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Sustainable Livelihoods
SSP supports federations to play
a role beyond microcredit to build capacity, improve income-generating
skills and conduct trade and business activities. SSP conducts workshops
to exchange teachings and insights, organises study tours to small-scale
industries, provides training to improve communication, enhances
women’s leadership and marketing skills, imparts training
to local resource persons and organises forums for livelihood initiatives.
When women are organised into self help groups (SHGs) that are self-reliant,
their ability to access credit and achieve economic security is
better ensured. As an extension, the women poor should be empowered
to explore entrepreneurial opportunities to provide demanded goods
to communities often deprived of access to markets.
With this in mind, SSP created Business Development Support Services
(BDSS) in 2005 to help build and sustain commercial enterprises
and enable women to become entrepreneurs. As a capacity-building
organization, BDSS is both an umbrella outfit and a direct service
provider. It aims to promote viable micro- and community-based enterprises
and address and overcome expansion constraints faced by rural businesses.
Through the evaluation of enterprise expansion opportunities, the
promotion of business-to-business linkages and the distribution
and marketing of relevant products and services, BDSS will be a
force for many years to come.
Under BDS, SSP has already instituted programs that not only build
local entrepreneurs but also meet important community needs. SSP
expects to cover 42,000 households directly through these community-based
enterprises by March 2011.
Sakhi toilet construct / Nirmiti aims to serve the unmet
housing and sanitation infrastructure needs of rural households
in SSP project areas. This enterprise generates local economic value
by providing livelihoods for SHG women and upgrading the skills
of masons. Nirmiti is intended to improve community health by promoting
sanitation education and facilitating the universal use and maintenance
of toilets.
Annapuna food and nutrition initiatives were started by federations
across 66 villages in three districts. It serves to provide essential,
high quality items at affordable prices to SHGs members. The benefits
are twofold: SHG networks supply local agricultural produce and
provide enterprise opportunities to women, and in turn, this reduces
the time and energy spent by women from over 3,700 households.
Health Mutual provides health security to women members and
their families by building linkages with service providers and educators
and promoting a concept of solidarity that pools risk in the case
of personal health emergencies. Services and products include reimbursements
for hospital expenses, community-level outpatient delivery services,
discounted rates and various health education workshops and programs.
Health Mutual will reach 6,000 women and their families in 2007.
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