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Sustainable Livelihood Creation Initiatives |
Case-I
Rajeshwari's Rose Sharbat |
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Background |
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This
is the story of some women who were living seperately in a
village and didn't know that destiny will make them work together
as a group. These women belonged to Kallora village of Hathras
district. They were neighbours, friends and relatives who
used to come in contact with each other but were not partners
in work. They were busy with the responsibilities of the house
and the family. They were not much aware about the world,
as their world was limited to the village. |
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Emergence
of Idea |
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Aseed
functionaries contacted these women separately when they were
trying to promote capacity building process of the local bodies.
They tried to bring these women together to form a group to
save collectively and enjoy the fruits of economic security.
The women got convinced about the advantages including the
safety of their money. Their roles in the group were chalked
out to promote transparency. The economic aspect was the prime
motive for the women to join the Self-Help-Group. |
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The
women formed a group and named the group after a Goddess Maa
Durga to take inspiration from her in their efforts. When
the group attained a level of stability and had enough money
in their bank account, they were otivated to take up capacity
building training to enable them to acquire skills to supplement
their family income. Most of the members opted for food processing
training as they were able to relate themselves with this
sort of training. |
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Initiation
of Action |
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Rajeshwari
Devi was also one of the women members, who expressed her
desire to undergo training for food processing. She wanted
to supplement her family income and secure a better future
for her children. After the training, a group meeting was
called and the members who were interested in starting their
own enterprise were given some loan from the group deposit
at a minimum rate of interest. Rajeshwari Devi came to meet
the Aseed staff to discuss about her future plans. The two
came to the conclusion that due to easy avilability of roses
in the area, the production of rose sharbat will be profitable.
Rajeshwari Devi, along with some other women, started making
the sharbat and sold it in the neighbouring markets where
it was very much accepted because of the soothing qualities
of the sharbat in the scorching summer heat. They were able
to save Rs. 8/- per bottle after deducting all the cost of
manufacturing. The money was utilized to pay back the loan
and for further investment. |
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Generation
of Support |
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The
members of the group are now working as partners and fully
supported by their family members in the process. With the
efforts of Aseed functionaries, the group was able to borrow
money from the bank with cash limit of Rs. 75,000/-. The money
was given to the women like Rajeshwari Devi who was continuously
makring efforts to improve the quality of her products. During
one of the group meetings, it came up that roses were not
available during all the seasons. So, the group deided to
divert the processing work to other food products. Utilizing
their newly acquired skills, they started making mixed pickles
and apple jelly. Processing the edibles helped them fetch
more money from the market, which has improved the economic
status of Rajeshwari Devi who is happy to contribute financially
to her household. Following in her footsteps, the members
of two other SHGs have also taken up the same activity. The
local farmers also started contributing by growing roses. |
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Recognition |
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Rajeshwari
Devi and women like her have set an example for the women
in the village. Once looking for guidance, these women are
now in a position to guide other women about the food processing
technique. Due to the enhancement in the economic activity
by the women of the group, the group deposit is also increasing
and the process of loan repayment has become easier. An FPO
licence has been obtained for these products, which has helped
the women in assuring their customers about the quality of
their products. The day is not far when their group will be
recognized as a Micro Finance Institution for which the members
and Aseed functionaries are trying. |
