Indo Swiss Participative Watershed Development - Karnataka

banashankari self help group, kodli

Self Help Groups (SHGs) have come to stay as powerful financial institutions in micro credit at the village level. They have been supported and encouraged as local institutions of the poor and deprived in Phase 1 and Phase 2 of ISPWDK Chincholi project.

Any organisation that grows powerful in financial terms matures or changes in its social position, status and attitude in the community. SHGs cannot be an exception to this phenomenon. The following case study is about an SHG that took up significant activities other than the normal credit related activities.

BSHG Banashankari Self Help Group (BSHG) is in its seventh year of operations and has a common fund of Rs. 1.50 lakhs. It is the oldest SHG in Kodli village and has 19 members. It mainly consists of Devang community people (weavers). This group is revered by the other SHGs in the village as a role model.

There is a high degree of cohesion among the members of this SHG. They stand by each other in decisions and help each other in social events. They are the oldest group and have remained squabble free. Others do not match their financial strength in terms of common funds. This group is vibrant and innovative in its own way.

BSHG has its own building constructed on 200 sq ft of land. The land was given by a temple trust and the structure constructed by voluntary labour and contribution in kind. The building is used for prayers when it is not being used by the SHG.

The biggest achievement of BSHG has been to get 15 acres allotted to them by the Gram Panchayat for the purpose of Natural Forest Regeneration. The area is located near Alur Maruti Devasthan. The land has been fenced to a length of around 700 metres. The SHG was provided Rs. 42000 by the project and the members contributed labour to put up a boulder fence. The fence is quite thick and prevents cattle from grazing in the area.

The house repaired by the BSHG members There are 21 SHGs in the village and BSHG has been instrumental in promoting around 10 of them. The members help these new SHGs and guide them through the initial teething problems. This group donated around Rs. 3000 to a poor family to help repair their damaged roof. This was done without preconditions or obligations of any nature.

The land has now been left for natural regeneration and fodder will be harvested from the area in the coming season. The SHG members also intend to take up plantation of certain fruit trees like custard apple and mango in the area and share the produce with the Gram Panchayat at a mutually agreeable rate.

Keeping in mind that the village school is not able to provide complete schooling and tuition at their level due to certain constraints, the SHG has taken up tuitions for children after school. The members have engaged the services of a paid teacher and after school hours, the children of the SHG members continue their studies in the presence of the teacher.

The group members are also contributing one-day labour towards the construction of a temple in the village. The labour involves hard work like cutting stones and transporting stone slabs.