Although the blog title identifies this area of work as my 2nd priority, it is likely to be the main focus of my time in India. Self-help groups (SHGs) is a program model that grew in popularity in the 1990's with much of the focus on empowering women in India. SHGs can now be found in most parts of the developing world, but a high concentration remain in India. SHGs are typically composed of 10-20 women who come together on a monthly basis to discuss issues affecting their lives, receive training (typically in financial literacy or a specific trade skill), and to make monthly contributions to the group's pool of loan funds. Loans are then disbursed to group members, where loan recipients are decided by the group. Members typically use loans to address family needs, such as paying school fees for children, buying additional livestock, or responding to a family emergency.
SHGs were introduced into the project I am supporting many years ago. For some women, coming to a SHG meeting was the first time they were able to leave the house unescorted for their own purpose. In Thar desert communities, women have few rights, are expected to be subservient to their husband and mother-in-law, and rarely are girls and women encouraged to go to school.
Last week we met with 3 women's self-help groups out in the villages. The purpose of the meetings were to introduce a new project intervention called Market Readiness training. Starting next year, women who are interested in participating will receive a series of trainings in how to make high quality handbags, purses, scarves, etc. that could eventually be sold internationally. The end goal being that women have a more secure and ongoing form of income that they have complete control over. This will be one of the first opportunities for women in these communities to earn an income separate from their husband.
My work over the next 3 months will focus on designing a monitoring and evaluation plan that outlines how the impact of the Market Readiness training will be tracked overtime. From that plan, I will design a survey to collect baseline data on women's current income, skill level, and sense of household decision-making power and will work with field staff to collect data on the participants prior to their involvement in the trainings. This way, years down the line staff can compare the results of the baseline survey to future data to see what changes, if any, can be attributed to this training intervention.
Much of my coursework at MIIS and professional experience over the last couple years has focused exactly on this type of work -- how to support organization's in using data to inform their work. I am really excited to apply what I've learned thus far in a new context and with the opportunitity to work directly with local staff.