Udyogini

In Chakdehi village, we met with some of our borrowers who had taken a few hours off from work to speak to us. One of the women we interacted with was Radha Bai, who although shy at first, warmed to the subject of her business and how a recent loan from Rang De made a difference to it. She and her husband Santosh had a small eatery just outside their home but later moved to a bigger rented space. It cost them around Rs.600 per month in rent but gave them enough room to serve more customers.

Radha Bai was happy to show us around her establishment and pointed to the new chairs and benches that the loan had made possible. She had also bought bigger utensils which were used for preparing larger quantities of snacks and beverages. All of these new investments appear to have paid off. She and Santosh are now earning Rs.10000 per month in sales but are yet to see an improvement in their savings habit. “I don’t keep much savings at home because I have children and most of the money gets used up during emergencies”, she explained.

Despite not maintaining much in the way of savings, Radha Bai has no difficulty operating her State Bank of India account independently and hopes that if the hotel generates more income in future, she will be in a position to increase her bank balance. When asked if she had any further plans for her business, she said that she intends to broaden the menu choices at the hotel and would require a loan for that purpose.

As we took in all the improvements Radha Bai had made, we were impressed to see how well she had made use of her loan and hoped that once she has repaid all the instalments, she might have a little more money that can be saved for future contingencies.

Thank you for investing in Radha Bai’s loan. If you would like to help other women from Madhya Pradesh, please click on the link.

Our conversation with Anarkali Bai, a recent borrower, took place in the village of Chhapra in Madhya Pradesh earlier this month. Hailing from an agricultural family, Anarkali was eager to grow and sell vegetables from her farm to earn a living. However, a recurring problem in Chhapra prevented her from doing so. “I took a loan for Rs.10000 to sell vegetables but as there is a lack of water here, I couldn’t take it up,” she explained as she led us to a well near her home. A quick look into it confirmed what she said.

Since the loan had already been disbursed, Anarkali felt it would be best to use it to start some other livelihood that would give her good returns. After a discussion with her brother and her husband, it was decided that she would go into the brick-making business with her brother as a partner.

As she needed a larger sum for brick-making, her husband Ashok Kumar gave her Rs.5000 to make up for the insufficient funds. With enough capital in hand, Anarkali’s brother contacted a supplier and bought 20 tractor trolleys of brick-making raw materials for Rs.7000 and 2 trolleys of wood for Rs.8000. The two of them then worked over the next two months to create an impressive pile of 25000 bricks.

We asked her how much time she spent everyday on brick-making. “Almost the whole day,” she responded, “I make around 1000-1500 bricks in a day.” Her hard work will pay off once all the bricks are sold. At Rs.5 per brick, she estimates that she will earn Rs.1.25 lakhs from the sale once they have zeroed in on a buyer.

Unlike many of her counterparts in the SHG, Anarkali is familiar with banking transactions as she regularly operates her account at a local Grameen Bank. As far as savings go, there have been none till date. Although Ashok and her older son both work as farm laborers in Hoshangabad, their incomes are just enough to support the household.

“I don’t have any savings but when I sell the bricks, I will definitely save some of my earnings,” Anarkali said. Despite not having found a buyer yet, she has repaid the third loan installment out of her income from wage labour. She mentioned that her husband and son were very supportive of her new occupation and regularly sent money to help with expenses.

Anarkali Bai’s careful assessment of the livelihood she had in mind saved her from making a bad investment. Instead, she can now look forward to earning a good profit once the bricks are sold.

Thank you for investing in Anarkali Bai’s loan. If you would like to help other women from Madhya Pradesh, please click on the link.