AAI empowers local artisans by providing space to self-help groups at Surat Airport

May 12, 2022

Surat (Gujarat), May 12, 2022, (ANI): In a unique initiative to empower artisans and familiarise passengers with the local heritage and traditions, the Airports Authority of India has begun giving space to self-help groups in Surat and other airports in the country to sell their products. The space allotted to SHGs under AAI’s AVSAR (Airport as Venue for Skilled Artisans of the Region) initiative will help women attached to these groups to expand the reach of their products to people in all parts of the country. An area of 100 to 200 square feet is allocated to SHGs on a rotational basis to showcase products made by rural women and artisans. Jewellery, clothes, handicrafts and local snacks were among the products made by women available at the airport. Passengers at the Surat airport lauded the skills of the artisans as also the products on offer. They said they were getting to see quality local products at the airport itself without having to step out. A few outlets have already been commissioned at Chennai, Agartala, Dehradun, Kushinagar, Udaipur and Amritsar Airport and SHGs operated by local women are showcasing and marketing their homemade local products. More AAI Airports are in the process of allotting space in coordination with the state governments to such self-help groups.