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Sustainable Livelihood Creation Initiatives |
Case-VII
Dharamvati of Hasanpur |
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Hasanpur
Masuri village is situated very near to Khekra on the Delhi
road. Out of the 1,000 - 1,500 population of the village,
most of them are Yadavs. Dharamvati Devi and Chatur Singh
belong to the Kumhar community, who earn their living from
the small landholding of theirs, which was just enough to
grow some vegetables for domestic use. Dharamvati Devi used
to support the family by cutting grass. They didn't have many
assets and the situation was made worse by the debt they had
to take due to the illness of their son. |
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In
the meantime, our field workers started the awareness campaign
to motivate people to form the SHGs. Motivated by the campaign,
Dharamvati Devi along with several other women joined the
SHG in 2000 under the DASP project. This group was later associated
with the SAWERA project in 2003. The group had 10 members
in the beginning. They were provided the micro credit help
to initiate their own micro entrepreneurial venture. |
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Dharamvati
showed interest in such a venture, but she was aware that
she did not have the money to make the initial investment
and also wanted to start some work, which would not require
her to go out of the house so that she can fulfill her domestic
responsibilities. She was also concerned about the employment
of her husband who was not able to earn sufficiently to support
from her group as she was being associated with the group
for a long time now and she is entitled for financial help
from the group. This removed the biggest hurdle from the path
of Dharamvati who with the support of her husband Chatur Singh
decided to open a roadside eating place. She was able to get
Rs. 25,000 /- loan from the group account and invested that
in her new micro entrepreneurial venture. The idea worked
for Dharamvati as her village is situated on the highway and
the help of her two sons and husband she keeps the mini resturant
open at night. The resturant is earning them Rs. 3,000 /-
to Rs. 4,000 /- per month. |
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More
than the economic standard, the social standard of the couple
has increased. They earlier had the inferiority complex due
to their caste being considered inferior to that of the Yadavs,
the dominating caste in the village, but now their eating
place/outlet has elevated their social status. Dharamvati
is still a part of the SHG and is constantly guiding the fellow
members of the group. |
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