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By Aparna Pallavi Twelve illiterate tribal women belonging to a self-help group set up their own brick kiln, changing the power structure in their village in the process
What can 12 poor tribal women do? Nothing maybe, if they are not organised. But organised, they can pose an effective challenge to the existing power centre in their village. At least that is what the 12 members of a self-help group (SHG) in the little village of Jamundonga, located in Tamia tehsil of Chhindwada district of Madhya Pradesh, did. Supported by the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Pararth under the Poorest Areas Civil Society (PACS) programme, the 12 members of the Pragati Swayam Sahayata Samooh started a most unusual venture for an SHG -- a brick kiln. Their kiln has not only economically emancipated the women who run it, but has also loosened the hold of the family of moneylenders who used to control the village -- literally brick by brick. It all began in the year 2004, when Manjari Chande of Pararth first met these 12 women. "The SHG had been in existence for a long time, but it was not working and was about to close," says Manjari. "All the women, all of whom are Gond tribals, were working in the brick kiln of the Sahu family, who were also the village moneylenders and the richest and most powerful family in the village.” Manjari and her team held a meeting with these women and suggested that they start their own brick kiln instead of earning a wage. Initially the women were sceptical about the unusual idea, despite the fact that they had all the knowhow and experience required to run a kiln. But fortunately, around that very time, SHGs were being graded under the government's Swarna Jayanti Gramin Rozgar Yojana. The Pragati group was sanctioned Rs 2.5 lakh under the scheme. Encouraged, the members of the SHG decided to try out the idea, and in December 2004, a decision was taken to start the kiln. The reaction of the Sahu family, which saw this decision as a threat to their control over the villagers, immediately opposed the move. Initially, when the SHG asked the gram sabha for two acres of land for the kiln, Sahu opposed this move. "It was only after all the women in the village attended the gram sabha and supported the SHG that the resolution to grant the land could be passed," says Manjari. Not to be discouraged, Sahu threatened the women, saying that they would have to pay royalty to the excavation department for digging up soil for making bricks. "Imagine his disappointment," says a gleeful Yashoda Bai, president of the SHG, "when we shot back that the village falls under the 5th Schedule, and as tribal women, we would be exempted from paying this royalty." The confidence came from the fact that with Manjari's support, the group had already communicated its decision to the district excavation officer, and the officer had assured help. The NOC from the department was obtained. Next came pressure from the forest department. A brick kiln would require wood as fuel, and the forest department set its face against letting the women have fuelwood for this purpose from the forest. Pararth stepped in again, and Manjari and the SHG members talked to the District Forest Officer (DFO) and the ranger. "We assured them that we would not take any wood for this purpose from the forest, but buy it from the Forest Department depot." By the time the Sahu family sent a forest guard to threaten the women, the department had already issued its NOC to the kiln. "We told the guard that we had talked to the ranger and the DFO," says Kamla Bai, a robust, fiesty member of the group and a great fighter, "You should have seen his face fall! We offered to arrange a meeting between him and the ranger at the kiln itself, and the guy turned and fled fast enough!" The women themselves talked to the tehsildar and got an NOC from him too. When the SHG's brick kiln first started to function, the Sahu family had to close down its kiln for want of labour. Later, he had to raise wages to remain in the reckoning. "At Sahu's kiln we used to get Rs 130 for every 1,000 bricks made," says Yashoda Bai. "At our own kiln, we pay ourselves Rs 150 for the same. In addition, we also get a share of the profit. After we started our kiln, the Sahu family had to raise its wages to Rs 160 for 1,000 bricks.” Last year, the SHG's kiln made a clear profit of Rs 10,000 over and above material, fuel, labour and other inputs. Of course the Sahu family did not stop making trouble for a long time. The first time the SHG tried to market its bricks, the head of the Sahu family went and convinced the customer -- a government department -- that the bricks were inferior and would disintegrate once it rained. "We immediately asked the officer to test our bricks by soaking them in water," says Yashoda Bai, "The deal went through and Sahu retreated in embarrassment." Today, not just these women but the other villagers, mostly Gond tribals, some having small land-holdings and some landless, are also gathering courage to challenge the Sahu family's despotic ways. Recently, an SHG being run by the women of the Sahu family broke up. "A daughter and a daughter-in-law of the family, who were members of the SHG, were appropriating all the funds of the SHG," says Kamla Bai. "Earlier, the other members had not dared to oppose them, but after our kiln started working, these women broke away from the Sahu women and made their own independent SHG." Today, the number of people going to the Sahu family for loans has also fallen steeply. The family has also woken up to the new situation and are trying to mend their domineering ways. Brick by brick, 12 illiterate tribal women have changed the power structure of their village. (Aparna Pallavi is an independent journalist based in Nagpur) InfoChange News & Features, April 2006 |
