The flavour of the chutney must have been exceptional, and the diligent effort that went into its creation evidently caught the attention of the Prime Minister’s office. Approximately four months after Sunita Rautela, a modest apple cultivator residing in a secluded village in Uttarkashi, dispatched a jar of chutney to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she has received a special invitation to attend this year’s Independence Day festivities in New Delhi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sunita Rautela, aged 40, alongside her husband, undertook the task of uniting 162 villagers, predominantly women from Jhala in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, to establish a farmer producer organization (FPO) named Upla Taknor Krishak Utpadak Sanghtan in May of the previous year. This collective is dedicated to producing apple chutney and jam. In March of the present year, Sunita Rautela sent a jar of her chutney to PM Modi. Subsequently, two months later, in May, Harish Rana, the head of their frontier village, received a letter from the PMO appreciating Rautela’s chutney and her diligent efforts. This marked the commencement of a remarkable journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similar to most marginal apple cultivators in Jhala, Sunita Rautela had been grappling to make ends meet just a year ago. However, with the support of UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and the tireless contributions of her fellow villagers, she transformed into a catalyst of transformation for numerous apple growers in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n