Prepare Women Leaders in Financial Management

Dear Supporters & Friends,

With your continuous support and generous donations we have been able to further strengthen the process of training Women leaders in financial management. Currently the Economic Empowerment Committees are helping women members in creating linkages with local and state level institutions for further market linkages.

Recently, these committees linked women farmer members from tribal and coastal areas with Satvik (Organic) Food Festival organised by Shrishti, Ahmedabad, a network promoting organic food in urban consumers. Two women farmers from tribal and two from coastal participated in the mela, in which Dahod farmers earned Rs.21,000 by selling organic fruits, vegetables, and Maize flour. Similarly women farmers and members from Sangathan participated in an organic food festival in Bhavnagar where they got change to sell organic food products such as sesame seeds, Sesame oil and khachariyu (crushed sesame delicacy). Such linkages provided women farmers, an ideal platform to expose women to new markets and hone their entrepreneurial skills. This helped in strengthening women's own identity as farmers.

Updates of projects:

Honeybee keeping:

3 women farmer with small land holding and having a wadi were identified. A total of 25 boxes were installed in their wadi. 56 Kg of honey has been produced so far and through its selling they have earned Rs. 22,400. As it was a pilot project, so far the women have learned about honey bee production and the process. Currently, women are selling the honey at the village market. We are now planning to organise a workshop on improving their marketing and entrepreneurial skills in the second quarter.

‘Supporting single, widowed women in challenging power structures and battling for their rightful land’: Journey of Ratniben Bhabhor, Vanita Shakti Mahila Sangathan [The Story of one of the honey bee keepers] with the support of Utthan & WGWLO, was featured in the launch of the #OURLANDOURSTORY campaign by The Land Portal, Cadasta and NRMC at the India Land & Development Conference, March 2019

Sanitary Pad selling:

Sangathan members have identified 25 women for selling of Sanitory pads and along with that they are organising promotion meetings in the coastal villages regarding health and hygiene awareness. So far in the 12 villages they have sold 700 packets of sanitary pads among the women. In the coming month we are planning to organise workshop to discuss some of the challenges which have come up regarding free distribution by some companies and also by the Govt.

Links:

• Utthan's Story launched in the OLOS campaign

We are extremely thankful to our Donors. Having received a good amount  in December in donations, we are now ready to plan our next training soon.

This coming training will help us focus on improving Financial Management skills pertaining to two businesses :

1 .Honey bee Keeping and

2. Retaling low cost sanitary napkins.

so that these business can focus on viability, sustaniability, better profit aggregation and also link to more women.

In the meanwhile the Women's Federation have formed Economic Empowerment Committees who are making efforts to increase their level of understanding and influence to better manage their Federations functioning, small businesses initiated and the Microfinance function.

It is these members of the Economic Empowerment Committees and those leading businesses, who are being trained in Financial Management.