From Waste to Wealth: Khowai's Lipi Didi Turns Cow Dung into Eco-Friendly Enterprise
Sep 02, 2026
What was once considered waste has become a source of livelihood for Lipi Bhowmik of Paschim Sonatala, Khowai district, who has set up an enterprise producing eco-friendly folders, idols and diyas from dried cow dung with a ₹5.10 lakh loan from the Tripura Rural Livelihoods Mission (TRLM).
According to TRLM officials, Bhowmik, popularly known as Lipi Didi, transformed an everyday waste material into innovative, eco-friendly products through her rural enterprise, generating decorative and useful items while creating sustainable livelihood opportunities in her area.
TRLM CEO Tarit Kanti Chakma, along with the Deputy Mission Coordinator (DMC) of Khowai and other officials, visited her enterprise today. Officials appreciated her creativity, entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to sustainable livelihoods, noting that her venture reflects the kind of innovation the mission seeks to encourage among rural women.
Alongside running her enterprise, Bhowmik also serves as a Krishi Sakhi Didi and is a member of the Loknath Self Help Group (SHG), contributing to agricultural development and to strengthening women-led community institutions in the district.
TRLM officials described her journey as a demonstration of how SHG support, institutional finance and innovation together can empower rural women to build sustainable enterprises. Her enterprise, they said, stands as an example of the mission's broader goal of helping rural women achieve the status of Lakhpati Didi, a beneficiary earning at least one lakh rupees annually through sustainable livelihood activities.
Officials added that such initiatives are expected to encourage more rural women across Tripura to explore innovative, environmentally sustainable business ideas using locally available resources, while strengthening the state's rural economy through community-driven entrepreneurship.
