T. Usha of Thalavaipuram village of Rajapalayam does not want to revisit her past.
It was hard and tough to be a daily wage labourer in a garment making centre where she earned Rs. 1.50 for stitching a full skirt. “ I would be able to stitch 10 skirts a day. Sometimes, I managed to make 15 and my weekly salary was Rs. 1,000,” she recalled.
That was 10 years ago. Now, she is a happy entrepreneur, who is pleased when customers come back seeking more garments. “I continue to stitch nighties and full skirts. But I get paid better. I am a sales assistant at self-help group stalls on rotation basis. I earn Rs. 150 a day and also get a share of the profit from the sales,” Ms. Usha said. There may not be drastic improvement in her family’s earnings, but she supplements her family’s income.
R. Devi, who also manages the stall, said: “Because of the support from the SHG, we need not take usurious loans. We avail ourselves of bank loans through the SHG and repay in small amounts. Without the support of the SHG, we would be nowhere.”
Under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, women from the arid Villupuram district received training from a Siddha doctor and learned to market herbal products. “We collect leaves and flowers from the forest and powder them using a pestle. Our products are much appreciated,” said B. Kalaichelvi of Amirtha Herbal Nadukuppam. The Women’s Development Corporation is currently conducting a three-week exhibition near Valluvar Kottam in Chennai with 56 stalls of SHG products from across 32 districts.
Director V. Amudhavalli said that there are roughly 5.6 lakh SHGs in the State at present. The Corporation has several schemes to encourage footfalls at the exhibition. During the September season, the Corporation earned around Rs. 55 lakh. On the recent announcement over the scrapping of the SHG programme, Ms. Amudhavalli said there has been no official communication about it.
