Success Story Of Self Help Group Members (ASRLM) - Biswajit Bhattacharjee

Starting  a new business requires an opportunity, and the Covid19 pandemic has become an opportunity for one of our Self Help Group member, Smt. Rina Das. She is a member of Onkar Guru Self Help Group of Ghungoor Gaon Panchayat under Silchar Dev. Block. Though the pandemic was very difficult for some people and for some people it was an opportunity to start something new. Smt. Rina Das's house is very close to the Cachar Cancer Hospital, Silchar and this hospital treats many  cancer  patients from Barak Valley and its surrounding state like Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram etc. When the lockdown started, there were many patients admitted in the hospital and their attendant who were in difficulty eating and drinking as shops in the vicinity were closed. The lockdown was sudden and beyond people's imagination. Although it is normal in urban areas, the residents of suburbs and rural areas were facing more problems. She was very saddened to see the suffering of these peop...

With the war against plastic intensifying across the valley, the BMMU Silchar has taken initiative to involve SHG members in producing eco-friendly products with jute materials since jute has become a popular choice against plastic. The concept not only aims at having jute as an effective alternative to plastic but also provides new livelihood opportunity for the SHG members in terms of making jute bag file folder etc. Mrs. Bijoya Das, a womentrepreneur and a SHG members of Annapurna Self Help Group has also choosen the path to follow her aspirations to become self reliant. Mrs. Bijoya who once attended an entrepreneurship development program from RSETI Silchar learned making products with jute materials their like bag file folder etc. With her modest savings and taking loan from her SHG, she decided to go ahead with the idea of making jute file folder. This eco friendly jute file folder can be used for corporate, academic, casual, personal and gift purpose. This beautifully handcr...

This is the story of Rita Nath and her transition from a simple woman to a successful entrepreneur.  Rita Nath, hailing from Tarapur GP under Silchar Dev. Block started pickle making business from initial grant of ASRLM; her business has now reached a turnover of 50,000-60,000 thousand rupees annually. The demand for pickle made by Rita Nath is now in entire district. Now she engaged 3 more women of her group to make pickles with her. Rita Nath who was once limited to household work, now earns 5000-6000 thousand rupees every month sitting at home from her skills. They make pickles from many things like mango, mushroom,  chili , tomato etc. Apart from this business, they also make handicraft items which give them additional profits. She learned the skills of making pickles from a training pertained by KVK Cachar. They never had any idea that her skills will take the form of a business. She says, "I used to make pickles to eat at home. Many people used t...

In the trends of modern fashionable jewelry, the art of silk thread has its own separate identity. Silk Thread jewelry has now taken the place of gold and silver among College, University and office goers. From sari to top-jeans can be easily adapted. Easy to wear also there is no difficulty in taking care. In this life of haste, this jewelry seems to fit a lot. This is the story of a housewife, a mother and an ASRLM Self Help Group member who has adopted this trend as a livelihoods opportunity. She is now successfully selling her art while inspiring others to follow her path. Mrs. Baby Pandit who is a member of Saraswati Self Help Group of Tupkhana Gaon Panchayat under BMMU Silchar, once completely occupied with her daily household works. But even the packed days and meeting every household work did not drive her away from her dream of making  jewelry  that would resemble traditional Indian designs, yet be much more inexpensive and light weight to wear and appeal to the audie...

There is a lot of talk about achieving success by raising poultry, goats or cattle.  However, the economic success of raising pigeons is rarely heard. Mrs. Renu Begum Mazumder, a member of Momtaz Self Help Group of Baghadahar Borjurai Gaon Panchayat under Block Mission Management Unit, Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission has been able to establish a lucrative business by raising pigeons commercially. The woman had no such place to raise cows, goats, chickens or ducks like others do in her village. So we gave her the idea to start pigeons raising commercially, which requires less space. Pigeons can be reared in any corner of the house or in the yard or in small places like roof or cornice. It is even possible to keep pigeons by hanging baskets on the roof.  Raising pigeons is a lucrative business as one pair of pigeons gives birth to 12-13 pairs in just 12 months. There is a huge demand for pigeon meat in this region. Pigeon meat is also delicious and fortifying. There is no ...

