GOAT REVOLVING SCHEME TO UNDERPRIVILEGED DALITH WOMEN

Goat rearing occupies a pride place in our society even from the time immemorial since it is the only effective means to ameliorate the sufferings of rural poor. It occupies a pride place in the cause of upliftment of weaker sections of the society with small input and expected relatively greater output which the common man can afford. The employment of marginalized village women in goat rearing is pertinent for the grass root level of village development, cause greater impact on social change.

In our project target areas fodder including medicinal plants is abundantly available for the feeding of healthy growth of goats.The geography and climate providing rains at times and the percentage of humidity in the atmosphere due to proximity of hill ranges , valleys having rivers ,streams,flora and fauna provide fresh air and abundant resources which are very much conducive for healthy growth of animals resulting high milk production and nutritious meat.

The Problem

Mass poverty and wider spread unemployment are the two most pervasive phenomena which the project community faces and to alleviate these, goat revolving scheme is proposed for income generation and sustainability. The target group of beneficiaries hails from the poor, underprivileged, marginalized weaker sections of rural women. Out of the total target group of women 35% are Scheduled caste and 25% Scheduled Tribes 30% poor Daliths and the rest are from other sectors. 75 beneficiaries has been selected by a bench mark survey through over 50 women self help group formulated under our project in the area for alleviating their poverty,under employment empowering them in to pressure groups.All the beneficiaries are daily wage earners suffering due to their poor Socio economic back ground belonging to Below Poverty Line(BPL) suffering even for a square meal a day to meet their both ends of life. They are struggling hard to educate their children and to meet their educational needs of providing study materials.

The Solution

The selected 75 beneficiaries of marginalized village women from different Self Help Groups(SHG) will be empowered through awareness generation by providing training by experts from the concerned departments. Project will make use of the services rendered by veterinary experts from the very beginning of the inception grassroot level of the project especially project planning,training shed construction purchase of high breed varieties of goats(kids) from goat farm. All the goats will be insured properly in concerned government department. Sequence of activities is envisaged as mobilizing the target beneficiaries,improving their skills,creating backward and forward linkages ,improving arranging for support services,the kids returned (one kid each by one beneficiary will be returned ) will be issued to others as per the priority list of the SHG's. The milk,meat will be sold locally in markets and the bulk quantity to the meat products of India. Savings will be encouraged and ensured .The project will engage two Animators for supervision and to co ordinate in co -operation with the people and SHG's representatives. Two month old kids will be issued to he beneficiaries. Major assumptions and expected results are that it is hoped that within a period of two years hundred of village women will be empowered,trained and start goat rearing in household level as self employment start income generation and with n a period of five years a large number of households in the village will benefit for income generation ,sustainability and savings `for the betterment of their whole family members . The spread effect will disseminate at the neighboring areas also and the challenge which we have described will cover a large extend. The project will be for two years.