Women’s Self Help Group, Maravanmadam

One of the Women’s self help groups in Maravanmadam, Tuticorin District in Southern Tamil Nadu have come together and set up a huge garment manufacturing unit.

Few of these women were working in the scorching hot sun in saltpans and few others in the nearby Beedi (Indian cigarette) factory, rolling tobacco leaves for a wage of Rs. 75 (90p) per day. Beedi rolling is hazardous work where women often sit on one position for 10 to 16 hours a day, inhaling huge amounts of tobacco dust, so is work in saltpans.

However, a group of women have embarked on a brighter future with SCAD support.

SCAD help women create their own employment and improve their household income

Our team of animators have worked with this group to help them set up a woman’s group. Now they have been enabled to share their problems and save some money to build a better future together.

We have provided sewing training and due to high demand in the area, the women now stitch and sell tunics and blouses, earning around Rs. 300 to Rs. 1,000/- a day.

They had taken a loan in the group to buy a sewing machine and immediately started work and paid back the loan amount in the first 10 months. The self help group members have together confirmed that they are very happy to work with each other and express their solidarity.

There are now 3,500 women’s self help groups involving around 60,000 women

Read more about them here or watch a film about the groups. If you would like to help us to support more income generating programmes for women’s groups you can donate here

SCAD have been training women’s groups in garment making. Read more…

• The rise of women

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