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There are a number of instances of success
following interventions at the field level. Because of these interventions, the
lives of people have positively changed for ever. These instances of success
broadly fall in three heads: economic change, social change and local planning
and Action.
Economic Change
Pig Rearing
 Pig rearing is mainly done by the 'Pasi' (Scheduled
Caste) community. Ram Devi, a Pasi by caste, is a
member of Roshni Self Help Group, which is two and
half years old. She took a loan of Rs 4,000 for pig
rearing at 24 per cent interest in July 2002. Out of
10 pigs purchased, she sold seven after nurturing
them and earned a profit of Rs 8,000. One pig died.
This group had received loan of Rs 17,500 from the
Regional Rural Bank at 12 per cent interest. She is
repaying the loan regularly in monthly installments.
Three other members have taken a loan for the same
purpose.
Sweet Business
 Before joining his self help group in Nauakhera,
Rakesh had invested a few hundred rupees to start a
small sweet shop. With a loan of Rs 5,000 from the
group, he has increased the number of items and
their quantity. He sells them in various village
haats (weekly markets), with sales varying from
Rs 300 to Rs 800 everyday depending on season. The
profit per cent is 20 to 25. He now plans to expand
business further with a loan of Rs 15,000 from the
group.
Baan (Rope) Making
 In village Allipur, more than four dozen families,
mostly Muslims, make a living through making of
ropes from moonj grass. Picture shows an area
where several families, both men and women together
with children, engage in different stages of
rope-making. Credit is required for buying moonj
to do regular production. Ya Khuda self help group
has provided loans up to Rs 4,000 for the purpose.
There are plans to organise collective marketing for
obtaining better price for the product.
Aari Dardoji Hand Embroidery
 Mohd. Rizvan of Lakshmi Group, Nauakhera, is a
skilled Dardoji artisan, but he could get small
orders from town due to limited ability of producing
embroidered garments in a short time. Rizwan took a
loan of Rs 10,000 from his group and engaged four
additional artisans who have to be paid an advance
of Rs 2,500 each to secure their commitment. He is
now able to finish his job in time earning about Rs
2,500 to 3,000 himself and also pay Rs 70 to Rs 80
per day wage labour to his artisans. He is looking
for a loan of Rs 1 lakh to increase his production
which has an excellent market.
Social Change
Countering Untouchability
 Promotion of local leaders that challenge social
evils like untouchability is one of the important
objectives of social mobilisation. In the picture,
we see Lalluram of village Lohangpur offering food
cooked at a low caste household to group members of
higher caste. Village Lohangpur has four predominant
castes Lodh, Ahir, Pasi and Dhobi. The village has
set a trend in removal of untouchability in matters
of food acceptance by members of different castes
from one another. This was done through several
rounds of meetings where the issues of caste was
debated at length.
Challenging the Police
 When the poor are empowered, there is usually a
strong reaction by the vested interests. Mohd.
Haneef standing with his bicycle is a transformed
man. He had been falsely implicated in a theft case
and put in prison by the police on the suggestion of
the village head for whom he had stopped working as
wage labourer. However, all the members of the group
in the village hired a tractor and travelled to the
district police head quarters. They vouched for
Haneef’s innocence and requested the district chief
of police to do justice. The chief was surprised to
see their determination and called the Thana
(prison) to release the detenu.
Local Planning and Action
Drain Constructed Following Group Action
 The Sangam Kshetriya Samooh in
village Hindora consisting of 11 self help groups passed a
resolution for construction of a drain for removing spilled
water from a hand pump. this had been causing water logging
on the main road of the village and had become a source of
nuisance and disease. The resolution was handed over the the
village head with a request to use panchayat (village
council) funds for the purpose. The resolution has the
support of all group members, a formidable section of the
population. The village head is a Brahmin and group members
are mostly Muslims or Scheduled Castes, who had never tried
a collective approach earlier. However, the representation
was successful and the panchayat had constructed a 200 metre
long drain. This has encouraged group members to prepare
similar plans for community welfare.
Backward and Forward Processes
 Avsan Bibi Samooh in village
Kursi has a membership of 10 self help groups. Most members
belong to the Scheduled Castes and Muslims. this village had
always been dominated by a few landlords belonging to the
upper castes, who also lent money at exorbitant interest
rates. When groups were formed here the fear of landlords in
the minds of the people was so compelling that initially
they held secret meetings. A school started with the
resolution of the groups met with direct opposition, i.e.,
beating teachers and prevention of children from attending.
After years of struggle the school is running.
This was followed by a reverse
process. The self help groups passed a resolution for
raising the level of a brick road in another section with a
small bridge on the road. these were first discussed in
group meetings where members identified areas for road
construction in their locality. The combined plan was then
presented in writing in the village council (gram sabha)
meeting. These were taken positively by the village head and
now the whole scenario of the village has changed. There are
brick roads at all places suggested by the groups, a tribute
to the slow struggle of the group members who now have an
identity as well as a voice in local planning and
development.
The murmur is that the village
head who belongs to the upper caste landlords and was
considered an enemy of the group concept, has an eye on the
next panchayat election and is wanting to have the majority
in his favour. Ten strong groups and their families easily
have a majority vote. |
