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.