Livelihood Promotion through Income Generation - A Case Study of Maa Tarini Mahila Samiti

This paper describes the success of the self help group (SHG), Maa Taarini Mahila Samiti, founded in a backward village of Orissa, India, with the encouragement of the Gramin Vikas Trust.

The village had the following features:

• Main occupation was agriculture, followed by wage labor;
• Cultivation was rain dependant;
• Irrigation facilities were insufficient;
• Modern technology was absent;
• Productivity, income and asset base were low;
• Capital was lacking.

The SHG had the following features:

• 12 women members, 10 of whom were married;
• Homogeneous caste and class structures;
• High level of literacy.

The group functioned as follows:

• Members met every month for a meeting;
• Each member saved Rs. 10 monthly;
• Defaulters were fined;
• The group linked up with the Bank of India.

The group took up the following alternative livelihood options:

• Diversified from traditional agriculture to sabai grass cultivation;
• Made ropes from the grass;
• Entered into the livestock business;
• Started bamboo plantations;
• Used the agricultural equipment given to them by Gramin vikas Trust to earn more income.

The paper concludes by listing the group's achievements:

• Enhanced self-reliance;
• Creative use of locally available resources;
• Increased ability of the SHG and Gramin Vikas Trust to work together;
• Strengthening of institutional capacity through training.