Name of the Organization : xxx (submitting the project for itself and for Malar)
Registration number of the Organization :
FCRA Regn. Number for the Organization :

Name of the Project : Support for salary of a coordinator for taking Malar from a savings                                   group to an enterprise network and for making an awareness video.
Name of the person coordinating the project : xxx
Address : xxx
Phone number : xxx
Email address : bsampath@eng.umd.edu
Directions for reaching the project area from a Major City : From Madras take a bus or Train              to Nagercoil (Kanyakumari). Take a Bus or Auto to the collector's office. The Malar              office is to the right of the collector's office (your right, if you face the collector's              office) across the road. (You can also ask people around and they will guide you.)

Check Payable to : XXX
Whom to send the check to and the address to send to : Balaji Sampath, C2, Ratna Ats,                 AH-250, Shanthi Colony, Annanagar, Madras -600040. Ph : (044) 6213638
Any special requirements for the way the funding has to be sent : We are looking at whether AID can commission Temporal Communication to make the video and puchase it from them. Kalpana's salaray for this year will also be part of the commission. So the owner of the video will be AID and Temporal Communications (which is not an NGO but a company) will make the video for AID.

A brief summary of the goals of the organization and the particular project submitted : The organization Malar is a women's empowerment organization focussing on making poor women financially sound and increasing their confidence through literacy, awareness and organization. The particular project is for creating a network of enterprises for the women and for making training modules out of the savings program which is currently in progress.

A brief sumary of the part of the project for which funding is requested : To help Malar make the transistion from savings to enterprises a ualified and committed person is required - the funding requsted is for a salary for such a person and also to help make a video training module to spread and expand the current savings program going on in Kanyakumari district.

Funding amount requested : Rs 192,000
Signature of the coordinator : Shivakumar

Contents :

• The general problem addressed and the approach
  • What are the problems being addressed ?
  • What is the solution being offered here ?
• Background of the organization(s)
  • TNSF
  • Malar
• The Proposal
  • The project proposal
  • The need for the project
  • The capacity to implement
  • The help and reports that AID can expect.
  • The budget
• Appendix
  • The bio-data of Kalpana Karunakaran
  • Visit report and recommendations from an AID volunteer - Balaji Sampath
  • Kalpana's article in the Hindu about Malar

The general problem addressed and the approach

What are the problems being addressed ?

For people living at the edge of the poverty line - the natural ups and downs of their financial life can become a disaster. When a financial crisis (say an illness) strikes, they have no savings to fall back on an have to get loans from money-lenders.

Since the normal bank loans are not available to them, they have to go to the traditional sources of finance - the money-lenders. The typical interest rates in many places is 60-120%. Unable to repay these loans, the poor sell or pledge all their belongings, their ration cards, their small jewellery, their land, house, their crops, themselves or even their children.

Providing a way to access credit at a lower rate will relive a huge burden and increase the sense of security greatly. This is the first problem being addressed.

The second problem is the low degree of organization that women in villages have. Their status in their family and society and their own ability to take risks is governed by the fact that in times of need they really don't have any form of support which they can call as their own. This makes them an easy prey to anyone (especially the husband and his family) who wants to exploit them. Some form of organization for these women which will fight for their rights and increase their confidence is an essential step towards women's equality and empowerment.

The third problem is that of increasing income, generating employment and getting the poor out of poverty.

What is the solution being offered here ?

Based on the Grameen Bank experience and drawing upon our own experience in organizing women, we offer the following as a possible solution :

Organize 20 women into a women's savings group. Each month they save whatever amount they can and this become part of the group savings. Whoever needs loans is given a loan at 24% interest which she has to repay in monthly installment. The group meets each week to read about women's issues, discuss the problems each member is facing and to see how the group can help them overcome it. All financial matters are decided by the entire group. The friendship built by sharing problems and helping each other builds a strong group feeling and gives the needed support structure.

From experience it is seen that this approach addresses the question of emegency loans very well. But it acts more as a relief measure in poverty rather than a way of pulling people out of poverty. The next step that is being attempted - organizing bigger loans from banks, along with coordination and planning and training programs for income generation for the memebers of the group maybe a possible solution for pulling these women out of poverty.

Background of the organization

Tamil Nadu Science Forum (TNSF)

Tamil Nadu Science Forum was started in 1980 as a Forum for scientists. Now it has grown into a peoples movement and has a membership of 12000 including scientists, Farmers, Teachers, Women - people from almost every walk of life.

Its programmes include science popularization and publication, literacy and continuing education campaigns, intervention in primary education, womenÆs development, and development interventions in health and income generation.

Mahalir Association for Literacy Awareness and Rights (MALAR)

Origin

In 1994 when the literacy movement at Kanyakumari district was coming to the close with the end of the Post Literacy Campaign the organisers who spearheaded the campaign thought of sustaining the movement without government funding. The organisers were Tamil Nadu Science Forum (TNSF), a peoples science movement (PSM) which is Popularising Science from 1980 and its development wing Centre for Ecology and Rural Development- CERD.

After few brainstorming sessions it was decided to mobilise poor and neo-literate Women into Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and continue the learning and empowering process. After studying different experiences in the country and abroad guidelines were framed, circulated among literacy volunteers and learners and rules were framed. After seeing the response for few months if was decided to form a separate organisation entirely for Women under societies Act. Tamil Nadu Science Forum and CERD decided to be promoters and advisors.

