Livelihood Development
Digambarpur AngikarEmpowering Tiger Widows:
The poor people of deltaic Sundarban of West Bengal depend on catching crabs, collecting honey and other NTFP from the forest to maintain livelihood. The male people are generally going to forest and forest based rivers to collect such things. And, they have been attacked by tigers or crocodiles resulting a huge and frequent life-loss. It has been informed that about 3,000 families have been victimized by such incidences and male have been killed. There is numbers of habitants called “Bidhabapara”(hamlet for widows) where mostly all men have lost their life by tiger. The acute poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, traumatism and insecurity are the main issues among tiger widows and their families.
In such situation, more than 750 numbers of most marginalized tiger widows have been organized and supported with various alternative livelihood based activities like; backyard poultry, black Bengal goats rearing, duck rearing, integrated fish farming, vegetables cultivation including micro-entrepreneurship development to enhance the livelihoods. Angikar organized various trainings and capacity building events like; leadership, accounts, and bookkeeping and orientation programs on various government social security schemes and entitlements. Most of the tiger widows has been earning on an average of Rs.4500 to 6,000- per month. This additional income has helped to improve their food security, continue the education of children, controlled migration, and trafficking, early aged marriage and improve basic quality in life.
Empowerment of ST, SC and Other vulnerable Women:
Sustainable Livelihoods: In Sundarbans, STs are landless and staying in river embankments, SCs are moslty landless and daily labourer and there are many vulnerable people like; landless, marginal farmers and husbands have been forced to migrate in other cities to search the employment.
In this situation, Digambarpur Angikar initiated livelihood and empowerment of such vulnerable women through creation of women entrepreneurs, formation of livelihood groups/functional groups and their collectiveness for better coordination, inputs and outputs business towarding enhancing the income.
The major livelihood interventions are integrated homestead management including vegetables cultivation, backyard poultry farnming, duck rearing, fish farming, pig rearing, black bengal goat rearing and homestead plantation.
All the recipients women have been trained on entrepreneurship development, rearing and management and rearing of livestocks like; poultry, duckery, goats, pigs, poultry hatchery, fish farming, integrated vegetables cultivation with organic farming, etc.
The beneficiary women have been supoorted with livelihoods assets and climate resilient vegetables cultivation and linked with various available schemes at government line departments. The necessary follow-up and handholding are continuing by the staff of Digambarpur Angikar to make them successful women entrepreneurs. It has been assessed that each beneficiary women have earns Rs. 6000 to Rs. 8500 per month. The supported women are managing family independently, continuing education for children including girl children and creating family assets.
Employment Generation Programme: We have also set up a low-cost sanitary napkin production unit at Haldia in Purba Midnapore. This programme focuses on the skill development of the local less privileged women in Paranchak slum under Haldia Municipality, in production of low-cost sanitary napkins. They learnt the operation of the production and packaging machines, selection and procurement of raw materials, wholesale , retail and institutional marketing, soft skills and enterprises development. 12 SHG women are involved in producing the low-cost sanitary napkins and 10 selected women are involved in marketing these goods on commission basis in Paranchak Slum under Haldia Municipality. We have formed a FPO with 500 shareholders. We are thankful to Haldia Petrochemicals for their unwavering support.
Empowerment of Fisherwomen:
The marginalized fisherwomen were besically engaged in fishing in tidal rivers, catches the fish spwans, mud crabs for their livelihood. The government has banded to allow rivers for fishing and they lost their livelihoods options. In this situation, Digambarpur Angikar organizes the fisher women for securing their rights and support for the alternative livelihoods.
The purpose of the project is to enhance overall empowerment of fisher women including equip them with knowledge on rights and entitlements, developing their collectives and supporting them to pursue better alternatives livelihoods. 20 vibrant fisher women collectives incorporating 5000 fisher women in Sundarban region
