An inspiring tale of how one woman in rural India created entrepreneurs out of homemakers

From an impoverished homemaker to a successful farmer and trusted counsellor, the story of Sangita Mhatre, of Mande, is an inspiring tale of how women in rural India can take charge of their destiny.

We were losing our new chickens fast. To save the remaining 250, we called the local veterinary doctor. Our women could not afford his vaccination fee of Rs 3 per bird. For landless women, backyard poultry is the major source of income. I observed the doctor at work. I managed to give the next three vaccinations without charging the women for my work, recalls Sangita Mhatre, an enterprising woman farmer of Mande village.

Mande village, with a population of 800 residents, lies in Palghar district of Maharashtra. In spite of its proximity to Thane and Mumbai, Palghar remains an underdeveloped district. In Mande, 71 percent of the predominantly tribal population lives below the poverty line.

Sangita’s husband, Shashikant Mhatre, worked at a factory at Tarapur MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation), some 30 km from his village. With a meagre salary and very little income from agriculture, they could not make ends meet. After the factory closed down in 2015, Shashikant had no option but to turn fully to farming for sustenance.

The Mhatres owned less than an acre. One fourth of their land (10 gunthas) had a rocky stratum since it had earlier been loaned to a brick kiln owner and the soil had completely been used for making bricks. Rice cultivated in the rest of the land for household consumption could be stretched for a year. If the monsoon was good, they were able to grow some vegetables. The Mhatre household was a typical case of subsistence farming.

Opportunity knocks

Sangita, a homemaker, helped her husband in the farm, and took care of their two children. As the president of her self-help group (SHG), she had additional responsibilities. The Mande gramsangh (apex body of SHGs in a village) had 68 women from six SHGs.

During a SHG council meeting in 2015, Sangita heard about an income generation project to be implemented in her village. She knew about the BAIF Development Research Foundation, one of the partner NGOs, as they had done an earlier project on jasmine cultivation in Mande.

She learnt that they were on the lookout for women to work as Krishi Sakhi (friend of farmers) to provide agricultural inputs to farming communities. Seeing an opportunity to supplement their income, Sangita’s family supported her decision to enroll in the project.

Trained to catalyse

Sangita and the other participants were trained in technical methods to reduce costs and risks associated with agriculture while increasing yield with crop management techniques. The trainees were encouraged to try the new methods in their lands and then pass on the knowledge.

Subsequent trainings helped develop her calibre for leadership and guiding others. After the training, Sangita decided to cultivate rice by System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method in a portion of their land.

More income with less seeds? We’ve been farming for generations. Never have I heard anything so crazy, her husband mocked.

“I convinced him and planted the seeds in five gunthas. Unlike the 100 kg we used to get with the traditional method, I harvested 250 kg, that too at a much lower expense,” she told VillageSquare.in. “Now for anything related to agriculture, he seeks my advice,” she adds with a laugh.

Using the yield to convince

Sangita motivated other women to experiment in their own farms and to provide training and consultancy services to farmers in the village. Persuading the men to attend meetings, listen to her and implement her advice was an uphill battle. But when the farmers observed that she had a better yield than they did, they slowly began accepting her advice. Sangita gained popularity not only in her village, but in nearby villages as well.

Despite her success in farming and as a krishi sakhi, Sangita decided to quit the project. She knew that the project was only to facilitate the change and was time-bound. Salaries were also often delayed.

I was also unwell and it was difficult to attend trainings and meetings for longer duration. I wanted to work at my own pace, she tells VillageSquare.in.

Besides paddy cultivation, she practices floriculture and backyard poultry. The 350 jasmine plants in her field assure a steady income of Rs 10,000 per month. The poultry provides her family with a regular supply of eggs; the chickens could be sold in case of immediate financial needs. All the landless women follow her footsteps and keep chickens in their backyards.

Today, Sangita has reached a stage of self-sufficiency.

“I love my work. My biggest achievement was that I first tried everything, gained experience and then advised others,” she told VillageSquare.in while talking about her success. Sangita now offers consultancy services free of cost to people from six villages, continuing to make a difference.

Disclaimer: This article, authored by Shreeya Bhagwat, was first published in VillageSquare.in. The views expressed by the author are her own and do not necessarily reflect that of YourStory.