Formation

Byelaws and membership forms were circulated after a training to the erstwhile literacy volunteers who were really committed to social service. The Science Forum met the cost of forms and 1000 pass books. Members were enrolled by paying a membership fee of Rs.5. Twenty Women in the same neighbourhood formed a group which elected a President, Secretary and Treasurer. The treasurer is usually the organiser (erstwhile Literacy Volunteer) who organises 5 groups on an average. By passing a resolution a savings bank A/C was opened in the nearest bank branch. The Women did have serious problems in opening A/C due to the attitude of the bank staff but now they have earned their respect.

Structure

20 Women - form a Group. Organisers in a block form a Block Committee. Block Co-ordinators and few others form the District Committee.(CERD AND TNSF play the role of promoters and advisors)

Functioning

• Groups meet once every week
• Block committees every 2nd Saturday
• District Committee every 3rd Saturday
• All organisers every 4th Saturday
• At all levels TNSF members guide the groups as advisors and at the district and state level CERD helps by providing technical guidance, training and consultancy support.

Ten Commandments

For strengthening the groups the following 10 commandments are followed :

1. Weekly meeting compulsory
2. Attendance must be atleast 75%
3. Minutes must be properly recorded and approved
4. Neo literate papers and booklets must be discussed in groups
5. Resource paper cum News letter must be read and discussed
6. Monthly Progress Report, Reserve Fund and Interest income should be submitted to the district.
7. ChildrenÆs Science Club should be started
8. There should be no loan defaulter in the group
9. Lending and collecting the repayment should be based on collective decision of all members.
10. Training on small scale production should be held in the group periodically.

Group Meetings

Meeting starts with a song , the secretary reads out the minutes of the previous meeting and it is approved. Women read out the resource paper cum news letter and discuss it. The Neo literate newspaper / booklets are also read. Local problems are debated and the treasurer collects the weekly savings, loan repayment, reads out the accounts and the group decides about further loans. The meeting ends with a song.

Accounting and Monitoring

Each women in a group saves rupees five on an average per week. The amount is entered in a weekly sheet as well as in the individual passbook. The amount collected is deposited in the bank account immediately. Once in a month the weekly account is consolidated and two copies of statement of account is prepared. One is submitted to the district committee after verification in the block meeting. Once in a month i.e. in the last week the lending decisions are taken and the amount withdrawn from the bank is given to the needy member. On the saving the members get an interest @ 12 percent p.a. at the end of 5 years. On the loan they pay 24 percent interest on the balance outstanding in the loan account. The spread of 12 percent is used for the overhead expenses along with the annual membership fee. The principal is repaid in equal instalments over a ten month period. If the loan exceeds Rs.2000 it can be repaid in 20 months.

Each group pays Rs.50 per month as reserve fund to the district committee which is used for lending to groups in need of more money.

The entire accounting is transparent and foolproof and monitoring of group is done based on the monthly report. The monthly meetings at different levels help to assess the progress and find out the problems and chalk out solutions.

Salary Structure

For the first six months nobody earned any salary. From the seventh month the block co-ordinators and district office staff were paid a little amount and this regularly increased with the increase in the income. At present the office manager, assitants and block and divisional coordinators get a salary of Rs 400- Rs 1000/month. The organisers i.e. the treasures of the group get an incentive of 30 percent from the interest earning from the group.

Loans given

So far the 6000 women in 300 groups have saved Rs.22 lakhs and advanced Rs.34 lakhs. The initial loans were only Rs. 500 to an individual. Now an individual is given a loan of up to Rs. 5000 which is repaid in 20 instalments.

Initially the loans were taken for social purposes like house repair, medical expenses, educational expenses of children, marriage expenses, redeeming the ration cards pledged, redeeming the jewels pledged with money lenders, repaying loans to money lenders etc. Now loans are taken for productive purposes like goat rearing, cow rearing, chicken farming, banana cultivation (on leased land), petty shops, shell craft, palm craft, tailoring, cloth sales, fish vending, vegetable vending etc.

State Bank of IndiaÆs 4 branches have given Rs. 4 lakhs to 20 groups under the NABARD scheme.

Awareness Generation and Self Confidence Enhancement Measures

• A monthly Resource paper discussed in the monthly meeting and distributed to all the groups and debated in weekly meetings.
• Arivuthendral (knowledge breeze ) - a Neo literate newspaper ( A TNSF publication) subscribed by the group is discussed in the groups.
• Neo literate booklets are discussed and small libraries organised.
• BGVS Health booklets are discussed.
• Health literacy focusing on pregnancy care and child welfare imparted
• Health Awareness Campaigns Organised (Pulse polio, AIDS)
• Implementation of Kitchen gardening programme in progress.
• Local problems discussed and represented to the authorities.
• Training on Panchayat organisation and functioning given to MALAR activists.
• Information about Government Schemes spread in the groups.
• Regular participation in a district - wide network of womenÆs organisations and NGOs working for womenÆs rights.
• Monthly training of MALAR co-ordinators and functionaries.
• SAMAM Science festivals conducted by MALAR groups
• Workshops on themes such as Gender and culture conducted.
• Identity cards issued to all members affirming a sense of belonging to a womenÆs group.
• Feedback from visitors from other districts eager to study and understand the MALAR experiment fosters self-confidence and enthusiasm.
• ChildrenÆs Science Club started around MALAR groups.

