Women in India Protect Land & Foster Self-Reliance

Laxmi Bai Mahila Sabha Self Help Group, formed by Manavi

Manavi helps women form Self Help Groups (SHGs). SHGs typically involve 10-20 women who save money and give credit to their peers in the group. In addition Manavi offers training and support to women to develop their skills. A typical example of this is the Laxmi Bahi Mahila Sabha SHG which is comprised of 11 women who are all engaged in agricultural activities. Since none of them own land, they all do sharecropping. Sharecropping is a system where the land is given to farmers for cultivation on a contract. In this case, the women were taking loans from the landlords.

These women were practicing modern agricultural practices: using seeds from the market and chemical pesticides and fertilizers. The women were not making much profit selling their vegetables. In fact, they were making enough to just get by.

Manavi motivated them to be trained in organic farming. Manavi facilitated training in subjects such as vermicompost, organic pesticides and selection of traditional cropping patterns. Once the women implemented organic farming, they saw that their production costs was less and that they were gradually starting to make more money.

Manavi has also offered training in food processing, where the women have learned to prepare spices and pulses (edible seeds of certain pod-bearing plants, such as peas and beans), and have learned to implement plant nurseries for seed production and propagation.