Women Entrepreneurship Project
Women in Rajasthan are highly visible doing agricultural practises and contributing a significant portion of the household economy in terms of food grains, oil seeds, vegetables, fruits, milk, wool, fuel, fibre, hardwood, and so on. The region’s average sex ratio is low. Women’s literacy rates are also lower than those of men.
They have a lower participation rate in tertiary sectors such as medicine, teaching, administration, and other official services than men. Excessive workloads combined with insufficient nutritional food have resulted in normal to severe under-nutrition among women in this area, with 42% of the total surveyed women suffering from moderate to severe malnutrition. Mothers gave birth to underweight babies as a result of hunger.
Considering the number of women in Rajasthan, economic empowerment is a critical area where intervention is desperately needed. Women’s empowerment was one of the highest priority areas in which we had to work in social engagement activities. The only way to assist them break the cycle of poverty is through women’s empowerment, education, livelihood trainings, and SHG group capacity building.
To bridge the gap, Dhara Sansthan, in collaboration with the Bosch India Foundation, has granted a loan in the amount of INR 15,000, which will be repaid in 10 equal instalments. This is a rotating fund in which 200+ women are identified and benefitted in order to promote their small-scale initiatives in any form, such as livestock purchases, sewing machine use, petty shop purchases, gift shop purchases, general store purchases, and so on—any activity that helps women become financially independent.
The project components include identifying women entrepreneurs based on the criteria, basic screening for selection, a baseline survey to identify eligible women, capacity building training, exposure visits to improve training methodology, and special days celebrations to raise awareness among them to actively participate in the events.
We have been able to provide our support to the industrious and deserving ladies of the marginalised communities who are in need of practical assistance for their own startup and contribute to their family’s earning through it through our initiatives in the Jaipur region.