Capacity Building of SHGs for Environment Linked Income Generation Activities

SHG meet in Tiptur, Karnataka
A workshop was held on 25 January 2005 at Tiptur, Tumkur district, Karnataka for women trainees trained in the construction of Sarala Stove.

• To enable the trainees to interact with meet each other and share experiences/li>
• Discuss any technical or societal problems that they would have encountered in stove construction and ways to overcome these problems/li>
• Motivate all the trainees to take up stove construction actively

About 50 trainees attended the workshop. Dr.Poornima Vyasulu, a consultant specializing in development programmes for rural women, attended the meeting and motivated the trainees to overcome their inhibitions, and utilize the skill they had learnt to earn an income and gain self confidence. A film produced by TIDE on Sarala stove entitled ‘ Sunbeams in Smoke’ was screened. Smt. Lalithabai, a veteran Sarala stove builder, having constructed over 800 smokeless stoves was invited to speak. She inspired confidence in the women, advising them to pick up courage and take up stove construction as a means to achieve their desires in life. The trainees were divided into 5 groups of 8-9 members each and asked to discuss problems relating to stove building and ways to overcome them. A representative of each group summarized the discussions.

Awareness Campaigns in Kasargod, Kerala

An Awareness Campaign was held at Kilkuzhi village of Kasargod district on 26 October 2004 in partnership with Kudumbashree Poverty Alleviation mission of the Government of Kerala. Two to three members each represented 60 SHGs from Kasargod district. SHG members from Thrissur, Kollam and Kozhikode were also present. About 150 women attended the campaign.

The objective of the campaign was to create awareness among a large number of SHGs about the livelihood options available to them through simple technologies that were environment friendly, and the financing options for these livelihood activities by Kudumabashree, their Panchayats and Banks. Technologies like rainwater harvesting, drip Irrigation, farm ponds, botanical treatment system, sarala household stove, bioreactor, charcoal from loose biomass, vermi-composting, household cashew processing, fish drying using biomass dryers and coconut chips production using biomass fired dryers were discussed during the campaign. Pamphlets were also distributed, giving information on all the technologies. A model of a biomass-fired drier was also displayed.

Various women who were carrying out income generation activities spoke on the occasion and raised matters relating to enterprise development. Most of the discussion was focussed on obtaining bank loans for the self-help groups. Kudumbashree officials and scientists from CPCRI moderated the discussions and assured the women’s groups of support in interacting with banks.