If the women can do so much for the community, for their families, can’t they do anything for themselves ?

Perhaps that was the thought behind the formation and promotion of Self Help Groups or SHGs. Self Help Groups work on the concept that the united strength of a group can help its members to recognize their capability for development.

Ideally, self help groups consist of 10-15 members. The members themselves choose the President, Secretary and Treasurer from the group. The members meet once a month and maintain meeting registers and other records. They pool their savings in the group and help each other by utilizing the pooled funds for investment towards qualitative living.

The strength of the SHGs lies in organizing the members/women for their own development. Not only does it help to inculcate a habit of thrift among the members, it also provides a platform to share other topics besides economic issues. The united strength and the vision of the SHGs have helped women attain economic independence, and enhance their status within their families as well as in the society.

Even now, in India, almost 70% of the people reside in villages. The rural economy continues to be agrarian and the community is governed by age-old norms. In such a set up, women continue to lead a life of subjugation, with little or no say in decision making and, despite the hard work they do, they have no hopes for a better tomorrow. The emergence and formation of Self Help Groups have helped the women control their lives better. Economic betterment often facilitates an individual in accessing the various resources for improving the overall quality of life and this is the core idea of the Self help Groups.

The Social Action Group of Development Alternatives is committed to a human development approach and facilitates in enlarging the people’s choices to enhance their capacity. In its pursuit of excellence, DA has initiated its activities in Datia, a small town located in the heart of Bundelkhand, Madhya Pradesh. The stakeholders in this initiative are the women with a zeal to inspire change and thus, for them, the Udyamita Suvidha Kendra (USK) was established. At the USK centre, right from the beginning, women have been encouraged to participate actively.

The women of the villages in this region are hard working and they also contribute to the agricultural work. However, their skills and knowledge remain confined within the periphery of the four walls of their houses. Their contribution in livelihood activities like pottery, brick making, poultry, livestock rearing, etc., is tremendous, but the profits are not shared with the women. Nevertheless, these families are trapped in the nexus of the moneylenders. Poverty is explicit in these villages, and most of the communities face severe water crisis.
 

The Social Action Group started mobilizing and motivating the community, especially the women, to form Self Help Groups in order to help themselves. After an initial phase of reluctance and indifference, the women were able to grasp the concept and the importance of their united strength in the form of SHGs and then they came forward to form SHGs.

Today, the cumulative savings of the 37 SHGs in this region is about 2.6 lakhs in a short span of two years. Inter-loaning is encouraged among the groups and repayments include about 49% of the total loans.

Revival of Traditional Skills: The “Saathi” Experience

Supporting a family of 9 members with just one source of income and having to see them leading a life of misery can be a tremendous source of motivation. Virwati of Idgah village of Datia block belongs to the potters’ community. Her husband used to make pottery items in the village, but low profits and increasing economic burdens compelled him to work as wage labourer. The family faced severe financial crisis and sleeping on an empty stomach was routine for them. There were similar stories of Janki, Subhadra, Ramdevi, Sushila and Kusuma of the same village. It was difficult to motivate these women to form a SHG and pool their savings when they did not have enough to eat. However, the continued efforts by the SAG finally bore results and the women were coaxed to form “Saathi” SHG. The members contributed Rs. 25 per person per month. An account in a bank was opened in their name and for one year they kept on saving the pooled money. Before the festive season of Dusshera and Diwali, the group decided to revive their traditional skill of making pottery items (little clay lamps, traditional figurines and decorative pots) and to earn some profit by selling their wares in the market. Virwati, who is the president of the group, persuaded her husband to work on the potters’ wheel, to make lamps and pots. All the members decided to work at one place. They bought raw materials, colours, brushes, etc., from their savings. The members made about 1 lakh diyas and about 10,000 traditional items. The members also decided to put up their own stall in Datia market and to sell their wares themselves. Their endeavour helped them earn a huge profit, which was distributed equally among the members. Today, this group of happy women says that not only were they able to earn some money, but they could also revive their traditional skills.

From Housewives to Money-lenders