Adding to basket
Mahar community of Balangir district in Odisha, India is known for bamboo crafts. Mahulpada village is remotely located and rural. In this village there is a separate hamlet for the Mahar community. The main source of livelihood for this community is weaving bamboo baskets. In the year 2014, 15 poor, illiterate rural women of this hamlet formed a Self Help Group named Jay Ram with an objective of taking a loan from Mahashakti Foundation for the overall development of their families with the improvement of their existing business. Basant, age 45, is one of the members who is sitting in the middle with her hand raised. She is married and resides in a small hut with her four-member family comprised of her husband, one son age 17 and one daughter age 12 who are continuing their studies. All members of this group have a very poor background with a lack of all basic needs like education, shelter, health facilities etc.
The business of Basant is a traditional business of their community (weaving of bamboo baskets). Basant and her husband combined do the processing work and knit baskets of different varieties. They sell their products in the nearest weekly market of the town. Some traders also regularly come to this village to purchase bamboo products. Basant earns a monthly profit of Rs 4,000 from her business. This small income is not at all sufficient for her to manage the household expenses as well as the educational expenses of her children. As there is a growing demand for these products to supply to various parts of the country, Basant wants to purchase more raw bamboo with this loan of 14,000 INR to work for a longer period. This will help her to earn some extra income to manage the family smoothly. Basant hopes to construct a house in the near future and give a higher education to her son and daughter.
The other 14 members of the group also do the same business.
In this group: Susama, Basant, Balmati, Kuntala, Padma, Baidehi, Udia, Tarulata, Nalini, Rebati, Kuma, Manju, Chandrakala, Nira, Ramita
