Livelihood for 500 Tribal Women in Gujarat

Our livelihood project is picking up, but we really need financial help.

Around 6,000 kg of cotton has been purchased, at a price of 23 rupees per kg (~65 cents/kg.) So far, the cotton the women have sold has been sold at a price of 25 rupees/kg. The majority of the cotton however, has been stored to sell in the near future, when the estimated price they will receive for the cotton will be 125 rps/kg.

The women have participated in two trainings so far - on methods and techniques of cotton growing as well as on accounts keeping and management of their crops. In the future, we hope to have more trainings, including workshops focused on different marketing techniques of the cotton.

Because of our financial situation, we are still waiting to purchase crop insurance for the women farmers. This is a vital part of our program which will help these women protect their livelihood.

Financial assistance will also help us purchase more tools (such as tractors,) that will greatly assist these women with their daily work.

we purchased cotton worth Rs. 1,30,000. and we earned 17% profit. this money came from the SHG savings of the women. this is a small and hopeful start but if we need to make higher profits, we need to buy cotton worth Rs. 5,00,000 for which we do not have the wherewithal. more money to invest is also crucial because so far we have limited ourselves to the local market and more money will help us explore other markets that give a higher price.

the buying season starts around october

looking at this successful experiment, more SHGs of women want to join us in this venture. this is an excellent example of the collectivisation of women leading to creative and beneficial solutions for livelihood concerns.

We are encouraged with the progress of this program but need your help to ensure that the women are able to continue with the work and the project grows enough to become self-sustainable!