Vitlapur, a village in the Kanakanala watershed area, comprises 127 households and farming is the main source of income. To supplement their income, the women rear cattle for milk and other dairy products. There was no flour mill in Vitlapur village and the women had to walk about 2 km to grind jowar or bajra.
Under the ISPWD-K project, the communities are supported financially to create certain community economic assets useful to them. Each family is given Rs. 300 as a grant. The community has to contribute an additional ten per cent to buy an asset that will generate income and be useful to the entire village.
When this proposal was discussed in the Vitlapur Gram Sabha meeting, the men proposed a thresher but the women said that a flour mill was more needed.
For the purpose of buying and managing the community economic asset (CEA), a women's committee was formed. The committee initiated the process of buying a flour mill for their village and the community raised Rs. 3390 as their contribution. The project supported the community with Rs. 34,500.
The committee then approached Tunghabhadra Grameena Bank for a loan, which sanctioned a loan of Rs. 26,000. The CEA committee also borrowed Rs. 2500 from the Watershed Management Committee of Vitlapur. After mobilising the required funds, the committee bought a flour mill for Rs. 34,940; a shed costing Rs.14,500 was built for it. On May 4, 2001, Amarappa Nalatwad, Member of Gram Panchayat, Tavaragera, formally inaugurated the flour mill in Vitlapur village.
As on January 31, 2001, the asset had earned a revenue of Rs.16,955. They have paid Rs. 11,282 to for power. The CEA committee has so far repaid Rs. 4500 towards the loan borrowed from the bank.
