Reaping fruits of labour

Empowerment

The women are not bothered about the way happala (papad) is pronounced in Kannada. Yet, they have found new meaning in their lives, thanks to the papads they roll out. Most of Malur is eager to purchase happalas made in Bellave village.

The women of Yeldur are a step ahead. Having begun weaving wire baskets, these women have found a market for the baskets in faraway France!

The baskets, combining the wire sourced from Bangalore and the skills of Yeldur women, is light but has brought dignity to the lives of these women.

The secret behind these successes is the organisational strength of the Stree Shakti self-help groups (SHG). The SHGs have paved way for the women’s economic independence as well as provided dignity for their social identity as well. Kneading dough and weaving baskets, these women have transformed into a self-sufficient community.

Coming from behind closed doors, the women have stepped out along with the responsibility of running their houses. It is to be noted that women of all age groups and belonging to different educational backgrounds have come together to forge a new identity for themselves.

When the Nivedita Stree Shakti Sangha was started 13 years ago, the 20 members used to gather and exchange gossip. But a year ago, when it was decided to start making happalas, each woman brought rice from their houses.

Soon, the happalas were ready. But who were the buyers? Nobody knew. Nobody in the village came forward to help. Neither were the shops interested. Undeterred, the women stuffed the happala packets into bags and went to the brick factories around the area, and from door to door in  Kondarahalli, Hedaginabele, Dinnur and Alagendahalli for months together.

Once, a retail shop owner in Malur evinced interest in the happalas when the women had gone to purchase raw materials there. Soon, a proper market was awaiting the crunchy snacks!

The women make around six to eight thousand happalas every week. People from nearby villages and Malur come to Bellave and buy Sabbakki (barley) and ragi happalas for different functions and events, directly from the Sangha.

The women have also begun making lime, mango and other varieties of pickles along with the happalas. Bellave’s cooks readily buy the happalas and pickles from the Sangha.

The women finish their household work by 11 am before gathering in the Veeradharma Samsthana Mutt premises where they are permitted to prepare their products. By 4:30 pm, the day’s work is done and the women return home. Initially, we would roll out the happalas manually and would make around 500 pieces. But the next day we would have to bear with the pain and discomfort. After purchasing the rolling machine, the work is much easier, they say.

Putting money to good use

Funded by a Rs 5 lakh loan from the Canara Bank, the women have made good use of the money. For instance, Sujatha, Swarnalatha and Renuka bought cows while Neelamma now runs a hotel. Girijamma has an onion stall in the Malur market, Umadevi bought six sheep, Umarani bought ragi cleaning machine while Basamma recently conducted her second daughter’s wedding!

The self-help group members wear two sets of uniform. To purchase them, the women borrowed an amount of Rs 20,000 under one of the member’s names from the bank. Paying Rs 1,000 each they bought an expensive and a simple saree respectively.
The expensive saree is meant for attending functions while the simple one is meant for daily use. Those who come without uniform are levied a Rs 5 fine!

The women, who had never seen the taluk office in Malur about six kilometres away recently went there to lodge a complaint about a member’s lost ration card! The members now understand the meaning of bank, passbook, affidavit, credit and debit... After all, the Sangha has around Rs two and a half lakhs in savings!

Beyond desi market

The activities of Mahalakshmi Stree Shakti self-help group of Yeldur village have gone beyond making wire baskets and finding desi market to France. Started in 2006 with 18 members, more than 100 women are earning money by weaving wire baskets. Currently weaving baskets measuring 30-inch wide and 30-inch long baskets, these women are contemplating making smaller baskets that hold ipads. A couple of samples are already awaiting customers!

These baskets are sold in France without any trademark; one Ruby of Bangarpet acts as the middleman here. The women began their activities with tailoring and embroidering clothes. Around three years ago, the Sangha members applied for a Rs 5 lakh loan from Canara Bank which also provided them with a subsidy of Rs 1.25 lakhs, which came to about Rs 21,000 for each member.

While some used the money for setting up handlooms in their house, the rest bought cows. Dairy industry is thriving here. The loan will be completely cleared next month and the Sangha is contemplating borrowing Rs 10 lakhs now!

Each woman gets paid Rs 80 per basket, while the production cost is Rs 120. The baskets are sold at Rs 200 apiece.

So far, around 500 pieces are being sold monthly for the past three months. Come July, the Sangha will sell a thousand baskets!

“Though wire is available in Bangalore, it costs Rs 180 per kg but in the Coimbatore factory it is available for Rs 140. We went there and conducted the transaction in Tamil. The factory will supply 500 kg of wire per month now,” says Umadevi who beams with pride after negotiating a business deal in an alien language!

The women are happy to weave baskets at home while keeping an eye on the children and other members of the family, who are quietly helping their women achieve their goals.

A husband who jokes about his wife not making ragi mudde after a tiring day at making happalas here and a mother-in-law who helps her daughter-in-law knead the dough to the right consistency there– all these people have ensured that their women in their traditional and obedient roles nonetheless transform into role models of self-sufficiency.

(Translated by BSS)