Toward Self-Reliance

Subhadramma’s family occupation was pottery. But the demand for mud and clay pots has reduced, with competition from cheaper plastic goods.
After a discussion with her husband, Subhadramma took a small loan from her  self-help group, Anushree, in Arakera village, and opened a small spice grinding mill in the front of her house. “I grind around 10 to 15 kg of dry chillies a day and earn around Rs 300-450 per day after deducting expenses towards maintenance and electric charges.

“If I had borrowed locally, the rate of interest would have been Rs 3 per 100 (36%), and we would not have been able to save anything. All our earnings would have gone for loan repayment only.
This year, Subhardramma again borrowed from her group to start her own grocery shop. Money earned from chilli grinding goes into paying the loan and she earns around Rs 100 to 150 from the grocery business which she uses for household expenses.
The extra income as a businesswoman has helped the family lead a life of independence and with dignity.

Home-based enterprises

Smt. Bhagamma from Kyadigera doddi Bhagamma engaged in Buffalo rearing
Smt Bhagamma joined the Shri Hanumantha SHG in 2005.

“I have been a member of the SHG since for the last 14 years and I have been saving and taking loans regularly. This year, I took a loan to purchase two young buffaloes for Rs 10,000. I have been rearing them for the past 11 months, and I can now sell each buffalo at Rs 25,000 to 30,000.

“Last year I took a loan to buy sheep and I made a good profit by rearing them and then selling the sheep at a profit.”

Working together

Kavita and her husband in brinjal field Kavita and Shantappa from Jalahalli

Smt. Kavita from Jalahalli is an example of how families work together..
Kavita belonged to a large joint family of 36 members. When her joint family broke, Kavita was uncertain how they would survive on her husband’s share of 20 guntas of land. They did not even have money to buy seeds. recalls Kavita.

Kavitha from Jalahalli is one of the members of the “Sanjana” JLG group.

“I took a loan of Rs 20,000. I spent Rs 5000 on different seed varieties and spent another Rs 5000 to clean the farm. Another Rs 10,000 was spent on fertilizers. In our 1/5th of an acre, we started to grow palak, methi, radish, coriander and other vegetable varieties. And we sold these vegetables in the Jalahalli and Devadurga weekly shandy. This season, I was able to save Rs 4 to 5000 after deducting the expenses.

“My husband has been my support system and cooperates in every task that I do. Today my three kids are going to school. We are able to run our house and also repay the loans. This season I have planted brinjal and in the coming years I want to take loan to start an income generating activity along with agriculture.

“When we started on our own, the local money lenders wouldn’t give us a loan because they didn’t think we had the capacity to repay with just 20 guntas of land. We’ve proved to them and to ourselves that we have the capacity to live successfully.”

Working together

Kyadigera Doddi is a small hamlet belonging to Devadurga Taluk. Around 40 families reside here. Mahila Lakshmi is a member of the Mehboob Pasha SHG and has been saving money every month for the last 6 years. Recently, she took a loan to purchase an autorickshaw for her husband.

“It has been 8 months since we purchased the auto and it has been earning us Rs 6-700 every day. After expenses we are able to save Rs 300-350 per day.

“We are a family of 4, and our two children go to a school in Devadurga. Going to the SHG has been like going to school myself. I have acquired knowledge of many things. I know about bank procedures and transactions. And i Have grown to be so confident.”