You are here: Home > Work > Initiatives > Freedom Lecture
Freedom Lecture
The third Samanvaya Freedom Lecture
"A Freedom - Women-driven Economic Development in Rural India"
(in Tamil)
by
Kasthuri Akka (Mrs. Kasthuri Chandrasekhar)
President, Mahakalasam Women's Federation
Director, Grama Mooligai Company Limited
Ram, Chief, Samanvaya; Mrs. Kasthuri Chandrasekhar; Sri. Muthuvelayutham, CCD (L to R)
A short summary of Samanvaya's activities since the earlier Freedom Lecture
in 2004, was given by Rama of Samanvaya.
Introducing 'Kasthuri Akka', Sri Muthu said that inviting her for the
Freedom Lecture this year is very significant since 2005 is the International
Year of Micro-finance. He added that the one quality of these people that
shines through this story is their resilience. They have with their own
effort, without any external resources and skills, created, built and
expanded this entity called Kalasam. Today, they are considered an ideal
for micro-finance and community enterprise support work by organisations
and women wanting to do similar work across the country.
Further, talking about Kasthuri Akka and her family, he said that the
entire family is of a social service mind; her husband, an auto driver,
supports her completely, and her daughters are following in her footsteps
into Kalasam. Her family has strengthened her such that she could lead
the vast Kalasam movement.
Following Sri. Muthu's introduction, Smt. Kasthuri swept the audience
away with her rousing and hope-inspiring talk that was delivered in a
clear and sure manner.
A summary of her talk:
The kalasam group was started
to improve the women's economic conditions so that they could stand independent
in the community. They initiated this activity without anyone telling
them to do such things. With CCD's facilitation and help, they started
devising ways to improve conditions without migrating out of their villages.
This was in 1991-92.
Their work of strengthening and supporting women's occupation and financial
conditions expanded and led them to registering their groups as the Mahakalasam
Federation in 1996. Other organisations and entities like SIDBI and the
Neera Network for instance, took notice and came forward to give them
loans. The CCD team facilitated all this and also gave them training.
The groups which found it difficult to even save Rs. 20 per month in the
beginning, have over Rs. 2 lakhs in their account today. The women who
were very sceptical about the group savings idea in 91', can today take
loans upto 4 lakhs from the bank, backed by the group membership. Earlier
women who had to mortgage jewels and land holdings to take loans now as
Kalasam members have numerous credit facilities at their disposal. There
are over 8000 members today from the 4 Federations in Sevaiyur, Natham,
Sooranam and Madurai, with a total savings of 2 ½ crores.
Some of their activities, projects and schemes over the years:-
Their work in each district was started to support the local occupation
and activity - for instance, in Virudhunagar, their activities support
the agriculture of the area, the neem seed procurement and tamarind pulp
processing which are the activities there. The hilly Natham area is rich
in medicinal plants and houses medicinal plants cultivators and collectors,
and the Kalasam's enterprise support activities here are built around
medicinal plants and related communities. Over 300 women in all, belonging
to the Kalasam family work in the medicinal plants sector - as collectors,
in the semi processing unit for medicinal plants products, as marketing
agents for the semi processed goods.
Kalasam's documentation work includes the documentation of information
on Naattu Vaidhyars (traditional health practitioners) and their practice,
as well as the documentation of over 13,000 local health practices and
innovations for National Innovation Foundation.
They have also been involved with campaigning and awareness programmes
for different organisations. One such campaign was for promoting the cultivation
of traditional seed varities in their villages.
One of Kalasam's major programmes has been the Kitchen Herbal Garden (KHG)
project. This project aimed at training women to set up and maintain herbal
gardens in their backyards, that would house common herbs to be used for
necessary medicinal preparations. Over and above taking care of the household
medicinal expenses, which was the initial objective of the project, now
it is also expected to generate extra revenue for the women, by way of
packaging and selling medicinal products.
After the tsunami, the Kalasam women started work in the tsunami-hit areas
also. They spoke primarily to the women from villages hit by the tsunami,
in Nagappattinam. They also took surveys to arrive at actual numbers and
extent of damage, especially to women's occupations.
Today, the Kalasam women have organisations from all over the state and
country inviting them to give training for formation and work of women's
groups, and share their experiences with their local communities and workers.
Concluding her talk, kasthuri Akka said that for village women at least,
it is very necessary to be economically independent since this changes
their status within the family and community. They naturally become part
of the decision making process, even in the village. She added of the
Kalasam women that they are all honest, simple village women with not
much formal education, but have worked and achieved much on the basis
of their experiences and insight. This they have done without going much
out of the villages, except to share their knowledge with outsiders.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kasthuri Akka
A housewife in a resettlement village outside Madurai decided to do something
to augment her husband's income to provide a better future for her 4 daughters
and a son. That was 10 years back.
Setting up domestic herbal gardens in 8000 houses, traveling incessantly
across 8 districts in Tamilnadu promoting local health systems, heading
a Federation of over 200 women's groups, setting up of a community-owned
company, sitting in the Board of a company that deals with large corporate
houses, today this wife of an auto driver is no longer the simple Kasthuri.
The world addresses her respectfully as "Kasthuri Akka". She
has been invited by UN organisations and World Bank to share her views
on sustainable livelihood and community enterprises. Visit her home, and
she is the hospitable mother of 4 offering you tea and something to eat,
and then settling down for a chat.