The Mahila Udyami Bahuddeshiy Sahakari Samiti (MUBSS), a women’s co-operative in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district, has, within two years of its formation, sought to transform the lives of the people in the 10 villages where it operates.

MUBSS spokesperson Veena Deewangan told BusinessLine over phone that Surguja was one of the most backward districts until about two years ago. Women never stepped out of their homes and parents were scared to send their children to school. “We lived a primitive life,” she recalled.

Adani Foundation, the social arm of the Adani Group, initiated a sustainable livelihood programme by mobilising around 250 women from 10 villages — Parsa, Salhi, Ghatbarra, Basen, Fatehpur, Hariharpur, Saidu, Suskam, Gumga and Parogiya — in Surguja district, and helped them group themselves to build the Samiti.

More than 97 per cent of them are tribal women. “It was both a challenge and opportunity for us,” said Rajesh Ranjan of Adani Foundation.

“The women were engaged in a number of employment-generating activities including making of sanitary pads, maintaining a water-filter plant, cooking mid-day meals, garment stitching, vermi-compost making and so on. Things started to look better as women started to become economically independent and lead a more confident life,” said Deewangan.

The Samiti was registered in July 2017. In the first year of operation, its turnover touched ₹25 lakh; it more than trebled to ₹80 lakh the following year.

“We are seeing good growth potential. More women are getting engaged in economic activities. Women have become vocal. A socio-economic transformation is visible,” said Deewangan. “The State government has started extending support by giving us space for setting up a shop to sell our products.”

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