Other schemes implemented in the group

• Group members are linked to General Insurance CorporationÆs Janatha Gramian and Health Insurance schemes.
• A death relief scheme in which the member pays Rs. 50 once and on death the family gets Rs. 5000 or Rs. 2500 depending on the age.
• A pension scheme was evolved for the members to get a regular pension in their old age. If a women saves Rs. 50 per month for 20 years under the scheme she gets a pension of Rs. 500 per month and Rs.50,000 on death or discontinuation of the pension. The scheme is for 10 years / 12 years / 15 years and 20 years and the amount can be Rs. 25 or multiples of that.
• Pregnant women members are given a bottle of Ghee to improve their nutrition during pregnancy free of cost.
• We plan to link them to the LIC group insurance after starting enterprises (as the scheme covers women as per their profession)

MALARÆs Intervention In Common Concerns of Society.

• In Kollanchi Ms. Kamalabai a MALAR treasurer and Ward Councillor mobilised and led the community in destroying a liquor store.
• In Vadivilai the MALAR members staged a protest and retrieved the public path from a cashew company that had usurped it after the men had given up the task as impossible.
• MALAR women ensured that legal action was taken in a case where the murder of a memberÆs daughter by her husband was dismissed as a natural death.
• Action taken by MALAR members ensured that an unfaithful husband who abandoned his family was forced to transfer his property to his children.
• The initiative and active intervention of a MALAR group ensured the peaceful conduct of an inter-caste marriage in the community.
• Over-pricing of essential items sold in the ration shops was promptly reported by MALAR functionaries to the District CollectorÆs office.
• In Kutriparavilai village, MALAR women exposed the sexual assault of a seven year old girl and insisted that an F.I.R be lodged, despite political patronage enjoyed by the culprit.
• The initiative of a MALAR group in a village which had remained untouched by electricity led to the installation of the first Meter.
• The intervention of MALAR members ensured the withdrawal of an unreasonable suspension of a student by school authorities.
• 51 MALAR members and co-ordinators have contested in the Panchayat elections, successfully or otherwise. In most cases, their group members have vigorously campaigned for them.
• Every year hundreds of MALAR women participate in the March 8, International WomenÆs day celebrations.

Some Successes

• MALAR has been able to stop the pledging of essential survival items such as ration cards and has also enabled the redemption of personal possessions such as family jewellery which has enhanced the status of the woman in the family.
• Starting from an initial loan of Rs. 500 there are members who borrow up to Rs.10,000 today with repayment rate being as high as 99% .
• MALAR has succeeded in driving out usurious money lenders or the chitta lenders from certain areas by providing an alternative source of loan to the people .
• The purpose of the loan has shifted from emergency or social purposes such as a wedding in the family to purchase of assets, house construction, engaging in enterprise etc.
• The State Bank of India has come forward to lend to a tune of Rs. 4 lakhs to MALAR.
• SIDBI is offering financial assistance to MALAR for a project of securing self-employment for one thousand members.
• A temporary training centre for its enterprise project has been secured by MALAR.

Plan to Intervene In Enterprises.

As 90% of our members live below the poverty line, MALAR faces a vast demand for the creation of viable income generation activities. Also MALAR realises that rhetoric about empowerment cannot mean very much where most of its women have no access to an independent livelihood. Though MALAR has helped about 300 women to engage in small trade through its low-interest loans, it realises that a systematic, focussed intervention on a large scale is needed in order to make a substantial difference to peopleÆs lives. As an initial step it has recently embarked on an ambitious project of involving 1,000 women in economic enterprise with adequate technical support and market linkages. Centre for Ecology and Rural Development is providing technical and marketing consultancy to MALAR in its new venture.

Our intervention in increasing their income will be at three levels :

1. As many of MALARÆs women are workers in the low-skill, low-wages, non-unionised and highly exploitative informal sector, increasing the profitability of the enterprise that they are already engaged in, is a daunting task. This will call for a study of the macro economic forces, an intensive survey of the market and the industry in order to fully comprehend how and where to intervene.
2. Providing adequate finance to individuals to increase their income by improving the profit of the activity which they are already doing. For eg. Handloom weaving, Petty shops, Banana Cultivation, Goat / Cow / Chicken / Rabbit rearing etc.
3. Starting Rural Group Enterprises : MALAR has already identified specific enterprises in certain areas where it is going ahead in implementing its plans for group enterprise. In Killiyoor and Munjirai blocks, it has been decided that Readymade garment production centres will be operated by women from MALAR groups. In Killiyoor the twenty interested women have contributed Rs.1000 each as a share in the business. An intensive two-month training period has been followed by the starting of production. Sub-committees of 2 women each look after the raw material purchase, marketing, machine maintenance and Accounts. The marketing is entrusted to an agency and parallel marketing is undertaken by MALAR women. The work so far has been quite satisfactory.

