Sughanda, Laxmibai and Yamanavva each take a step towards a better life
Balwad is a small village in the Athani taluk region in Karnataka. I was there recently to meet a group of borrowers, who have each availed loans to expand their individual micro-enterprises. Three residents from Balwad, Sughanda, Laxmibai and Yamanavva, all of them former Devadasis, benefitted from 3 micro-loans of Rs. 20000. I began talking to Sughanda, the group leader, first. She is a full-time agricultural laborer, who manages to simultaneously run a small scale buffalo farming business. Ever since she suffered a loss in goat farming business, she has been rearing only buffaloes. Because of a steady demand for buffalo milk and a regular income, she considers this investment safe.
She has a married daughter, a working son and a school-going son. The elder son works as a construction worker, earning Rs. 300 per day. Sughanda, who never had means to educate her other children, has big plans for the younger one, who is in his 11th standard. She wishes to see him graduate. Though his education is exhausting her earnings, she is happy to pay for his education. She always seems to find ways to make his education possible- sometimes by venturing into a new business and sometimes by working hard and scaling up her existing businesses. This time around, Sughanda’s investment into buying a new buffalo has proven to be a right one. Though she has to wait for 4 more months to sell the milk and earn an income, she is very confident about increasing her monthly income at least by Rs. 2000.
Laxmibai, on the other hand, bought a buffalo for Rs. 30000 (Rs. 10000 from her personal savings). With 3-4 litres of milk per day and a market rate of Rs. 25 per litre, she has found a way to increase her monthly income. “Expenses are really high at home, and medical expenses are unpredictable with growing kids falling sick very often. There was a dire need to reduce our dependability on money from high interest loans. This business expansion, by allowing us to earn an additional Rs. 2500 per month, has bettered the financial scenario at home. This would not have been possible without a timely loan of Rs. 20000”, she said.
Yamanavvva, who borrowed Rs. 20000 to buy a buffalo, also has some good news. After the new buffalo, her monthly income is up by Rs. 2000. Things at home have been a lot easier for her ever since. All in all, an amount of Rs. 60000 did more than serve its noble purpose. It has impacted the lives of not just 3 women, but of 3 families.
