Focus: Building Local Entrepreneurs

Project: Capacity Building of Existing Networks of NGO's, CBO's and SHG's for environment linked income generation activities

Funded by: India Canada Environment Facility, New Delhi

Duration:  February 2005 - January 2007

The project is being implemented in the three states of Karnataka, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. In Karnataka, Chikmagalur and its surrounding districts of Hassan and Tumkur were identified as the areas of operation of the project. Kasargod district in Kerala and Chindwara district in Madhya Pradesh was identified as the project areas. Vikasana in Tarikere, Chikmagalur district, Prachodana in Hassan district, Bapuji Institute for Rural Development Society (BIRDS), Abhivruddi and Jnana Jyothi Trust in Tumkur districts and Environment Improvement Rainfed Areas (EIRA) in Chindwara were identified as the project partners. In Kerala, Kudumbashree, Poverty Alleviation Mission of the Government of Kerala, provided assistance. After one year of project implementation, the project withdrew from Madhya Pradesh and is engaged in creating women's enterprises in Tamil Nadu.

PROJECT COMPONENTS

The project had two major components- An Awareness campaigns that reached out to 150 women's groups on various environment friendly technologies for income generation and the second component was training and enterprise building in specific income generating activities for the different states.

Awareness Campaigns

This activity included design of awareness campaigns, interactions with a large number of NGOs , CBOs and SHGs and execution of the awareness campaigns through posters, pamphlets, short films and demonstration of working models of the environment friendly technologies.

Training and Enterprise building in Income Generating Activities -

Based on the inputs from the awareness campaigns and interaction with the various NGOs, CBOs and SHGs, specific income generation activities were chosen in the three states for implementation. The enterprise building process  included development of technology packet for  the specific income generation activity, technical training, trial production, market development, development of linkages and demonstration of profitability.

The following Income generation activities were promoted in the three project states

Karnataka

• Installation of Sarala household cooking stove
• Producing charcoal from loose biomass
• Production of Vermicompost
• Fig drying through biomass based dryers
• Borewell recharge through rainwater

Kerala

• Household cashew processing
• Production of coconut chips and dried fish
• Production of Vermicompost

Madhya Pradesh

• Installation of Sarala household cooking stove
• Installation of water heating stoves
• Installation of improved energy efficient brick kiln 

CURRENT STATUS:

The project has been completed and TIDE is seeking funding for working more extensively and intensively for technology options with high scope for replicability. It has already attracted funding for expansion of activities for drying of horticultural produce and for greenhouses

Case study 

Renukamma rediscovers herself in an ICEF project

Renukamma aged 54 years had completed her responsibilities in life. She lived with her husband- a small time cement contractor in their native village, Gummanahalli in Kadur taluk of Chikmagalur district in Karnataka. She was a member of a Self Help Group set up by an NGO, Vikasana in Tarikere. She often talked to Mukund, Vikasana's field officer about using her free time to do something worthwhile. When TIDE approached Vikasana to identify women belonging to SHGs for training in the construction of Sarala stoves, Renukamma was the first person selected.

Renukamma learnt about the stove during training and was so taken in by its features, that as soon as she went back home, she built herself a stove. She talked to other members of her SHG about it and some of them wanted her to build a stove in their houses. Renukamma started her new vocation- that of a stove builder. In the next four months, she built 32 stoves. TIDE offered to Renukamma the opportunity to become a Master trainer in Sarala stove construction. She accepted and attended a 6 day training course in Bangalore. She saw it as an opportunity to train other women like her to earn an income and give more women a cleaner and healthier kitchen. Subsequent to her becoming a Master trainer, she identified and trained one man and one woman in neighbouring areas as stove constructors. They have in turn taken up stove building in earnest.

Lalithabai - A true entrepreneur

Smt. Lalithabai, aged about 45 years, lives in H.Muddenahalli Tandya in Tiptur taluk. She was married to Sri Lalya Naik at the age of 20 and has one daughter and two sons. She earned her living working in quarries and as agricultural labour.

Her life saw some change when BAIF (Bharathi Agro Industries Federation) began its activities in her village. She joined BAIF as a health worker to train SHG members in growing medicinal plants, preparing traditional medicines and rendering first aid. A little later, she was promoted as Field Assistant

In the year 2001, TIDE trained her in the construction of household stoves called Sarala stove. The stove is smokeless, is fuel efficient, and saves time in cooking.  She learnt the skill and assessed that such a stove is very relevant in rural homes. Women like her who suffered from smoke in the kitchen while cooking and spent a lot of time cleaning sooty vessels, could benefit by the stove. She also judged that she could earn  a good income by building these stoves, while at the same time reducing the drudgery and health of  women like her.  With support from BAIF, she has constructed more than 1000 stoves in about three years and earned Rs. 50000/-. This income has helped to finance the education of her daughter, who has now completed TCH. Along with loans from her SHG, she has been able to buy cattle and sheep. She is also the proud owner of an acre of land, in which she cultivates ragi, jowar and mustard.

She has become an icon in her village and always leads from the front. A number of community based programmes sees her as an active and vocal participant. She has worked in the Swaccha Grama programme, is a member of the local milk co operative and of the welfare committee of her village. She participates in all stove construction training programmes of TIDE to motivate women to take up stove construction and   achieve the level of empowerment that she has reached.

She has been awarded the Woman Exemplar Award by CII in 2007...more