Weaving Baskets and a Better Tomorrow
India, famous for its unique arts and crafts, is filled with artists creating beauty daily. But many of these artists’ stories contrast the beauty of their creations.
Saajan Devi’s journey to becoming an artist began with the need to feed her family.
Living in Samastipur, Bihar, Saajan Devi nurtured a family of four on her husband’s income, who worked as a daily wage laborer. She couldn’t keep up with the family’s growing expenses with limited earnings and was forced to borrow money from informal lenders, who charge exorbitant interest rates and trap the hapless into a never-ending cycle of debt.
While stories of struggle often start with hungry mouths to feed, Saajan Devi refused to be part of the crowd who just patched things together to survive. She chose to thrive instead and grabbed the chance to become part of the Self-Help Group (SHG) in her area, which helped women save money and gave them the means to access loans to become entrepreneurs.
Also read| Profiling National Rural Livelihood Mission
This decision was also tricky— becoming part of an SHG involves saving INR 10 every week, submitted to the person in charge, and then safely depositing it in a bank account. It involved trusting people with her hard-earned and already scarce money. But after talking to the community organizer and learning about the opportunities available to her, Saajan Devi decided to try it, and her life has never been the same since.
Something as simple as words of encouragement from fellow SHG members became the biggest motivator for Saajan Devi when she decided to create a living out of her talent of weaving novelty baskets and undertook a loan of INR 10,000.
She sourced bamboo to craft baskets and worked with her husband to create a flourishing business, increasing their monthly household income from INR 7,000 to INR 20,000.
Do you know how they say taking the first step is the most challenging part of the journey?
It stands incredibly accurate for Saajan Devi because now she is working towards expanding her business to a higher, more significant level with the help of JEEViKA and her self-conviction. The goal is to reach INR 40,000 per month to give her family a better, more comfortable life and to become an example for other women in her village.
Her hesitation in beginning this life-altering journey stemmed from the fact that there weren’t any people to look up to, much less women from her community. Saajan Devi feels like she must encourage other women who’re scared to take that first step to become entrepreneurs and control their lives.
Aishwarya Bhatia, Sambodhi
