Help Rural Women Gain Essential Business Skills

Dear Mann Deshi Supporters,

I would like to share the story of our Deshi MBA graduate, Ms Sushma.  Our business school for rural women, provides a year-long Deshi MBA course. Hundreds of students enrol in the course every year and learn business skills. These are generally the existing women entrepreneurs who are able to expand their businesses whereby increasing the monthly income.   Aunty ki Tapari is one such example. Sushma Chaudhari is popularly known as a mess wali aunty in the college and industrial area of Silvasa. She has seen many ups and downs in her life. Her husband had to shut off his grocery shop due to the high borrowings. The day to day expenses was taken care by Sushama. She enrolled herself in the Deshi MBA course. She learned the skills to market her products, cash management, etc through the workshops. While she was undergoing the workshops, she thought of starting a snack centre in the college and the industrial area. She found a decent location. Due to the workshops, she got the confidence to invest 2,00,000 rupees in starting the outlet. She availed the loan from the Axix bank and Dena bank and started her business. The best quality food and her excellent marketing skills made her a favourite aunty in the area. She learned digital transactions through apps such as Google pay, Phone Pay, etc. She now serves 25 tiffins in the morning and 25 in the evening. She charges 3,000 rupees per month for tiffin of a person. She serves breakfast to around 100 students daily in the morning.  The work is so much that she has hired other 7 people to share the workload. She is earning around 1, 50,000 rupees a month now, keeping the record of all her transactions in a day.

Thank you again for all our Global Giving Supporters without which this cannot be possible.

Dear Global Giving Supporters,

I would like to share the story of Balutai-

Balutai had a large family to take care of, with five daughters. She, along with her daughters, used to work in other’s fields; earning about 7,000 rupees a month, which was barely enough to meet expenses. Balutai’s husband is an alcoholic and did not support them financially. One day, while working in the fields, her friends told her about the goat farming course offered by Mann Deshi, and convinced her that it could be a lucrative side business. She decided to enrol for the course. Balutai says that she gained a lot of confidence after she attended the workshop. There, she saw women like herself conducting the workshop and narrating their stories. Inspired, she decided to start a goat rearing business. However, she realised did not have the capital to buy goats. She then took a loan from a Self Help Group (SHG or Bachat Gat) of INR 20,000, with which she purchased two goats. Using the knowledge she learnt from the course, she decided to conduct AI for her two goats. Both goats became pregnant and delivered two kids each. Now, Balutai has 5 to 6 goats. She proudly relates that she doesn’t even have to go to the animal market anymore, as people come to her house to buy kids, which are always healthy due to AI. She has also taken up a job at the Anganwadi centre, and earns around 15,000 – 16,000 a month. Her children all go to school and her husband has begun to support her as well. Balutai says: “I am very proud that I am earning by myself. I not only do goat farming, but also have convinced many of my friends to go for the goat farming workshop offered by Mann Deshi. Earlier there was little awareness about goat vaccination and AI, and even government veterinarians did not come to this area. Now, thanks to Mann Deshi, people here are more receptive to vaccination and AI for goats.”

Thank you so much again for all your support !