An Enterprise Development Program (EDP) held as a one week residential camp between the 19th and 24th of January 98 also helped identify other major enterprises that MALAR is planning to launch in a year. They are Coir production, food processing and consumer stores operation. About 4 MALAR groups in Kurunthancode block have already displayed keen interest in collectively running a Consumer stores enterprise.

A loan of about 20 lakhs has been sanctioned by a bank under the government's TREAD scheme and this will be used to kick off a large-scale intervention in enterprises for Malar women.

MALAR highlights

• MALAR is totally self-reliant
• MALAR does not stop with savings and loans but also concentrates on health awareness and really empowers women.
• MALAR is totally transparent and democratic at all levels.
• MALAR has a bottom up approach instead of top down
• MALAR not only criticizes the problems in development but also participates in the development process by creating new models.
• MALAR has a large volunteer support of professionals and others who advice, monitor and lend support.

MALARÆs Vision For the Future

• A library in each group. Creation of a womenÆs library in each village which has a MALAR group.
• A kitchen garden free of chemical pesticides in the home of each MALAR member.
• Creation of a seed bank which can be accessed by all MALAR members throughout the district.
• Provision for the construction of low cost toilets in the homes of all members without toilet facilities.
• Provision for the construction of low-cost housing where ever necessary.
• Training health volunteers who will be in constant contact with the groups and who can explore the possibility of co-ordinating with the Primary Health Care centres.
• Setting up a legal literacy and counselling cell.
• Close working with the Panchayats to intervene in all village development activities.
• Exploring the possibility of helping organise neighbourhood groups (Ayal kootam) along the lines of the Kerala experiment.
• Setting up 1000 groups covering 20,000 women in the district.

MALAR at all India Level

In a seminar held at Dhanbad, Bihar by SAMATA, All India Committee in October 1997 representatives from 17 states participated. After sharing the experiences of many similar organisations it was decided to adopt MALAR as a model and organize groups in all the 17 states.

The Proposal

The project proposal

Part I : Support for the salary of Ms. Kalpana Karunakaran

1. To work with Malar and help Malar develop the skills for shifting from being a mere small savings group (coping with poverty) to a network of manufacturing and trading enterprises (getting out of poverty). She will be assisted in this work by Mr. Franco (a banker) and her father Mr. Karunakaran (former managing director Industrial training and consultancy organization of Tamilnadu- ITCOT).
2. To bring out a training module for new entrants to the small savings groups and assist establishment of the small savings program in Vellore and Ramanathapuram districts.
3. To provide research and background material for a video film on training and propagation of the small savings group program.

Part II : Support the development of one video on MALAR

About the savings program in Malar to help inspire new entrants to small savings groups and to help start similar efforts in other districts as well as inspire people in general and build awareness about savings programs which can motivate women the way Malar has done. This video will cover Malar the way "When Women Unite" covered the Anti-arrack agitation in Andhra Pradesh. The ownership and copyright of the video will be with AID, but AID will give unrestricted permission to Malar and TNSF to make copies, distribute or sell and build awarness in India. Below are the details :

1. Duration : 45-60 minutes
2. Format : U-Matic (High Band)
3. Language : Tamil and English Version (with English Subtitles and background english commentary)
4. Objective :
   1. To inspire new entrants to join Malar group
   2. To inspire individuals, groups, NGOs, in other places to start similar programs
   3. To give objective and comprehensive presentation of "What is Malar"
   4. To show how women's literacy, joint action, and group savings can be tools for women's empowerment.
5. This video will present a few case studies of women whose lives have drastically changed because of Malar.

Action plan for the video

Preshoot visit to Kanyakumari (director and cameraman) : 3-4 days
Finalizing the script : 7 days
Shoot : 5-7 days (exclluding travel days)
Editing the first cut : 5 days
Editing the final cut : 2 days
Graphics, music, mixing : 3 days
Making English version with english subtitles : 7 days

In case we get the camera and edit facility from CDIT, Trivendrum free of cost, the video can be made in BetaCam format (which is superior to U-Matic). And we can also additionally make another 30 minute video specifically as a training module with more details.

The Production Crew (total 10 people)

Director : 1 (Shivakumar)
Cameraman + Asst : 2 (Mathiazagan + Asst)
Camera Assts : 2
Sound Engineer : 1 (Elango)
Production Asst : 1
TNSF Coordinator : 1
Malar Coordintor : 1 (Kalpana)
Van Driver : 1

The need for the project

Part I : Kalpana has been working (voluntarily) with Malar for more than 8 months now. Malar has been able to sustain itself financially and has been able to manage all its adminstrative expenses including salaries of block coordinators, office staff and treasurers from the interest on the loans. But there is a need for a qualified and commited person like Kalpana who can help Malar make the organizational transition from a savings program to an enterprise network. She has been working voluntarily for the last 8 months, but it will be difficult to sustain that. Kalpana's main work in the transition will be :

