| Forty-year-old Vanita Pise is packing her last batch of paper cups to be sent to the city. Archana Chavan is fixing cable wires in a neighbour's house while Shakuntala Salunkhe takes one last look at her screen printing assignment before her clients arrive. These housewives-turned- entrepreneurs are alumni of Satara's very own rural business school-The Mann Deshi Udyogini. In an area which sees a drop-out rate of almost 60 per cent girl students, local NGO Mann Vikas Samajik Sansthan with the help of Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, has set up a business school, aimed at educating women. It is a no-fancy structure but the one-storeyed school in Mhaswad taluka of western Maharashtra has been a boon for the local women. Since its inception, the school has seen over 325 women enroll for the various government-approved courses in technical, vocational and management skills. "The courses will help them start and run small enterprises and also strengthen economically weak communities," says Malini Thadani, head, Public Affairs and Corporate Responsibility, HSBC India. There are courses for female vegetable vendors that give tips on how to source veggies at wholesale rates, soil testing classes that can help them earn Rs 15 per test and courses that help them start their own cable operating businesses. The sudden mushrooming of hospitals in the area has also prompted the school to offer courses in hygiene and health management. "Before designing a course we look at its potential in the local market that would fulfill the needs of these women," says Chetna Gala Sinha, social activist and founder-chairperson of the NGO. The results are already showing. Several housewives now supplement their family income by supplying sprouts to the 50 eateries in the area. Pise has recently won the Prime Minister's award for entrepreneurship and Chavan is the village's first woman cable operator. Besides becoming economically strong, access to vocational skills has boosted their status in their homes. "Now that I am skilled enough to run my husband's business, I have a more decisive role in the family," says Salunkhe. With a growing demand for vocational skills, Sinha plans to open more centres in various villages. Till then, Satara's women can continue to flock to Mhaswad for some business training. |
