Proponent of the Northeast

She remains a passionate advocate of ecotourism, of conservation and of sustainable practices and livelihoods, especially in the Northeast region of India. Jahnabi Phookan, former national president of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) continues to be one of the biggest cheerleaders of the region, its culture, and above all its women.

Hazel Jain

Jahnabi Phookan wears many hats. She is not only the Director of JTI Group, but has also been the national president of FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO) – the women’s wing of the industry body, Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). This women’s wing of FICCI is the oldest business chamber for women in South Asia and she was its National President in 2020 and the first President from Northeast India in 2020.

Speaking about her work as the president, Phookan said, “My vision was to work towards sustainable livelihoods for women’s economic upliftment, empowering women to become self-sufficient and job creators from mere job seekers. Indeed, it is only through women’s sustainable livelihood that can lead to her empowerment and only women’s economic empowerment that can lead to an equitable society.”

She is proud of the FLO Village Adoption Programme (VAP) which she mooted across its 17 chapters pan India.

“It goes to the credit of my chapter chairpersons and their teams that despite the covid19, we had 143 adopted villages at the end of our one year tenure. This foundation set by VAP (Village Adoption Programme) has turned to VIT (Village Industries Transformation) under the vision of the now FLO President. Out of these 143 villages, FLO will work onwards creating 75 Model villages by India’s 75th year. Coming as I did with three decades in the tourism industry, I was very keen to highlight the tremendous role women play in this sector, more so in the informal economy,” she said.

Promoting handloom

The FLO team also signed an MoU with the Ministry of Tourism In collaboration with Travel Agents Association of India. The aim was to skill and upskill women in the informal sector to bring them into the formal economy. “Another sector I have worked closely is the handloom sector which is the second largest employer in our country, after agriculture. This too is a model of sustainable livelihood, particularly for women in Northeast India,” she added.

In fact, in her three decades as an entrepreneur, her companies have all been encompassed in travel and tourism and in handlooms, all of which empower people’s lives and livelihoods, especially women and their communities. “I remain a passionate advocate of ecotourism, of conservation and of sustainable practices and livelihoods especially in the fragile ecosystem of India’s northeast. Since 2004, I have worked with our women weavers of Assam as a revivalist of Assam’s distinct weaving vernacular and its unique raw silks in Lahé Looms. This
weavers centre is near our award winning wildlife lodge in Kaziranga and lets the tourist appreciate the laborious art of the handloom as opposed to power loom,” Phookan said.

It has been Phookan’s endeavour since 2008 to promote and market the unique handcrafted and hand-woven produce of not only Assam, but of the eight states of the Northeast at her platform KONYAKstore. “That was how I was invited to promote our silks and weaves in Dhaka, Bangladesh in early February this year,” she said. “On a positive note for the tourism sector, my husband Ashish Phookan and I were delighted to showcase our river cruises to the Australian High Commissioner Barry O’Farrell and Australian Consul General, Kolkata Rowan Ainsworth on their maiden visit to Assam in February this year,” she added enthusiastically.