• Planning and helping the organization and all its members understand and handle with the changes.
• Gather information about the different types of enterprises that the women are involved in and want to be involved in. She is already involved in making, distributing and gathering the questionaires for this.
• Interviewing the women to find out what training they will need and to verify the authenticity of the statements they have made.
• Sorting, classifying and analysing this information and helping Malar come up with guidelines for distribution of loans, for figuring out when and what training programs are required and coordinating the implementation of this. She has already been involved in coming up with some tentative guidelines. Some of these guidelines are :
  • For loan purposes the women are categorized into three classes :
    • A : Those women who are already in some enterprise and want to expand it. 50% of the loans will be for these women (because the chances of success is higher for these women).
    • B : This category is furthe split into two. The women in this category will get 30% of the total loan amount.
      • B1 : The women who are currently working in some enterprise as labour and want to own the enterprise themselves.
      • B2 : The women who have a good idea of what they want to do and need no other help from Malar other than the loan.
    • C : The women who want to do something - but don't know what. Malar will have to help them figure out what they want to do, provide training, and organize the enterprise. Most of these will be organized as co-operatives.
• Get information under problem situation and help in solving it.
• Document the details of the enterprise generation project from its beginings - what the problems are and the ways it is tackled, the structural and the other changes that accompany it. Also document the details of the life-style of the women now and as it changes with the project. This information will help in both analyzing the project as well as help in replicating it.

Part II : The expansion of the savings program to other districts and blocks will need a lot of training materials - not just in terms of books, but also as video modules and people (volunteers of TNSF). The videos to be developed are for this. Without a visual training aid frequent visits to older project sites become necessary increasing the costs and time of expansion. Also to inspire more people and build awareness we need a video like this.

The capacity to implement

Part I : Kalpana has been so far working on coordinating the savings program in Malar. The main thrust of her work has been with problem-groups : groups which for some reason or the other are not functioning the way they should or have in some cases even stopped functioning completely. In these cases she visits the group, finds out the problem and solves it. In several cases she has even revived non-functioning groups. She has a good rapport with the women and a deep understanding of the dynamics and ways of the savings groups and this will help her greatly in the work.

Part II : The organization Temporal Communications has been involved in making several videos and films and has the required expertise for implementing such a project. The relevant back ground of key people involved is given below :

Shivakumar (Director) : Graduate in Film Direction and Screenplay writing from Film and Television Institute of Tamilnadu, Madras in 1984. Has worked as a Production Executive for three year in Videocom, a private video production company in Madras. Made a number of serials and documentaries during this time. Worked as Film Executive for 6 months in Adsites - an advertaising company. Directed a few commercials and corporate films. Worked as Senior Producer for three years in Center for Development of Imaging Technology (CDIT). Directed six documentaries on development issues and on popularization of science. Currently working as a freelance film maker in Madras.

Other experiences :

Asst. Director in Tamil Film "Ezhavathu Manithan", national award winner for best tamil film, 1983

Produced slides on Science subjects in large numbers for National Council for Science aand Technology Communications.

Edited K.Balachndar's tele serial "Rail Sneham" for Doordarshn, Chennai. Edited Hugh and Collin Gantzer's tourism serial "LookingBeyond" for National telecast.

Founder secretary of Chennai Film Society

Worked as Asst. Director in a French Feeature Film : "The monkey who knew too much", produced by Gaumont.

Mathiazhagan ( Cameraman) : Has worked in several feature films and commercials.

Elango (Sound Engineer) : Has worked for BBC, French TV, and several feature films.

The help and reports that AID can expect.

Kalpana's expertise in savings and enterprise generation can be used to help other groups implement similar programs. In particular, AID is working with TNSF volunteers in Nemeli and Kalpana will help in training the volunteers and establishing the savings program there. Kalpana will be document the details of the enterprise generation project. AID can have access to the summary of the documentation. In addition, Kalpana will also give progress reports to AID every three months and articles that she writes on new insights into savings and enterprise projects. The videos developed will be owned by AID and can be distributed and circulated as needed. TNSF and Malar will have the right to copy, distribute, sell and circulate the videos in India.

The budget

Part I : Kalpana's salary :

@ 3500/month for 1 year                                                      = Rs  42,000

Part II : Developing two (1 hour) videos                                           = Rs 150,000
(This includes travel, transport costs, several takes, editing,
and professional fees.)

Total                                                                                                = Rs 192,000

The break up of the Video costs :

Pre-production visit to Kanyakumari : Rs 5,000
Camera (5-7 days) : Rs 16,000
Tapes (not the regular VHS tapes) : Rs 20,000
Transport (for equipment and crew - in Kanyakumari we will use a van) : Rs 15,000
Boarding and Lodging : Rs 10,000
Edit Suit : Rs 13,000
Commentary and Music : Rs 8,000
Stipend for assistants : Rs 4,000
Battery, Sun Gun, and other Accesories : Rs 6,000
Graphics : Rs 5,000
Production Expenses : Rs 10,000
Making the English Version : Rs 8,000
Professional Fees for Director and Technicians : Rs 30,000

Total : Rs. 150,000

Appendix 1 : Resume of Kalpana Karunakaran

Name : Kalpana Karunakaran
Address : St. Joseph Convent Hostel, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari - 629001
Phone : (04652) 20960 (Malar office)
Date of Birth : 22nd March 1974
Educational Qualification :
                  BA Economics, Ethiraj College, Madras, 1991-94
                  MA History, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, 1994-96
Social work experience :
                  A study of Arivoli literacy primers
                  A through study of middle school/high school history text-books
                  Volunteering with Malar sinc October 1997.

Appendix 2 : Kalpana's article on Malar in the Hindu.

