A Womens Co-operative - Process of Women Empowerment

Kotauratla is a mandal in Vishakhapatnam district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. It is the Taluka headquarter for surrounding 72 villages. A famous temple Uma Maheswaralayam, and Kodanda Ramalayam is situated in this mandal. Varaha river passes through this village. Agriculture is the main occupation of this village producing sugar cane, paddy and maize. More than 1000 professional came from this village which shows the education level of the village. The total literacy rate is 65%. Being remote village it also one of the best tourist place in Andhra Pradesh with unusual hills with thick trees all over the village.

Kotauratla has a population of 7003 in which 3590 are male while 3413 female as per census 2011. kotauratla has lower literacy rate of 66.95% compared to 67.02% of Andhra Pradesh .The male literacy rate is 74.20%and female rate was 59.28%.SC population is 1849 and ST 118. Out off total workers 2,653 the main workers are 1966 and marginal workers 687.

Centre for Humanitarian Assistance Trust (CeFHA), a voluntary organisation is working in the backward districts of Visakhapatnam covering 36 villages with a package of Integrated Development programmes for the upliftment of the poor Adivasis and Dalits with the support of other partners. Among the many programmes like children empowerment, community health, sustainable agriculture, social forestry, formation of federations and networks, SHGs are a few major programmes. The project emphasises more on the development of children, family, SHGs and community. The current initiative has a focused derived objective on SHGs to manage the thrift and credit programme in the area.

CeFHA is registered in 2002 to address children, health & nutrition education and communication programmes. Due to cultural bondage, the poor Adivasi & Dalit women were unable to come out of their situation in a vocal way, and there was less participation of women in the community meetings. There was a desired need to focus on women and form women groups so that the women can collectively address their problems.

The Child Focused Community Development (CFCD) project commenced in the year 2006 with the support of KNH, Germany. CeFHA began its journey with children focusing on education, health and nutrition. The families are involved in participatory rural appraisal exercise, which has helped to identify the skills they possess, knowledge they have and resources they own; the community health and sustainable agriculture programme was initiated through communities participation. The women groups actively emerged in the area of 1st Phase 16 villages in 2006 and in the 2nd phase 20 villages from 2013. This has given a real strength to form self help groups.

Formation of Self Help Groups:

Introduction: Self Help Groups are novel and innovative organizational setup in India for the Women upliftment and welfare. All Women in India are given a chance join any SHGs for training and development so as to be prospective entrepreneurs and skilled workers. The SHGs are promoted for enhancing the capacity of the women in terms of leadership.

In Kotauratla Mandal 100 Self Help Group have been formed with 15 to 20 members in each village. Today, in 36 villages, with a membership of 1384 are actively involved in self-help initiatives. These groups have been formed to:

1. Save small amount of money regularly.
2. Mutually agree to contribute a common fund to meet their emergency needs.
3. Provide collateral free loan with terms decided by the group at market driven rate of interest.

The Concept: “Unwinding Traditional Saving Approach to a Trnsormative and a Modern Novel Way of Savings”.

The SHGs are able to mobilize small savings either on weekly or monthly basis from persons who were earlier not expected to have any savings. They have been able to effectively recycle the amount generated among the members for meeting the emergency credit needs and also for their small business purposes of member groups.

The Process of Micro Credit Initiative

Microcredit - the extension of small loans gives people who would otherwise not have access

to credit the opportunity to begin or expand businesses or to pursue job-specific training. These borrowers lack the income, credit history, assets, or security to borrow from other sources. Its appeal comes from its capacity to provide the means for those who have the ability, drive, and commitment to overcome the hurdles to self-sufficiency.

Continuous education and work focused with the women to strengthen their unity and build a strong leadership among them was a prima facie factor in institutionalising the process of money rotation. The members in this case the women, participate in planning, decision making, implementation and monitoring of all the activities. These groups are capable to mobilise women to come together on common issues like liquor, equal and fair wages, battered women, land ownership, property rights and forest issues both at micro and macro levels. A sense of thrift to remove the threats of traditional credit practices became an important agenda for the empowerment and development of the communities.

