Women’s Day: Water scarcity to income prosperity by empowered women

By Zarina Screwvala,

This is a true and inspiring story of Angrekond, a small picturesque village in Raigad, Maharashtra. Entering the village, we can see the beauty of every house, having its own kitchen garden in the backyard, maintained by women. They grow organic vegetables for their domestic consumption and sell them in the markets too. In the mornings, the aroma of freshly made ghee is in the air, made with love by the women of Angrekond. These 30 women are budding entrepreneurs and empowered partners in the prosperity of their families.

However, five years back, women in Aangrekond had a life full of challenges due to water scarcity. Women had to walk every day for 3 km to fetch water. Taking multiple trips to the far-away well, they often developed joint pains and physical ailments. This drudgery impacted them mentally as well. They were stressed and had no time for themselves and their family. They spent extended hours managing their domestic chores. The villagers were also prone to many waterborne diseases and infections. In such a scenario, engaging in any livelihood opportunity was out of the question for the women.

In 2015, Ronnie and Zarina Screwvala’s philanthropic initiative, the Swades Foundation supported the village under their Water and Sanitation Program. The village overcame the water crisis. Swades supported a water scheme that relieved 200 villagers of Angrekond with a continuous supply of potable drinking water through taps installed inside their homes. It ended their daily struggle of villagers, and women were relieved and began living their stress-free life. Having water in their homes, these women could now think of doing much more in their lives.

Women as agents of change

Women are efficient and innovative in managing the many challenges that face village life. Grappling with water scarcity, women in this village understood the importance of water and began using the wastewater from their homes to maintain kitchen gardens in their backyard. Soon, the women realized that they can do it on a large scale, earn and grow. However, it was challenging as they had very limited experience in farming. The Swades Foundation’s Farm Productivity Team trained these women in practicing multi-cropping, marketing and advanced practices for multi-cropping.

Today women grow brinjals, chilies, spinach, tomatoes, onions, other green leafy vegetables, etc. The initiative that started with 10 women under one SHG has grown into 30 women under 3 SHG’s in Angrekond. Each woman in Angrekond engaged in this farming earns over Rs.1.5 lacs annually. The Swades Foundation also trained them in financial management and now every woman has her personal bank account and saves her hard-earned money. The lockdown did pose a challenge, as the women could not sell their produce in the markets, but they came up with an idea of setting up a stall just outside the village and selling fresh vegetables to the residents of nearby villages.

Step Forward

Recently, two of the SHG’s got their loan sanctioned from a government bank and they have started practicing dairy farming. They sell 30 liters of milk daily and are trained by the Swades Foundation in making other dairy products, they are working on finalizing their products and exploring suitable markets for them. Last month they sold 15 KG of ghee and earned more than INR 12,000.

It is the Transformation

Economic empowerment has enhanced their leadership skills and the village has an all-female Village Development Committee. They plan to make their village an “Adarsh Gaon” or a Dream Village and are working on the social and economic upliftment of each house in the village. A beautiful example of their initiatives is a nameplate in each house. Conventionally limited to the name of the male – head of the house, in Angrekond, the nameplate has the name of the woman and her daughters. A small step by village women to empower females and young girls.

These women are heroes and they lead the way to their economic prosperity not individually, but by coming together and empowering each other. Empowered women truly empower other women. This was not limited to only economic betterment, but these women are raising the social status of women in the village and their community with every step.

The story of Angrekond is also the story of many more villages that are similarly being transformed by the Swades Foundation with the community members taking charge of their own lives. The non-profit continues to empower rural women in Raigad and Nashik through initiatives in Water and Sanitation, Health and Nutrition, Education, and Economic Development. They have so far created over 1,800 Swades Mitra’s – a strong and empowered cadre of women community health workers who serve as an important link between the community and various public and private health facilities, besides providing paramedical aid to villagers. These community health workers played a critical role in the management and controlling the spread of covid-19 in their villages.

As Hellen Keller said, “Alone we can do so little; TOGETHER we can do so much”. The Swades Foundation is empowering rural women who are creating a chain reaction of empowering other women in their communities and beyond. This enthusiasm towards building a better life and future for rural Indians, led by women makes us optimistic that women deserve and can create an empowering and just world for all.

(The author is Co Founder at Swades Foundation. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of the Financial Express Online.)