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Savings
and Credit Program: SWATI believes that women’s process of empowerment is incomplete unless they learn to handle resources and gain control over them- in that order. Keeping this logic in mind, we initiated women’s collectives in each village to work on women’s and village level issues, and we also initiated the activity of savings and credit in them. Begun in 1993, Savings and Credit was one of the earliest programs of SWATI. It has gone on to become a central activity because: a) It has the ideology of the collective b) It enhances women’s skills and financial management capabilities c) It has resource-generating potential The Savings and Credit program began its operation through village-level women’s collectives (village-level sanghs) in the Patdi and Dhranghdra blocks. In 1997, ten village sanghs in Patdi came together and pooled their savings and other collections, taking on the dimensions of a block level collective. The savings and credit activity thus has also been instrumental in providing a base and a structure to the Mahila Vikas Sangh (MVS). The number of village-level groups and its membership has both gone up substantially in the last year. A reason for the quantum jumps in membership is SWATIs response to the earthquake and the positive role that the Mahila Vikas Sanghs played in reaching out to help. Several villages have more than one sangha and consequently, the quantum of savings has also gone up. |
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Women’s
Enterprise Development: Women’s enterprise development is a natural progression in the savings and credit process. SWATI is committed to Women’s enterprise development and conducts training programs that enable women to • Understand market forces and develop business strategies • Gain more information on the chosen enterprise. • Provide enterprise experience and help them develop individual business plan for implementation • Help develop skills of communication, presentation, report writing, project preparation and finance management The Mahila Vikas Sangh loan federation continues to extend its coverage to reach hundreds of women interested in becoming entrepreneurs. So far, over 350 women have been supported in setting up their small enterprises. |
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Income
Generation Fairs : SWATI holds annual Income Generation Melas for women in the Surendranagar district. Rural women are invited to hear the “success stories” of other women entrepreneurs, learn about various entrepreneurial activities available for them, and discover the wealth of resources provided by NGOs and local loan-bearing institutions. Among the fair’s activities are gender-sensitive seminars; practical-learning workshops that teach women how to make various items including low-cost soaps, incense sticks, and hand creams; and exhibition stalls of successful women’s entrepreneurial products. Over 250 women attended the most recent Mela in Surendranagar, held on the 20th and 21st of November 2004. |
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Grocery
Store Facility : The issue of food security has become a major issue facing the rural population, for the decline in subsidies to the Public Distribution System has led to a fall in the quantity and quality of rations. Additionally, the last three years of drought and earthquake led to severe hardships and many women took loans for consumption purposes. A grocery store facility was initiated at the level of the Patdi Mahila Vikas Sangh in order to provide nine basic articles of consumption that include food items, soap, and tea on a not-for-profit basis. While the purchase from the store is open to all, MVS members are allowed to purchase against their savings. The store is doing well at the initial stage and has a monthly sale of rupees 15,000.00. |
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