• Shobana Rani, Nagercoil, has acquired a higher status in her family ever since she redeemed the family jewelry pledged to the bank through a loan from the small savings programme of which she is a part.
• Thanga Leela of Rajakkamangalam is hopeful of using a similar loan to redeem a coconut tree that she had pledged to build her house.
• When Mels Mary, Kurunthancode, found that the death of her husband, a lorry driver, in a fatal accident made it impossible for her to repay a loan of Rs.1000, out of which only Rs. 200 had been paid, the co-members of her savings group came to her rescue by meeting the deficit of Rs. 1000 through a voluntary contribution.

What binds these women and thousands of others like them throughout Kanyakumari district is membership in MALAR (Mahalir Association for Literacy Awareness and Rights), a movement which seeks to mobilise and organise women through a self-sustaining small savings scheme. Initiated by the Kanyakumari branch of the Tamil Nadu Science Forum after the withdrawal of the literacy (Arivoli) movement and the termination of the Post-Literacy campaign, in which the TNSF had played a crucial role, MALARÆs creation was spurred by the Science ForumÆs urge to sustain the grass root contact, especially among the rural poor, that the æArivoliÆ campaign had earned, and was inspired by the precedent of BangladeshÆs successful Grameen bank for women.

Seeking to create and strengthen democratic spaces in civil society by involving women from the poorest rural households, MALAR is essentially a forum where women voice their problems, share their experiences and develop intra-group social and economic support linkages. Using æArivoliÆ volunteers and learners, more than 250 groups comprising nearly 6000 women were formed by mid-1995. Each group has twenty women who are expected to save a minimum of Rs. 5 a week (Rs.20 a month) and to start lending to each other after a month of savings. As soon as a group is formed, an Account is opened on its behalf in the nearest bank.

MALARÆs women who are drawn from the urban slums of Nagercoil, the fishing villages that dot KanyakumariÆs coastline and from the interior villages are largely unskilled, illiterate or semi-literate, desperately poor and usually dependent on their husbands who are themselves casual labourers in the informal sector, poor fishermen or landless agricultural labourers. Setting aside a weekly sum of Rs.5 from whatever household allowance they receive from their husbands is itself a remarkable feat in saving.

MALARÆs chief attraction, as a savings and credit scheme, is its low lending rate of 2 paise per rupee per month (24% per annum) as against the private rate which can go up to 100% and the reasonably long period of ten to twenty months over which the loan may be repaid.. The women are also quick to favour a scheme that is designed to actually enable loan repayment through mandatory payment of the principal in regular and equal instalments. "When we borrow from outside the loan is endlessly serviced and we stay debtors forever," says Kumari, member of the Saralur MALAR branch. While initially the ceiling for a loan varied from Rs.500 to Rs. 1000, groups with considerable savings have subsequently managed to raise it to Rs. 5000.

The interest generated by the group is entirely remitted to the district office and MALARÆs organisational and administrative expenses are met out of this interest income which is pivotal in ensuring its economic self-sufficiency. The group selects its office bearers, President and Secretary, who oversee the regular conduct of weekly meetings ; the treasurer, who handles the financial affairs of about 5 groups, is the key functionary as she maintains and balances Account Sheets, manages loan documents and handles the groupÆs transactions with the bank. The treasurer is entitled to 30% of the monthly interest earned by the group, which during the early phase of a groupÆs life, is hardly sufficient to cover her travel expenses.

The manner in which the weekly group meetings are conducted ensures that decision making is vested entirely with the women and also enables MALAR to serve as a window to a wider universe. The meeting starts with a song and is followed by a confirmation of the minutes of the previous meeting. The next item on the agenda is the public reading and discussion of a monthly circular prepared by the MALAR District Committee which contains information about the general progress of the MALAR movement, important news at the international, national, state and district levels, details of government schemes for the poor, instructions on how to use locally available herbs, plants and other resources to fight diseases and a short story which ends on a debate-provoking note , announcing prizes for the best argued response. Post-literacy reading material especially designed for the Neo-literate including booklets and a single sheet news bulletin written in a simple and accessible style are made available to the group. Discussion of the loan requirements of various members, assessment of the urgency and worth of competing needs and the decision on who the recipients will be and how much will be disbursed, through collective deliberations, is usually the last item of the agenda.

MALARÆs rules require the treasurer to announce in each meeting the current savings position, interest collected and principal repaid. The treasurer is required to deposit the weekÆs collection of savings, interest and principal in the bank on the following day. No withdrawal of money from the bank is permitted without group sanction. The office bearers are required to be the last to borrow in order to avoid perception of any undue privilege enjoyed by them. Surveillance by the group on account of physical proximity makes it impossible for a potential defaulter to get away with non- repayment. Such a transparent and participatory arrangement was crucial in securing the trust and confidence of the women, many of whom had suffered unpleasant experiences with Chit Fund and other savings schemes that had disappeared with their money.

