Thomas Doe
Social WorkerNulla totam rem metus nunc hendrerit ex voluptatum deleniti laboris, assumenda suspendisse, maecenas malesuada morbi a voluptate massa! Hendrerit, egestas.
Nulla totam rem metus nunc hendrerit ex voluptatum deleniti laboris, assumenda suspendisse, maecenas malesuada morbi a voluptate massa! Hendrerit, egestas.
Mungli Lohar
“My constant endeavour is to grow my business, and I will keep at it. I use leaves from the Sal trees to make bio-degradable plates and bowls and use them to serve my food. I also sell the surplus of the Sal utensils in the market to add to my profits.”
The Chhota Nagra village in the Saranda forest of West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand is home to a chirpy, ever positive young woman who goes by the name of Mungli Lohar. Married into a big family where she immediately became responsible for her two younger brothers in law, two small sisters in law and ailing father in law, Mungli and her husband Gura struggled to make ends meet from day one. Caring for her in-laws kept Mungli busy at home all day while Gura pursued several daily wage labour jobs to provide for the family.
However, the one thing that makes Mungli stand out from the rest of the women in the Santhal community of her village, is her positive attitude towards life, the inherent indomitable spirit she has. Coupled with her enterprising nature, this attitude helped her turn around the story of her entire family, when in 2016 she was selected by Trickle Up as an ultrapoor project participant.
A key component of Trickle Up’s approach is to help participants make connections with others outside their household and encourage broader social inclusion. Mungli became a member of the Maskal Self-Help Group, a safe place to save, access credit, and share advice with other women in her community. Through project M-Powered, supported by the CSR division of TATA Communications, she also received a grant of INR 3,000 and a smartphone to choose a livelihood option. Following the advice of her coach, Mungli not only decided to invest in livestock, but also took the bold step of starting a small business. She also bought stock and supplies to open a fast food shop that runs every Saturday at the local market in Chhota Nagra.
Her membership with the group helped her to network and promote her food stall. Initially, she was only able to break even or saw little income. To improve her business, she used her new M-Powered smart phone to learn and access the information she needed to make more informed decisions about her business. With word spreading about her fast food joint, she began supplying food to the Self Help Group for their snack breaks during their regular meetings. The trend caught on, and she now takes orders and delivers her food to other SHGs in and around her village during their meetings or training sessions.
Today, Mungli runs the food business with Gura’s help. Every week, she is able to invest INR 1800 into buying the supplies for the shop and makes a profit of INR 3000 on average. With their earnings, she has purchased a bicycle that Gura uses to deliver food faster to keep up with demand.
“I now have one employee who helps me make the food. My husband and I take care of the serving and the cash. I have also employed two young boys who help with the cleaning of the utensils. I pay all of them from the profit I make. I ensure that the kids use their money for their school fees, books, uniforms and stationery. They work with me on Saturdays as schools are closed over the weekend. My constant endeavour is to grow my business, and I will keep at it. I use leaves from the Sal trees to make bio-degradable plates and bowls and use them to serve my food. I also sell the surplus of the Sal utensils in the market to add to my profits,” says the confident young woman. Saranda forest is the largest Sal forest in Asia.
Gura is now one of the rare men in the village to be known by his wife’s identity and is referred to as Mungli’s husband. In the traditional set up of rural India, it was a huge breakthrough for young Mungli to establish her identity so.
From being a young bride with a huge burden on her shoulders, Mungli today is a leader in her own right. She is not just a role model for her own village, in her community, but also for her five-year old daughter, who is growing up watching her superhero of a mother handling her business and her family affairs with elan.
“I sometimes feel if I did not take charge of the situation, maybe today I would be just any other woman. But I stood up for myself, I worked hard, followed a plan, and now I am a leader in the community. I feel confident and independent. Life gave me one chance and I made the best use of it,” says Mungli.
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