Empower deserted women and widows in rural India

Ranjana's mother-in-law put her small cot in their agriculture field and slept. There is nothing new in this. Farmers and family members do eat, sleep in their fields to protect their crops, take rest and it is a favoured place to sleep in summer months.

Here, the mother-in-law went to sleep on the very spot of the field where Ranjana had planned to dig a well to improve productivity of the land which could bring in some extra money for the family.

Every time Ranjana called the JCB ( an earth mover machine)  to start digging the well, her mother-in-law would start sleeping on the very spot identified and selected for constructing the well. This went on for 2 years.

Ranjana, when she became a widow was trying to bring her life together by single handedly tending to her two small children, to make ends meet. Life was hard and she did not possess any other skill to improve her condition. She decided to work on the small family land putting in her own labour.  A member of a joint family, with hostile relatives after her husband's death, she had a running tussle with her mother-in-law who was trying every trick in the book to harass her.

Ultimately, Ranjana had to borrow and pay Rs.50,000 (US$ 742) to her own mother-in-law to construct the well. This step enabled Ranjana to do agriculture as she herself wanted too. She still has to pay Rs.10,000 (US$ 148) as rent, every year to her mother-in-law who owns the land.

Water helped soak the parched field. She could diversify her crops which earlier were dependant only on rain water, which allowed her no room to try new things.

Earlier on, she had actually taken a loan of Rs.10,000 (US$ 148) from the support given by you and done a small trade of buying & Selling of readymade "turmeric powder" a favoured spice in Indian cooking. This small seasonal business had given her a profit of Rs.5,000 (US $ 74). The immediate take-up of the spice by people and the profit earned got her thinking.

And this was why she thought of constructing a Well to irrigated her land.  Turmeric is a 7 month crop and rains come for three & half months so it was impossible to cultivate on dry land. Now that the water was made available for irrigation, she planned and planted turmeric as a major crop in part of her small land.

Production of turmeric on her own land with own labour, with home processing, significantly reduced the cost and she could sell at least 2 Qtls (200 kgs) of turmeric powder. This time she earned a profit of Rs.10,000 (US $ 148).

This completion of cycle enabled her to earn a very good profit.

She could contribute to construct a 3 room house, with the help of a Government Scheme.  Now she is staying in her new home with her children. Mother-in-law is also now more amiable.

Today, she is planning to diversify with some other other irrigated crops and also bought a goat and a calf so that her dependence on a single business is reduced.

Independent, successful and secure about her future.

Friends, we know of people and athletes who run their races from start to finish.

There are lives and people whose races are actually starting FROM the finish line. 

When YOU support US, you are actually helping such women whose lives have not started at all or are on the brink of finish line.

Include all your friends and relatives and get them involved in -
<http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/empower-deserted-women-and-widows-in-rural-india/,>.  

Can also know about us through FB Link.
<https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chetana-Vikas/162861643736214.>

Best wishes,

Niranjana
Project Leader