The womenÆs sense of owning the programme is crucial in explaining its 99% loan recovery rate, which according to Shelin Mary, MALARÆs Secretary, a teacher who has taken leave to commit herself to MALAR on a full-time basis, invariably baffles bank officials who cannot believe that the poor actually repay their loans, judging from the bankÆs dismal performance in this regard. The confidence of the participants of the programme is further reinforced by the constant counsel and support of a senior SBI officer Thomas Franco, the President of the Kanyakumari district branch of the Tamil Nadu Science Forum. His close association with MALAR has enabled him to serve as its link with the banking sector and has also served the purpose of strengthening the confidence of the banking establishment in the scheme as is demonstrated by the SBI initiative to lend to the tune of Rs.4 lakhs to MALAR.. The confidence that MALAR has won is also reflected by the enthusiastic response of its women to a number of long term insurance schemes of the government accessed through MALAR. An innovative scheme that MALAR offers is the Death Relief Scheme which entails the payment of Rs.5000 to the bereaved family after the death of a member in order to facilitate the dignified performance of the last rites.

A critical indicator of the success and growth of the programme is a perceptible shift in the borrowing purpose. While earlier, the MALAR loans were largely used for emergency or contingency purposes such as hospital expenses, educational expenses, debt servicing or repayment or for social purposes such as a wedding in the family, the growth of the scheme has made it possible for a large number of women to now seek loans to engage in small trades or other income generating activities.

The immediate economic relief that MALAR has provided has been to enable the redemption of ration cards where they have been pledged as collateral and other similar personal possessions indispensable for the familyÆs basic consumption needs. Another significant achievement is the diminishing participation of its women in the predatory Chitta loan operations.. A report of the MALAR district committee claims that about 500 families have been saved from the clutches of usurious money lenders.

That MALAR women are now sources of monetary assistance to the family is also reflected by a large number of initially resentful husbands permitting their wives to attend the weekly meetings. L. Thangam, treasurer of Melatherukarai branch, gives us an insight into the supportive role that MALAR women have come to play in each otherÆs lives when she says that they lend to each other at an informal level, independent of the group transactions, absolutely interest free.

The womenÆs spontaneous and enthusiastic response to the question of what makes the MALAR experience meaningful to them indicates a keen appreciation of the space that the weekly MALAR meetings provide to get together, discuss domestic problems, "share both laughter and tears" and to take an active part in the discussion of the news highlighted by the Neo-literacy newspaper. Semi-literate as most of these women are, and given their lack of access to a newspaper and the gendered segregation of public spaces that precludes their participation in the local tea stall exchange of current happenings, it is hardly surprising that they are articulate about the opportunity that MALAR makes possible to connect to a world that extends beyond their own circumscribed lives.

"Our MALAR women fight much less than when queueing at the water tap," says Kumari with a laugh The women, in most groups, also speak with evident pride of the spirit of cooperation and give and take that has developed amongst them, fostered by the necessary accommodation of anotherÆs need that ensues during group decisions on who the loan receivers of the month will be. up at. The solidarity that has been forged in groups functioning successfully is reflected in instances when the group has extended material and moral support to a member during a crisis be it a sudden bereavement, a bad case of domestic violence or abandonment by the spouse.

Where domestic violence is experienced as a predictable feature of their daily lives, when it has appeared life-threatening and excessive, the women have intervened as a group to rescue the battered victim. In Kutriparavilai village, Daisy, a young woman expecting a baby who had suffered an earlier miscarriage on account of her husbandÆs violence, was rescued from another bout of battering by a MALAR co-member who gave her refuge for the night. The next morning she was put on the bus headed for her natal village by about ten of the MALAR women who also met the husband and advised him to stop further harassment of his wife. Daisy says that her husband is more wary of mistreating her now as he is aware that she has a Sangam behind her. It was a protest staged at a police station by MALAR women of Iykkiravillai village which ensured that action was taken against a husband who had abandoned his wife and decamped with her property.

Jhansili, the co-ordinator of Killiyoor block, who oversees about 83 branches, explains how MALAR has enabled its women to intervene assertively in each otherÆs lives. "When the women act as a group they gain the courage and confidence to make their voice heard. Also empathy with others has replaced an earlier indifference to anotherÆs problems.".

The network of relationships that MALAR activists establish with the local administration and the support and respect they command in their area both enable an activist role in the public life of the community. They have often had to confront the local bureaucracy to obtain timely access to vital documents such as the death certificates of men after fatal accidents, where the widow must claim compensation within a year, or to ensure the timely certification of fire accidents by village officers in order to claim compensation. The MALAR activistsÆ familiarity with paperwork and petitioning procedure also enables them to apply for pattas for free land to which the Dalit poor are entitled. There have also been instances of MALAR women monitoring the operation of the local fair price distribution system and reporting pilfering and other malpractice to the concerned authorities.

Attempting to open up channels of communication with the local officialdom has sometimes even been a humiliating experience. Jhansili says that it took their group four days to open an account in a bank in Karungal. "We were repeatedly chased away like dogs," she fumes. How did the women, for 90% of whom it was the first time they had ever stepped into a bank, wage such a resolute struggle until their purpose was achieved ? Thangam of Melatherukarai says, "As we have to constantly speak in meetings, fear leaves us. Earlier when we used to go to the homes of the rich, we would fear to even sit on their chairs. Now all that has changed."

It appears that the MALAR experience has also emboldened its women to assert their voice not only in the immediate contexts of their community, but also in larger democratic bodies. All MALAR volunteers testify that many women who would not involve themselves in womenÆs Sangams or Beedi workerÆs unions do so now. The opportunities that MALAR has thrown open to its women, has also paved the way for their participation in the local Panchayat elections. 51 MALAR women have contested the local elections for various positions, successfully or otherwise .

