Empower Women Farmers in India

“I’ve been working at the dal (lentil) mill for four years. I run the milling machine and do the processing. I am also responsible for maintaining the records – how much has been produced and how much has been sold.

I live in Chikla village, 6 kms from the mill. I look after my mother and father, and I have a wife and four children. My wife is a teacher at one of Seva Mandir’s Bridge Schools.

Before, I used to bring products from my farm to the market. I’d have to pay for transport and waste a day’s labour travelling there. The market also charged us to weigh and quality check the product. At the market, we are paid in round numbers. So if we have 4.4kg of dal we are only paid for 4kg. We had no option but to sell under these conditions. As I only have a small farm, the money I brought home from the market was very little.

At Seva Mandir’s dal mill, we have the equipment to weigh and quality check for free. At the dal mill, we are paid for every gram of dal. Here, farmers come here to get fair prices for their work. We no longer have to rely on travelling long distances to the market and not being paid fairly.

With monsoon around the corner, we thankfully now have the funds to repair the roof and walls. This season, we don’t have to worry about leakage ruining our product.

We are also replacing the electrical system so we’ll be able to run the mill for longer. On the old system, we could only run during the night, or it would overheat. The machines will be damaged less often, and we won’t have to waste time and money fixing them.”

- Surya

Thank you for supporting farmers like Surya – the dal mill is an essential source of income for him and his family!

We are happy to share with you that we had recently participated in the Global Giving Photo Contest 2017 and our photo secured 1^st position in the Hope category. All thanks to friends like you who had voted for our photo and helped us win the contest.

We are also excited to share with you that, on Wednesday July 12^th, GlobalGiving will be matching donations in the GG Rewards Bonus Day. On this day donations will be matched by 50% and new recurring donations will be matched by 100%.

Every small bit, no matter how small helps us reach closer to our goal. We do hope that you will continue to support our project. This matching fund campaign will help your contribution go deeper.

Remember, together we can make a difference for these farmers.

Best Wishes,

Atul Lekhra and Seva Mandir Team
Follow us on www.facebook.com/sevamandir  

Links:

• Seva Mandir's Website
• Seva Mandir's Facebook Page

The Lentil Mill in Kotra has been procuring raw pulses from farmers in the region for 8 years now. Each year the lentil mill strives hard to give value to the farmers who bring their produce to the mill despite adverse agricultural scenario developing in the country over the past few years due to climate change and market shocks. This year, the procurement of raw pigeon pea started in lentil mill in the month of January. Last year almost all processors of pulses in the country suffered catastrophic dip in market price of lentils. Consequently, a number of millers drastically slashed their procurement targets and were not even ready to pay the minimum price prevailing in the agricultural market of pulses. The lentil mill of Seva Mandir was no exception to this loss. Ironically due to favorable climate conditions this year, pigeon pea farmers had a bumper harvest. But they were not being able to sell their crop anywhere. Despite the  losses sustained, the lentil mill of Seva Mandir procured more than 20 metric tons of pulses (pigeon pea) and gave the farmers full price prevailing in the market. All this is possible because of the sustained donations received by the lentil mill which has helped it come over difficult times like these.

We would like to thank you so much for letting us meet our commitments at the field. Every small bit, no matter how small helps us reach closer to these farmers. We do hope that you will continue to support our project.

We have been able to benefit hundreds of farmers and their families through this intervention.

Best Wishes,

Atul Lekhra & Team Seva Mandir

Follow us on www.facebook.com/sevamandir

Links:

• Seva Mandir's Website
• Seva Mandir's Facebook Page