I visited the Zuari SHG on 21/4/13 to interview the SHG leader at her house. What an eye-opener!!
The leader is a woman named Fathima. Fathima is a living example of how SHG concept (if executed properly) can greatly benefit women from the lower strata of the society. She is very enthusiastic about making money and took to the idea of producing goods throughout the year at once. She infact is already trying to make different goods and tries to sell them. She was willing to go to far off places like Panjim also to sell her goods, she confidently says that she knows how to sell different things differently!!! So, now the only problem for her is that she doesnt have a permanent market to sell her goods. So, if we manage to find her and her team a permanent market it is going to make the SHG completely economically sustainable.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
The Reasons !!
Hello everybody, I finally narrowed down on the major reasons affecting the economic sustainability of the Zuari SHG which i would be explaining below.
Thanks to the Ex Nirmaan chapter president of BITS Goa who gave her insights into the problem which were immensely helpful.
Now, coming to the reasons,
The first one is the lack of marketing. I mean there's practically no other place apart from BITS where the SHG sells its products, It might be so because the common man might not be willing to spend more on the SHG product when he gets the same for a lesser price at any shop. So, the need arises to find a perennial market for the products produced by the SHG.
The second one is lack of trust between the members. There is always an issue when it comes to payments after the fests, The women do not take to the idea of volume based payment i.e you get paid for how much you produce, rather they prefer that everyone gets the same amount. Here lies the problem, If X has produced 100 goods and Y produces only 20 how is it fair for X that both of them get the same amount. Then it would lead to them thinking anyways we are going to get the same amount, why put in hard work.
Secondly, because the members live close by each other any petty fights between the families of members leads to a cold war between the members in most cases.
Thanks to the Ex Nirmaan chapter president of BITS Goa who gave her insights into the problem which were immensely helpful.
Now, coming to the reasons,
The first one is the lack of marketing. I mean there's practically no other place apart from BITS where the SHG sells its products, It might be so because the common man might not be willing to spend more on the SHG product when he gets the same for a lesser price at any shop. So, the need arises to find a perennial market for the products produced by the SHG.
The second one is lack of trust between the members. There is always an issue when it comes to payments after the fests, The women do not take to the idea of volume based payment i.e you get paid for how much you produce, rather they prefer that everyone gets the same amount. Here lies the problem, If X has produced 100 goods and Y produces only 20 how is it fair for X that both of them get the same amount. Then it would lead to them thinking anyways we are going to get the same amount, why put in hard work.
Secondly, because the members live close by each other any petty fights between the families of members leads to a cold war between the members in most cases.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Learnings from an interview with Dr. Rekha Gaonkar
I met Dr. Rekha Gaonkar on 8th of april 2013 at MES college Zuarinagar. She is an expert on SHG's, having done extensive research and field work in Goa.
The million dollar question.
Why are some SHG's not doing well ?
Answers
1. Lack of support and training by government or NGO. This is an external factor.
2. They do not produce unique goods. (Competition from branded goods, with most of the consumers preferring branded goods)
3. No Product differentiation within the SHG, Say for example every member produces the same product and its a seasonal one, they all lose out on sales in a season (Not the case with our SHG, Paper-bags aren't seasonal)
4. Marketing is a big challenge for the SHG as they neither have the funds to extensively market their goods nor they have a place to sell their goods (say a kiosk or outlet in a market).
5. Literacy of the members. SHG's having more number of illiterate members are seen to fail in most cases.
Fundamental concepts re-learnt about SHG's:
1. 10-20 people from homogeneous background come together to form a SHG.
2. Initially for the first 6 months they put their own money into the thrift fund. ex. say 50-100 rs a month.
3. They have to have at least one meeting of all members in a month and the minutes have to be noted.
4. A book of transactions from the thrift fund to be kept.
5. After 6 months they can approach a bank and avail of loan in the name of the SHG. (Usually lent at 14% pa)
6. Members taking loan must then pay around 2% per month interest on the principal around 24% pa and the rest of the money after paying bank interest may be shared or left in the thrift fund.
7. There are 3 office bearers in an SHG elected periodically. President, Secretary and treasurer who perform the roles on rotation . ex x y and z are office bearers means they all will perform each role for 4 months in a year.
It's all about the money : Money is the fundamental reason which leads to a SHG's existence. Members join to avail of the loan facility.
And these are some of the products that successful SHG's are producing around Zuari:
Papad, Pickle, Ladoo, Chakli, Masala
The million dollar question.
Why are some SHG's not doing well ?
Answers
1. Lack of support and training by government or NGO. This is an external factor.
2. They do not produce unique goods. (Competition from branded goods, with most of the consumers preferring branded goods)
3. No Product differentiation within the SHG, Say for example every member produces the same product and its a seasonal one, they all lose out on sales in a season (Not the case with our SHG, Paper-bags aren't seasonal)
4. Marketing is a big challenge for the SHG as they neither have the funds to extensively market their goods nor they have a place to sell their goods (say a kiosk or outlet in a market).
5. Literacy of the members. SHG's having more number of illiterate members are seen to fail in most cases.
Fundamental concepts re-learnt about SHG's:
1. 10-20 people from homogeneous background come together to form a SHG.
2. Initially for the first 6 months they put their own money into the thrift fund. ex. say 50-100 rs a month.
3. They have to have at least one meeting of all members in a month and the minutes have to be noted.
4. A book of transactions from the thrift fund to be kept.
5. After 6 months they can approach a bank and avail of loan in the name of the SHG. (Usually lent at 14% pa)
6. Members taking loan must then pay around 2% per month interest on the principal around 24% pa and the rest of the money after paying bank interest may be shared or left in the thrift fund.
7. There are 3 office bearers in an SHG elected periodically. President, Secretary and treasurer who perform the roles on rotation . ex x y and z are office bearers means they all will perform each role for 4 months in a year.
It's all about the money : Money is the fundamental reason which leads to a SHG's existence. Members join to avail of the loan facility.
And these are some of the products that successful SHG's are producing around Zuari:
Papad, Pickle, Ladoo, Chakli, Masala
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