One after the other – From toilet building to soap making

Mita Nath Dalal was cooking for her family when I interrupted her. Unprepared for any interaction she felt little discomfort on my intrusion, but with a humble smile I made my way through. She was in real hurry to complete her cooking for her husband, and so even while talking to me, she paid full attention to the uncooked food. A one room house that it was, I could see some construction material lying on the verandah, which was brought in for the renovation of the toilet for which Mita had taken a loan from Milaap of Rs 15,000 in the first place. However, due to heavy rains, the construction had to be stopped for few weeks. Due to unavailability of a proper toilet Mita’s family with her sister-in-law, mother-in-law and husband, had to go to a polluted pond for cleaning and washing purposes. As I was trying to delve deep into Mita’s humble life, her mother-in-law stepped out and told us how difficult it used to be without a toilet that had very basic facilities. But thankfully, they now have a fully fiunctional toilet, although the roof is yet to be built, the family is happy that at least some construction was completed before the monsoons arrived. Mita who mostly does household works, is interested in opening her own business of soap making, somewhere down the line. Learning the art of soap making from her husband, Mita says, “If i save up enough, I will open my own business.”