Ingredients for a home-based business success
Last month in Kahandol, Maharashtra, Manda, who listens regularly to Adivasi Voices speakerbox programmes, started a new home-based business venture putting into action the learning she gained from the programmes. Manda’s new flour mill provides income for her family and is having a ripple effect around her community.
It’s almost 8 years since we first shared stories from the Adivasi community of Kahandol in Maharashtra. Since that time, our partner SEVA Welfare Foundation has introduced the Adivasi Voices Project (AVP) to many, many villages across the state. Via speakerbox programmes, villagers from this or that community share their stories and inspire people in other communities here or there. However, back in 2018, villagers in Kahandol were among the first few to experimentally try out the new “communication for development” approach using speakerboxes. In early 2019, a lack of water threatened the very existence of the village. Perhaps you were one of those who stood alongside Kahandol when life-saving new water tanks and wells were installed in the summer of that year. It is a delight today to turn our attention back to Kahandol and find that the villagers are still building a better future, still using the speakerboxes to do so, and still inspiring others with their determination.
Village “Patil” and listener group leader, Ramdas Warde, shared that the villagers regularly listen to audio programs in groups and individually. They listen, they discuss and they take action. Manda, a listener group member, said she was inspired by AVP audio programs regarding home-based businesses and entrepreneurial opportunities. She said that she had also listened to earlier audio programs focused on financial savings. These inspired her to save up and launch her own business right there in the village.
Manda set aside money regularly and patiently until she was able to purchase and install an electrically-powered flour mill within the village. She now provides flour-grinding services to the local families. As a single parent, this home-based business has boosted Manda’s income to support her family, while also making it possible to work from home and look after her children.
Listener group leader, Ramdas said that Manda is an inspiration to other women in the village. She identified a business opportunity and managed to set aside sufficient savings to get her plan off the ground. Her business would also make life easier for other local women. They are delighted, as they no longer need to travel long distances to get their grain ground.
Intuition, patience and determination were Manda’s ingredients for success. However, she still faces challenges to make the business work. Due to load shedding, she is limited to running the mill in the evening when the electricity is available. However, as we saw in 2019 when the wells were installed, inspirational individual stories such as Manda’s can bring community members together to tackle bigger projects. Perhaps we will hear in future how the Kahandol community overcomes its electricity shortages?