs, farmer-producer organisations (FPOs), and rural cooperatives were allowed to set up 15 stalls at the Collectorate, provided they maintain cleanliness, shun single-use plastic, and avoid selling pre-manufactured goods. The experiment clicked.
The SHGs, FPOs, and cooperatives found a captive market in dozens of employees at the Collectorate and scores of people who came for official work. The employees, on the other hand, looked forward to Thursday as a “no-tiffin day” and an opportunity to buy farm-fresh vegetables at the office.
“Thursday, indeed, means a break from preparing food for lunch at the office before leaving home,” Methela Rai, an Aspirational Block Fellow at the collectorate, said.
“The initiative has been beneficial for us. Thursdays mean weekly interaction with the villagers and others who come for their wares toward bridging the gap between the public and the administration, helping us learn about their problems first-hand and monitor their growth,” Ms. Tamling said.
The assessment of Project Prayas over the first six months revealed that the SHGs, FPOs, and cooperatives averaged ₹3,800-4,500 more in sales on Thursday than on other days, translating into an average income growth of 250.53%.
“Unlike other public spaces, customers are guaranteed at the Collectorate and other government offices where this facility has been provided,” Ms. Tamang said. Her SHG makes ₹4,000 on Thursdays compared to ₹1,000 on other days.
Ms. Tamling said the simple and scalable model of Prayas was envisaged as a three-stage collaboration among the government departments.
“We are at level-1, providing the villagers with the marketing space and opportunities to earn. Level-2 entails addressing the issue of marketing on a larger scale and packaging. Level-3 involves literacy about investing the earnings so far,” she said. Prayas has been expanded to the Namchi and Yangang Block Administrative Centres. The district’s initiative may be replicated elsewhere in Sikkim.
Published – August 22, 2025 11:01 am IST
