Vision Building-a Sure Way to Facilitate Sustainable institutions for the Poor
11
Designing Products to make the Programme
Member-centric
T
he Hanuman Van Vikas Samiti (HVVS)
of 1999. The focus earlier was to expand
was formed as a grass roots initiative
the number of groups and then later to
to protect the forests around Sakroda.
move towards sustainability of the
This area in Girwa block of Udaipur district
programme and focus on improving
of Rajasthan has a high SC/ST
livelihoods of the members.
population which depend on natural
HVVS realised that the enthusiasm and
resources of the local forests for survival.
participation of members seen in the
The name of the organisation earlier was
earlier meetings was diminishing. This was
Hanuman Van Suraksha Samiti, which
also reflected in decreasing attendance
literally meant a committee to protect
levels in groups which further led to
the forest. Later on, with full time
quality concerns. These trends made
functionaries,
the
organisation
HVVS take stock of the programme. They
broadened its scope to a more
have since the past two years taken
developmental objective of improving
positive steps to make their programme
the wellbeing of the poor people in their
more member-centric. Products have
work area.
been introduced to bring microfinance
HVVS remains tied to the grassroots
closer to the members by meeting the
working closely with the people. Its board
demands. One such initiative is the Grain
comprises village elders. It has a full-time
Product for its members.
staff strength of 15 working on themes of
natural resource management (NRM),
The Product
microfinance and women and child
The clientele of HVVS is mainly poor
development.
marginal farming households. Maize and
wheat are the staple crops grown in the
The main clients of the organisation is the
region. The food produced from the fields
SC/ ST population in the region, who hold
is barely sufficient to last four to six
very little productive land and are
months. Most of them purchase both
dependent on natural resources to meet
wheat and grain to meet the household
their livelihood needs. Thus the focus of
requirements. Maize is purchased by the
the organisation has been on NRM. The
members in September and wheat in the
organisation currently operates in a
The clientele of
month of March-April, when the stocks
cluster of 45 villages falling in two
run out. The members purchase small
HVVS is mainly
adjacent blocks of Girwa and Udaipur
quantities of grain depending upon the
district.
poor marginal
resources they can muster. Concerns
farming
The microfinance programme of HVVS is
expressed by the members were:
households
more than 10 years old. In its early days,
A)
The quality of grain available with
the programme was unstructured and
the local merchants is very poor and
was managed part time by staff who
they end up paying much higher
were not trained in microfinance.
rates when compared to the other
Moreover, there were no committed
markets.
funds with the organisation to take this
programme further.
B)
Each time they purchase, they are
cheated by way of faulty scales used
Sir Ratan Tata Trust has supported the
by the merchant.
microfinance programme since the end
C)
Larger families with greater
The present status of the programme (as
requirements have to avail of loans
on March 2005) is:
(many a time from the merchant
Sl. Particulars
himself) at high interest rates to
No
purchase the grain.
1
Outreach
45 villages
spread in 2
Since they have no choice, members
Blocks of
continue this practice. On an average,
Udaipur District
a poor household of four-five members
2
No. of Members
3138
purchases three to four bags each of
3
No. of Groups
203
paddy and maize every year. A simple
4
No. of Clusters
9
calculation reveals large volumes of
grains purchased by the members every
5
Total Savings Generated
Rs 8,325,180
year. HVVS saw an opportunity and a
6
Total Loans Outstanding
Rs 7,161,751
