To promote indigenous products of local young entrepreneurs, the 8th edition of “Made in Dimapur Ao Baptist Arogo (DABA)”, an initiative under DABA youth ministry was held at supermarket Dimapur on Wednesday.
A total of 35 stalls were set up where various locally made products such as handicrafts, accessories, face mask, food items, paintings, gift items etc. were sold.
DABA former youth director, Jongshi Manen informed that the initiative was started on August 10, 2016 with focus on the holistic development of its members and to provide platform to the youths to expose their talents.
This year, focus was made on indigenous local products and not retail products encouraging handicrafts and hand made products, he said.
Regarding the price, Manen said that the price tags were fixed by the entrepreneurs itself as they know the value of the product and also to ensure that the products were sold at a reasonable rate.
On the success story of “Made in DABA” initiative, Manen mentioned that through the platform, some of the products have been internationally recognized and also there were some entrepreneurs who have represented Nagaland in the international level.
There were also some stories of entrepreneurs who have opened up their own permanent stalls in the market, he said. He also mentioned that during the pandemic the initiative was carried out online reaching out to a larger section where products were made available for orders on the DABA Youth Ministry Instagram and Facebook accounts. He therefore encouraged the entire youth of Nagaland, to focus on what they were good at and continue to excel in whatever best they do.
Interacting with some of the young entrepreneurs, they thanked the initiative taken by the church in helping them promote their products and also providing them platform to their talents. Some of the entrepreneurs also shared their story on how the platform had helped them achieve success.