The inspirational value of the MALAR experiment has been demonstrated by attempts to establish similar self-help groups for women in other districts such as THULIGAL, MAGARAM, and SAMAM in Madurai, Tanjore, Virudunagar, Ramnad, Pondy etc. The MALAR team has provided training to fledgling groups that are struggling to establish themselves. The All-India Coordination Committee of SAMATA (a national platform for gender equality) has decided to replicate the MALAR model in over 17 states.

The odds against which MALAR continues its campaign for a better deal for its women are dramatically exemplified in the case of the fishing communities which go without a livable income for six months of the year. Their plight has worsened in recent years since competition from the mechanized fishing industry has destroyed the market for the handmade fishing nets in the production of which women have traditionally dominated. Where poverty and social deprivation are the fundamental determinants of the lives of the women who sustain MALARÆs small savings scheme, MALARÆs growth and dynamism in the long run are linked crucially with the possibility of engaging its women in commercially viable, income-generating activity with marketing and financial support. The women are emphatic that their abject dependence on their husbands cannot be mitigated unless they have independent access to a livelihood that brings them an income of "at least ten rupees a day". MALAR, which is acutely conscious of this problem, has already provided training to some of the groups in skills such as the production of face powder, soap, sherbet, agarbati, jam, pickle, phenyl etc. SIDBI and KVIC have shown keen interest in helping the women to become entrepreneurs.

Today MALARÆs women have saved Rs. 21 lakhs and have lent about Rs. 32 lakhs from their savings. While MALAR has been successful in creating awareness and participation, it faces a really challenging task as it embarks on the project to improve the standards of living of its members through income generation activities. The hurdles are many - lack of marketing opportunities, skewed and inadequate purchasing power in the local areas, competition from the large and the multinational organisations with their high budget advertising, the system discrimination against the small and the weak, lack of investible resources, limited skills of its members and many more. Yet, MALAR hopes to overcome the odds and create a small economic space for its members, even if powerless to intervene in the macro environment.

A test for MALAR and its members will be whether they can maintain the tempo of their conscientisation programme even while pursuing economic activities, whether they can mobilise the women for larger social causes even while exhorting them to become entrepreneurs. The future will show how successful MALAR has been in balancing its priorities.

K.Kalpana

Appendix 3 : Balaji Sampath's visit report and recomendations

I was in Kanyakumari on 30th, 31st May and 1st June 1998. My aim in the visit was two fold - to learn about Malar and how it functions so that we can implement a similar savings program in Nemeli and to find out about this project which is being submitted to AID. I spent a lot of time discussing with Kalpana about Malar and about her role in it and what she plans to do in the future and in the long-term.

In between discussions, we visited three savings groups on the three days. The first was a well-running group, the second was a group which had stopped functioning and had to be re-started and the third a good group but with some questions and problems. Each visit showed a new facet of the groups and the kind of enthusiasm that can be generated as well as how faulty understanding can lead to severe problems. A description of the meetings is given in the proposal and so I will not repeat it. But the enthusiasm and confidence of the women is something which cannot be captured in words. The enthusiasm was simply overwhleming. I had heard that some of the women in Malar have together prevented arrack-selling, put goondas in their place, prevented husbands from beating their wives and seeing the enthusiasm at the meeting I can imagine how that happened !! Of course, the savings program is very strong and has become a great source of debt-reliver in the area with lots of other women asking Malar to start savings group with them.

Kalpana herself is very motivated. She is smart and has a solid understanding of the savings program and is playing a key role in leading Malar from savings groups to enterprises. It is not just a pleasure to see her in action, but also an inspiration. The way she talks with the women and solves problems and removes mis-understanding about the program was very impressive. All day while we were discussing the project, several volunteers met her for getting different things and clarifying doubts. She identifies groups with problems and visits them and solves the problems they face. Her understanding of the up-down cycle of poverty and how the savings groups prevent the downward slide and the understanding of what the income generation programs are going to do and for which women is quite deep. I think she will be the best person to help Malar move from savings to enterprises.

I also discussed the long-term aspects of her involvement with the movement. She is potentially a very useful contact for AID - her motivation and ability will be useful in all projects that we are doing and also in the plans that we make. She is also very interested in the idea of integrated village development and village level planning and in particular will help with the efforts going on in Nemeli.

Malar is very stingy with its money - a good sign for a self-sustaining project !! When I tried to get some forms - it was with some difficulty and finaally I could barely get two copies of the forms. The reason is because the money raised from the interest is barely enough to meet the expenses. Therefore the salary for Kalpana cannot be met from Malar.

I think both the projects - Kalpana's proposal and the video training modules will be good projects for AID.

- Balaji Sampath

Post-part I approval note : After AID approved the funding for Kalpana, she has also taken up visits to other places to train people there in the savings program. Even as I am writing this, she is working in Nemeli helping out with the savings program there. Also, I had long discussions with Shivkumar (the director for the film). He seems quite capable of handling this film. And from the AID angle - the movie can be used to generate a lot of enthusiasm. We recently showed "When Women Unite" at IITM and the response was overwhelming. We can use this cassette also in similar ways both in the US and in India.