Supporting and strengthening women’s empowerment and livelihoods in low income and vulnerable communities is a particular objective for Sanmarga Trust.
Women from poor families, particularly in rural areas, tend to be less economically active with limited opportunities to come out of their poverty status.
Empowering women to enhance their economic status and independence improves family livelihoods as well as strengthening family and social values. The Sanmarga Trust is currently undertaking a women’s empowerment and livelihoods programme in the south-central area of Sri Lanka in Kudalunaka and Kuralewela villages in partnership with the NGO FRIENDS. The programme commenced in 2022 with a group of 40 women from Kudalunaka village, all from low-income farming families. Sanmarga trustee Baghi Baghirathan visited the programme together with staff from FRIENDS in February 2023 and was impressed at the progress and outcomes at this relatively early stage.
Following the success of the Kudalunaka programme, the Sanmarga Trust is replicating the programme in the nearby Kuralewela village in partnership with the Eva Rekitt Trust. The extended programme will initially involve a group of 60 women and adopt the same approach and strategy as the Kudalunaka programme. The Kuralewela programme commenced in July 2023 and will be completed in 2 years.
The women’s empowerment and livelihoods model
Kudalunaka and Kuralewela villages are in the south central Badulla district and outside the irrigated agriculture area. The communities are largely poor farming families whose livelihoods are limited by the extent of land plots, water availability challenges and access to services. Social norms limit the independence of women who have abilities and aspirations to contribute to family incomes and enhance their independence.
The Sanmarga/FRIENDS programme has selected the target women’s groups through surveys and consultations and is supporting each participant with a ‘micro loan’ (the initial loan is provided interest free, in the range GBP25-50) to develop their chosen income generating activities. These range from vegetable cropping, poultry farming, dress making to coir brush manufacturing and flour grinding etc. The home-based enterprise activities enable the women to combine these with their domestic chores. Initial outcomes indicate that the enterprise activities are already contributing to a significant increase in household incomes and improved quality of life for these families.
In their own words
Watch some of our video interviews of beneficiaries from the Women’s Economic Empowerment Project in Kudalunaka Village
Interview: Nalani
Sanmarga helped her with a loan to set up her business to produce and sell ‘Ekel’ brooms from her home. She is making a profit of about Rs 20k per month which is enhancing the family income. She is able to make some savings from this and is grateful to Sanmarga Trust to develop this enterprise and improve her economic status.
Interview: Renuka Malkanthi
She set up her this grocery shop with the support from Sanmarga who helped with an interest free loan. The shop is at her home premises and is doing well. She has a monthly income of about Rs 50k and a net profit of about Rs10k. Her husband is a mason and he contribute a lot for basic family needs, the additional income from the grocery business is helping to increase the family income and improve their lives. She uses her profit mainly for the education of two kids. She is very grateful to Sanmarga Trust for their support.
Interview: Chandima Priyadharshani
She started the mushroom cultivation and marketing enterprise with the help of the loan from Sanmarga. The enterprise is going well, and she is earning a net profit of about Rs20k per month. She sells the mushrooms at a nearby local market. The revenue is adding to the family income, and she spends it for her children and family expenses. Chandima hopes to be an entrepreneur by improving this business further.
Interview: Deepani Lasanthika
Deepani is undertaking a coir brush production business and is employing two ladies to help her. She took Rs15k interest free loan from the Sanmarga project. That money was used to setup a storage facility to store more raw materials. Earlier they produced 5000 unit per week and later she could increase that up to 7500 per week. That helps her to increase her monthly income. This lady expects to further improve the business in future. She is very grateful to this project.
Interview: H.M. Dhammika
Dhammika is a married woman with two children. She is involving in poultry keeping and vegetable cultivation activities. She was able to get Rs. 20k from the project for constructing a poultry shed and purchase few chicks. Now she has expanded her brood of hens up to 15 and plans to expand this in the near future. She expects to earn a good income from this livelihood. She is very grateful to the project.
The cooperative societies set up by the two women’s groups as community-based self-help organisations with the assistance of FRIENDS, underpins the programme. The societies which bind the groups, have set up mutual savings arrangement and provide a forum for mutual help as well as the platforms for cross learning and monitoring individual progress. FRIENDS provide support with training and development and will gradually ease its involvement as the societies become self-sustaining.
The societies will also become the resource centre providing and managing future loan disbursements to new recipients from the loan repayments received from the initial group of participants. The societies will continue to expand their membership with new loan recipients and the benefits from the initial loan fund from the Sanmarga trust will continue to grow within the villages.
