Thursday, May 26 2005 15:35 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Nagapattinam: The highlight of former US President Bill Clinton's whistle-stop tour of the tsunami-hit regions in Nagapattinam tomorrow (May 27, 2005) will be his meeting with a group of fisherwomen, who have successfully embarked on a different livelihood, leaving behind the trauma caused by the disaster.

About 25 fisherwomen from Nagapattinam, who have been trained in incense stick production, through an initiative of International Labour Organisation (ILO), will be presented before Clinton, who is here as UN special envoy for tsunami recovery, as a successful example of the villagers' resilience to move ahead through new forms of earning a livelihood means.

"Nearly 25 fisherwomen from Nagapattinam will participate in the demo in incence stick production at the Nagapattinam Collector's office during Bill Clinton's visit," Susamma Varghese, national co-ordinator, ILO, said.

She said the skills development training in Nagapattinam, where over 6000 people lost their lives in the Dec 26 tsunami, follows the successful establishment of two training and production units in Pudupattinam and Oyalikuppam hamlets in Kalpakkam, Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu.

In February 2005, 84 fisher women from the two affected hamlets were trained in incense stick (agarbatti) production by women Self Help Group (SHG) members from Vellore.

The first unit produced 1706 kg of incence sticks over the two-month training period, which was sold at Rs 29 per kg. The Indian National Rural Labour Federation (INRLF), an ILO project partner, has been providing technical and marketing support to this initiative.

Varghese said currently, the second unit is in progress in both hamlets. About 86 women will be trained in the second unit by end-June 2005. Following the success of the two units, 200 women from the tsunami-affected Nagapattinam district are to be trained in incence stick production over a month-long period beginning May 23, 2005.

All the women trained under these alternative livelihood options would be able to earn between Rs 36-48 per day from the new skills acquired.

In addition, fisher workers in Pudupattinam and Oyalikuppam hamlets have been unionised. Nearly 450 residents of the two hamlets have enrolled as signature members in the Indian National Rural Labour Federation (INRLF). The INRLF, an ILO partner has been providing technical and marketing support to this initiative.

Varghese said the ILO's siklls development initiative is to continue on a multiplying effect and reach 600 tsunami-affected women by December 2005.

Clinton, who will reach Chennai by about 13:00 hrs (IST), will leave for Nagapattinam by a special chopper. He is expected spend about two and half hours in Nagapattinam tomorrow, before leaving for Chennai in the evening. His programmes in Nagapattinam includes meeting with district collector J Radhakrishnan and a visit to the NGO Resource Centre in the Collector's campus.

The former US president would leave for Colombo, which was also hit by the tsunami, from Chennai later in the evening.