Make Women in Rural India Financially Secure

Dear Friends,

Hope you are well. Half of our monsoon period is over and we have not received any rains. It is a worrisome situation for us. A large number of people in villages were we work, are dependent on agriculture. If it doesn’t rain, the food security for these families will be affected. Therefore, we are hoping that the monsoon may come in its second half and we will receive adequate rainwater in our lakes and wells. We will keep you updated on it.

With this letter, I am sharing with you a story of Devli Bai who is a member of one of the Self Help Groups. Devli Bai has started her own brick factory with the help of the credit she was able to procure from her group. It is you support to this program, which is helping many more women like Devli Bai. You can find the story below my letter.

Once again many thanks for your continuing support to us. We hope to meet with you some day and show you some of our work in villages.

Thanks and regards,

Deepti

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Devli Bai is a member of the Self Help Group in Mohd Phalasiya village since 2002. Her husband Shanta Ram used to work as one of the laborers (brick carrier) in a brick kilning factory which was four kilometers far from their village. In 2008, the entire Self Help Group had applied for a government loan under the Swaranjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (also known as SGSY, is an integrated scheme for providing opportunities of self employment to the rural poor which may be individuals or Self Help Groups). The group received around Rs. 300,000 ($ 6,000) under the scheme and redistributed a loan of 50,000 ($1,000) rupees within their group members. Devli Bai was one of the members who received her share of $ 1,000. She took the loan to start her own business of brick kilning

Devli Bai makes 700 to 1000 bricks in a day and employ three people, thus contributing to local economy. Devli Bai herself works only three to four hours in a day and contributes rest of her time looking after her children and family.

Today, her family earns around Rs. 25,000 to 30,000 ($500 to $600) in a year. Though the income from this business is uncertain during monsoon, Devli Bai says she sees her income increasing every year. In future, she plans to increase production as there is a huge demand for bricks in her village and also purchase plastic sheets to keep unburned bricks safe from rain. This way, she will be able to keep expanding her family’s business.

Dear Friends,

Hope you are well. We are very grateful to your continuing support to our project “Rural women support their families and villages”. I am writing to share with you the progress report of the project. As you know the project aims at bringing rural women together for saving and credit activities (Self help Groups or SHGs). The hope is to instill confidence for women financially and create opportunities for women to share their concerns with one another. In the process the project also provides women with an opportunity to access external sources of finance to initiate a variety of income generation activities.

With your support, the project focuses on empowering women both at individual and collective level. Following are some snapshots of the enclosed mid-year progress report for 2011-12:

• There are 534 SHGs with 8,161 women members.

• A total of Rs. 23,885,387 (USD 508,200) is occupied by these 493 SHGs.

• A variety of income generation programs have been taken up by several women you are supporting including goatery, dairy, fisheries, pottery; tofu making etc.

• A short term course viz “Course in Rural Entrepreneurship, Administration and Management” was held for some entrepreneurs focusing on
  finance and accounting, sales and marketing, operations management and strategy management. Find more details in the report enclosed.

Also, below my letter there is a story of a woman who has been benefited by the program you are supporting. I really hope you will enjoy learning more about her.

Thank you once again for your steady support. We hope you will be able to visit us someday. Please do share your thoughts and feedback on the report.

With regards,

Deepti

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Story of Transformation

Rodi Bai, lives in Falasia. She became a member of self help group (SHG) in her village in March last year. In the beginning she was saving Rs. 25/- every month  (USD ½), which gradually increased up to Rs.50/- (USD 1).

She and her husband have three sons, one daughter and a daughter-in-law. The economic condition of her family is not too sound as her husband is the only breadwinner of the family. His income isn’t enough to meet the ends meet. After being a member of the SHG, Rodi Bai thought of reviving her traditional family business of pottery. Unfortunately, she didn’t have enough money to start and the saving which was pooled up by the SHG wasn’t sufficient either to meet her requirement of cash. Subsequently, the SHG applied for a bank loan under a Government Scheme ’SwarnaJayanti Gram Swarojgar’. The group was successful in obtaining a loan of Rs. 312,500 (USD 6,250) from a bank. Rodi was provided with a loan of Rs. 50,000 (USD 1,000) to start her pottery business.

Rodi bai and her husband have started making clay pots and other items. They sell their products in the local and main markets of Udaipur city. Rodi has begun to earn an annual income of Rs. 60,000 (USD 1,200). She has been able to repay more than half of the loan she owes to the bank. Rodi bai and her family is doing well and is very proud of their traditional business.

Links:

• Read more about MBA course in Rural Entrepreneurship

• Mid year update report 2011-12 (DOC)