Women in India Protect Land & Foster Self-Reliance

Report on project activities

- Savings and credit program - Savings and credit groups to cover 1,000 women in ten villages. The emphasis will be to increase savings, route income generation programs through the groups and establish linkage with government banks to gain capital. There are now 125 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) with over 1,500 members. Manavi has formed seven federations out of these groups. The idea of the federation is to have an apex body that can take over from Manavi and also interact with external agencies such as banks.

Training was organized in three phases. In the first phase issues discussed related to social analysis and process of group formation at the village level. A Lucknow based resource center facilitated this training program. The agenda for the follow-up training was finalized during the first training and tasks assigned to the trainees. During the second training the focus was on the process of SHG formation / its advantages /difficulties faced during the formation period/ methods of linking with banks/ types of enterprises to be taken by these groups etc. This training was facilitated by bankers from NABARD and a Delhi based group-ICPRD. After this training each participant was asked to support SHG in their respective villages and document the experiences. The last training program was mainly to share experiences and resolve difficulties faced by the groups.

- Promotion of vermiculture - Increase coverage of organic fertilizers and reduce consumption of chemical fertilizers. The target is to encourage 300 farmers to adopt vermiculture.

There are over 200 women who use vermicompost on a regular basis. More than 50 farmers have used algae compost for paddy crop and few have preserved it to be used in the next cycle. The use of chemical fertilizers like urea and DAP, while not completely eliminated has decreased. About ten farmers used bone compost and the results of this were visible in the rabi (winter) crops and vegetable cultivation. The compost provides resistance from pests. For bone compost and algae green compost Manavi got resource persons from Pusa Agriculture University and KVK, Dumka. - Promotion of traditional seeds - Operationalize seed banks in all villages. The plan is to cover 200 farmers by providing them local variety seeds at subsidized prices. Manavi will develop a seed repository to preserve and germinate local varieties of rice, maize and vegetables.

Seed banks for marginal farmers/share croppers and vegetable growers are active in five villages. The idea is to preserve, promote and propagate local varieties of seeds as opposed to outside/hybrid commercial variety of seeds. Since, commercial seeds have captured the market in wheat, vegetables and oilseeds, Manavi is working to revive local varieties of crops like paddy and maize. Farmers normally take loan at high interest from moneylenders to purchase seeds and other inputs. Manavi has formed a revolving fund to target needy farmers. Forty farmers have taken credit from the revolving account.

- Income generation activities - Develop viable and practical income generation projects like goat-rearing, food-processing, bangle making, honey cultivation and backyard agriculture for 300 women. Expand food-processing activity with 30 women.

Priority was given to groups that deposited seed money and initiated activities that encouraged a degree of entrepreneurship. This was done to strengthen the ongoing activities of the group and help them explore new avenues to market their products. The activities that received assistance were marketing of bangles, puffed rice, local varieties of fishes, vegetable cultivation, animal husbandry, goat rearing, cow rearing, sattu making, and marketing of cosmetic goods. Some of the groups also took loans to meet family needs such marriage of daughters, completion of final rituals, medical treatment etc.

Goats 26 goats were distributed in the following villages - Sildilpur, Osraha Tara, Supaul, Lodhipur, and Bahadurpur. These goats were given to members from the dalit communities living below the poverty line.

Poultry The poultry program has evoked good response from the Muslim and Hindu dalit communities. During the group meetings members showed interest in getting local breed as these were more hardy. The members were able to earn good money during the festival season. The poultry program is a good income generation avenue for landless families.

Piggery A new initiative started this year is piggery. Five SHG members have given 2 pigs each. Before delivering the pigs, the members were given training on caring for the pigs.

Flour mill A flour mill has been installed in Bhadurpur village. The management committee of the mill consists of representatives from seven SHGs and the day-to-day management is under the supervision of an SHG member, Bimla Devi. The mill charges a differential rate for members (SHGs and Mazdoor Kisan Sabha, 25% discount) and non-members. The mill has emerged as an outlet to sell products of SHG members.

- Strengthen the self-help groups and federation through training on group management and interaction with external agencies (banks and government agencies).

Panchayat plan Panchayat plans for 12 villages under 5 panchayats. VIKALP a resource agency provided training to staff, community members and panchayat representatives. A copy of the plan was submitted to the panchayat heads and the District Development Commissioner.

Meeting with bank officials Last year we had three meetings with senior bank officials. This year we decided to include members from the SHG federation in the meetings and converted the meetings to monthly reviews. These meetings helped to resolve some of the outstanding issues with the banks. So far 21 SHGs have received support from the banks. The participation of the SHG members has helped to accelerate the repayment rate which the banks appreciate.

• Update Report from Manavi (DOC)