Primary Pro-Health Programme for Women

The core principle of the Earth Trust’s Health and Skills program for village women is that women play a crucial role in development. Investing in women’s health and empowerment produces surplus benefits for their children, families, communities and nations and it helps builds stable, peaceful and productive societies. Healthy women work more productively, and stand to earn more throughout their lives.

The Earth Trust shares the single common goal of removing the barriers to improved health and as part of a larger effort to empower local women to improve their lives, taking a holistic and life-cycle approach to women’s health. It disseminates information on women’s health and imparts skills training such as sewing and knitting.

Meet Sangeetha and Soudhanya of a little hamlet called Kadanadu in the hills of the Nilgiris district in India who were once trainees of the Earth Trust’s Health and Skills development program. After attending the program few months back, during one of the follow-up visits of the ET staff to the village in March 2018, it was understood that both Sangeetha and Soudhanya hugely benefitted from the training.

The 26 years old Sangeetha who had lost both her parents at a very young age, was brought up by her relatives in her native village. After marriage, she is now in the Kadanadu village. ET’s program has helped her cure some of her ailments and it has encouraged her to do regular exercises and keep herself fit. She started stitching regular and designer blouses for her village counterparts and is making an earning out of it. These helped her grow with confidence and slowly forget her past miseries.

Her friend Soudhanya is using the syrups and oils taught from the ET’s program for her family and seeing good results healthwise. The knitting program is helping her knit number of sweaters, scarfs and baby suits and has made upto 20,000 rupees in a season! A huge success considering her family and village circumstances.

Thus the ET’s idea of integrating the care of women with skill development is turning out to be an efficient route to success.

The Earth Trust’s health/skills program for village women continued its training to the women of Kadanadu village during November and December 2017.

The health modules covered were both theory (with visual shows) and practical lessons. The trainees were taught about reproductive system, Nutrition, Urinary system, Immune System, HIV awareness, herbal treatment and home remedies for various ailments. Practical lessons on reflexology and body massage, energy work and tapping exercise, quantum touch, Donna eden meridians with exercise and simple yoga exercises were taught. Practical lessons on herbal medicine preparation such as Peacock Oil, Adathoda Syrup, Thriphala Chooranam and Ashta Chooranam were also conducted. Identification of herbs in and around the village was also part of the program. Simultaneously, skills training on tailoring and knitting were given to the trainees.

During the end of December, certificates were issued to the program trainees of the two villages (Thullidhalai and Kadanadu).

As with the other villages, the response about the ET’s health/skill program was positive. For instance, Prathiba of Kadanadu village shifted to herbal-based remedy from allopathy for cold and cough as learnt in the ET’s health program and the progress was remarkable. Similarly, Priya of Aadatty village had improvement for skin issues after using Rue Oil. Lakshmi and Kokila, other beneficiaries of the program have used Peacock Oil for their family members and the results were astonishing.

Thus the ET’s health and skill development program is making a change in the villages of the Nilgiris in India by holistic health awareness and also inculcating skills to the village women.