Zahirun Nessa Barbhuiya, a member of Naziha Self Help Group of Baghadahar Borjurai Gaon Panchayat of village Berenga Pt- III under BMMU, Silchar development block, has become self-sufficient by sheep farming. Her financial situation was very bad before she joined ASRLM self-help group because her husband died early keeping three childrens on her and she was responsible for the family where she was the sole earner. The idea for raising sheep came to her mind while visiting one of her relatives house and saw a sheep farm there and learnt that, raising sheep is a very lucrative business. She became interested in raising sheep. After that she takes a loan of Rs. 10000 from her SHG and bought two sheeps from them. The loan she repaid later. At present she has 26 sheep in her farm. According to her, keeping sheep is very profitable as sheeps are less susceptible to diseases than goats. The food also takes relatively less. The food that the sheep ea...

Constructions of new houses in rural areas, many people are planting saplings of various plants on their house’s roofs and backyards to enhance its beauty. As a result, the demand for tree saplings has increased these days. Taking this as an opportunity, Sadhana Roy, a member of Radha Gobinda Self Help Group of Ambicapur Gaon Panchayat under BMMU Silchar Development Block, Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission has initiated a very small commercial nursery unit of Flowers, Herbs like Aloe Vera, Tulsi, Neem etc. and Fruit crop like Red Lady papaya etc. With income generation her initiative will also help in freeing the environment from the ill effects of climate change. Seeing her initiative, BMMU officials advised her to raise her own Vermicompost bed. Considering the fact that, if she makes organic compost of her own then there is no need to buy from outside, which will save her money too. Vermicompost can be made at very low cost as Vermicompost requires r...

Block Mission Management Unit of Silchar Development Block, Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission has taken an initiative to promote backyard country chicken among its SHG members, which is a supplementary income source and a livelihood opportunities to them. Country chicken has a niche market and prime rate compared to broiler chicken. Taste of country chicken is also considered an attractive factor to rear them. But most of the country chicken rearing restricted to rearing of indigenous birds that have poor production growth. To increase the production, it requires introducing improved varieties of chicken, which can promise better production of meat and eggs. To increase the backyard poultry production BMMU Silchar in convergence with line department decided to introduce Rainbow Rooster breed. It is a dual purpose breed. When managed as a layer, rainbow roosters will lay 160-180 eggs. When managed as meat birds, the rainbow rooster will attain the average weight of 2kg...

Monika Suklabaidya is a member of Agragrami Mohila SHG bearing MIS code 154366 of Kanakpur GP, Village- Kanakpur Pt.I under BMMU Silchar Development Block, Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission.  Majorly, she is engaged in making Bhujia, Bundia, Chira Bhaja, Nimki and Dry Masala Samosa. She had received proper formal training in the year 2014 from a local vendor who was also engaged in making such products. Later, she had started her own establishment in the year 2015, as her family faced a severe financial crisis due to loss of work of her husband. Initially, it took time for her to grab the local market as she was new in the production of such food products and already other established vendors existed in her locality. During 2015-2017, she had a steady growth her business with an average daily production and sale of 60 to 70 packets daily at a profit of Rs 3 per packet approximately.      By the end of 2017, her business started to show enormous growth rate.  ...

Background information Smt. Milan Namasudra of village Tarapur Pt. VII of Tarapur Gaon Panchayat under Silchar Development Block is now a successful mushroom farmar. She always wanted to find a better way to get answers to her pressing family need but due to her financial inability it was not possible for her earlier. The BMMU Silchar identified her need and motivated her to take up the mushroom cultivation, which requires low investment. Mushroom and sustainable livelihoods Mushroom cultivation can directly improve livelihoods through economic, nutritional and medicinal contributions. Mushroom cultivation can help reduce vulnerability to poverty and strengthens livelihoods through the generation of a fast yielding and nutritious source of food and a reliable source of income. Since it does not require access to land, mushroom cultivation is a viable and attractive activity for both rural farmers and peri-urban dwellers. Description of technology #Use of quality spawns within one month...