This led the project to initiate individual savings concept by reducing the unproductive expenses on liquor, ceremonies, marriages, and festivals and converting them into a more productive way of securing finances by using it in promoting a skill into entrepreneurship and utilise the fund in the time of distress.

Objectives of Micro Credit Initiative

• To help the women financially independent and not to depend on moneylenders.
• To equip the women to manage their own earnings for themselves and their families.
• To develop unity amongst women and promote women skill in financials.
• To develop the culture of revolving their savings among themselves and
• also to develop a capital fund.

Micro Credit Management:

The management of the micro-credit is simple. Each credit committee of the women groups selects the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and other members to manage the financial affairs. Each committee selects two women from among the existing members to open and operate an account jointly at the local Bank. Every month Rs. 5 to Rs. 20 is collected from each member and the same is deposited in the bank. Each group collects Rs 350/- to 450/- per month. So far, the Women Groups have raised an amount of Rs.13, 50,178/- and kept the amount in the Bank. At present, the micro-credit programme is carried out in all the 36 villages.

The women credit committee meets every month to discuss on the activities of the group and the members collectively take decisions to sanction any loan to its members. The rate of interest charged on borrowing is fixed at 12% -24 % per annum i.e. Rs. 1-2/- per month for Rs. 100/-. If anybody fails to repay, the group takes action by fixing an additional amount (double the interest) along with the credit basing on the economic status of the person borrowed. However, the SHGs follow some guidelines and criteria on repayment, interest, loan availability to the poor families, prioritisation of the purpose of loans, family needs and economic position, credit worthiness and repaying capacity, maintenance of accounts and upkeep of records. Repayment procedures and interest norms differ from village to village.

In every village, the SHGs decide the rate of interest, instalments to repay and how much to repay and develop appropriate mechanisms if any member fails to repay the loan borrowed. Sometimes the extension of the repayment period is considered if any unavoidable circumstances the borrower may face. In such cases the borrower shall inform the women's group for extension of the repayment period. At any cost the loan given is neither written off nor subsidised.

The members of the group who are in need are eligible to receive a loan ranging from Rs.1500 to Rs.2500/-. The loan is given towards short term productive ventures like vegetable marketing, Milk business, fish business, goattery, poultry, spice processing, broom binding, tea shops, Tiffin shops, Chuda, bangles, Dry fish, meat shops, Vegetable and fruit shops.

Capacity Building Programme for MACTCS Members

The project imparts training to the members of the Women Groups/SHGs and its Office Bearers on managing the Credit Committee and running the Women's Group. For Value Addition of their produces different skill trainings are conducted and to sell their finished produces entrepreneur skills are imparted. Following these trainings, the selected persons are given training in Income Generation activities and are assisted through production units. Basing on the availability of raw materials, up -gradation of the traditional skills like Palm Fibre; Bamboo Basket Weaving and Craft, Lacquer toys; Carpentry, Tamarind Processing, Spice Processing,& Food processing; Herbal hair oil; Pickle making Natural Dye Processing, Detergents Making, Leaf Plate Making and Honey Extraction are undertaken. The trained women carry the products to the weekly markets and to the nearby industrial towns to sell their products. Some of them participated in exhibitions organised by Government.

Co-ordination and Monitoring Micro-Credit

The Society organises quarterly meetings for the women group members to co-ordinate and monitor operations of the fund and credit mechanisms, problems faced and solutions sought. These quarterly meetings also provide a space for the different credit committees to form into a network of credit committees.

The impact of Micro Credit

• There is a positive change in the status of women
• Savings and thrift has become a part of their life and their economic conditions are improving.
• Able to use credit for income generation through vegetable vending, fair-price shop, sheep and goattery
• Their dependency on the local money-lenders is considerably reduced
• The situation of the poor is getting better
• Converted the women from dependent consumer to a proud producer
• Income generated through credit and repayment has made them credit worthy
• The repayment of the loans are prompt because of low interest
• Women have become independent with regard to decision making in the family and in the community
• Self Confidence, courage to face problems and challenge the exploitative structures is growing.

