Zuboni Humtsoe, Nari Shakti Puraskar
When Zuboni Humtsoe decided to become an entrepreneur in 2011, many discouraged her saying women cannot, or should not, start a business.
A letter on Thursday from the Union ministry of women and child welfare about her selection for the Nari Shakti Puraskar was, therefore, not only a proud moment for Zuboni but also proved her doubters wrong.
Hailing from Nagaland’s Dimapur, Zuboni, the proprietor of an all-women start-up Precious Me Love (PML), will be handed over the award by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan on International Women’s Day on March 8, 2016
After graduating from Delhi University, Zuboni did not return home owing to a lack of opportunities. But she ended up returning as her father suffered a stroke and her family was going through a hard time. “Being a creative person and a dreamer, I did not want a desk job and I vowed to work really hard and make my own destiny,” she said.
With Rs 3,500 as college scholarship, Zuboni converted a bedroom in her home into a walk-in store and started PML through Facebook in 2011.
Zuboni and a group of women started producing textile items of various communities of the Northeast and started selling them through the portal www.preciousmelove.com, apart from exhibitions, pop-ups and an outlet in Kohima. In 2015, PML team started making dolls of various communities and selling them under the brand name Nungshiba (meaning beautiful in Manipuri). The PML core team comprises at least 12 women, including Babita Meitei (Manipuri head crafts designer), who took to the business against her family’s wishes