Sulochana (60) has pushed through many hardships in life and that is what made her strong enough to seamlessly push a trolley full of coconut husk. For the last ten years, Sulochana has been distributing bunches of husks from the Kattil market 460th coir unit to the labourers and collects finished coir products from their homes to be brought back to the unit.

The remuneration that the labourers pay is her main income. In the initial days, Sulochana used to distribute husks by hiring a trolley. Sulochana gets calls on her phone when the husks reach the unit or when the labourers have finished their jobs. She would be paid Rs 200 when 2 bunches of husks are distributed and the finished products are brought back to the unit. Meanwhile she also finds time to peel coconuts at a shop which exclusively sells coconuts, which is close to her house.

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Sulochana has enrolled herself for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. On days when she has to go for such works, she would get up at 3 in the morning to do coconut peeling until the MNREGA works begin. She accompanies men labourers to do miscellaneous jobs like cleaning or breaking firewood at houses.

Sulochana is the daughter of Madhavan and Lakshmi who are no more. She lives with her deceased brother’s wife Padmini and their daughter Praveena.

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