Micro-credit will have a little impact, unless it is accompanied by proper and effective capacity building activities in the areas of leadership, values collective sharing and participation, communitarian and just values, democratisation of groups, education, health, communication skills, entrepreneur and marketing towards sustainable development.

Focus: CeFHA is working for Social and Economic Development. It has undertaken Economic Development as thrift and credit activity for the last one decade with our most vulnerable Dalit and Tribal women. Now as per the demand of the members we federated them and registered as Jhansi Mactcs under Mutually Aided Co operative Societies Act on 29th January 2016

Economic Benefits:-

1. This Thrift and credit gives members economic security in times of financial hardship and gives them an opportunity to exploit their opportunities and make more money in better times
2. This Programme gives women more control over resources.
3. It encourages entrepreneurship and helps people to make long term plans for their future income, weaning them away from a hand to mouth existence.
4. With secure livelihood people can meet the expenses of life eg. for eating nutritious food, health expenses, good clothes and good education for children

Social Benefits:-

1.This is most beneficial for women to get special recognition at home and society, it will lead to increase self respect.
2. Women can be organized for social change through this programme.

Political Benefits:-

This programme will provide an opportunity to be elected as PANCHAYAT Members for decision making posts. We have to encourage livelihood enhancement activities so that the schemes of Govt. will be tapped judiciously into the needy entrepreneurs.

Registration of Women Groups as Jhansi MACTCS

(A step towards Women empowered Banking Entrepreneurship)

Jahansi Laxmi Mahila Mandala Mutually Aided Cooperative Thrift and Credit Society Ltd kotauratla

Jahansi Laxmi Mahila Mandala Mutually Aided Cooperative Thrift and Credit Society Ltd (Registered under AP Macs act 30of 1995) registered on 29-01-2016 with registered No:AMC/VSP/DCO/2016/4147. The main objective is to promote economic and social betterment of its members through thrift, Self Help and Mutual Aid in accordance with the principals of cooperation. Mrs.Chinnari is the chief promoter of this society. The activities and services are to:

1. Encourage and afford habit of thrift and savings among the members.
2. Receive all types of short, medium, long term deposits and recurring, fixed and other deposits.
3. Lend, Advance, Grant short term medium, long term and other types of loan to the members with security for consumption, productive and asset formation purposes.
4. Mutual aid and welfare schemes for the economic and social betterment of the members and their families.
5. Invest it recourses including surplus funds movable immovable properties in non speculative manner for advantages of the society.

The Society provides short term loans to its members on a nominal interest it also provides education loans, housing loans and pension schemes to its members. At Present 54 SHGs from 22 villages became the share holders and raised Rs.3,51,636/- in the Bank at Kotauratla. Each member invested a share of Rs.200- 1000/- as capital investment in the Cooperative Society. A total number of 662 members invested from 22 villages.These groups are also engaged in processing agriculture and forest based materials like vegetables, spices, honey, tamarind, and Herbal hair oil , leaf plates , petty sales, palm leaf marketing , coconut brooms, dairy, toy units and goatery.

The Journey so far so good…

As soon as the MACTC was formed it kicked into action within no time, out of 36 Villages nearly 23 villages have already invested in MACTC society with a percentage of share as depicted in the graphical representation below, the 13 villages also would be a part of this share process very soon. This has helped the women in the villages to be motivated and keep the entire fraternity of MACTC too motivated.

Apart from that there are many women who have already become entrepreneurs and this being a success in itself the women have ventured in to different kinds of businesses – this not only provides self sufficiency in terms of finances but it also gathers a lot of self respect and self morale. The graph below depicts the kind of business the women ventured into. MACTC has now given a new dimension and this model is now proving to be a self sufficient model.

Conclusion:

To conclude, credit is one of the inputs in the process of empowerment and change. Credit can only be effective when it is understood as one of the aspect of an integrated set of support services to strengthen the poor women's economy. When money is being given as a loan the prime concern is that it should be repaid. Credit to poor women has to be seen as a process of enabling them to stabilise their livelihood system.