TEN CRITICAL AREAS

1. Identifying and fostering affinity groups: Since 1984-85 MYRADA has fostered SHGs of the rural poor. These groups not only manage credit, they also provide space for the poor to grow in skills and in confidence to make decisions regarding their lives. They are credit-plus institutions. In March 1999, there were 3,547 SHGs in MYRADA's projects with 70,457 members, managing a total fund of Rs. 228,965,704/- of which Rs. 76,770,926/- is savings and Rs. 24,255,494/- interest earned on lending. They have disbursed over 379,278 loans. Several thousand more SHGs have been fostered in Myanmar, Cambodia, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. NABARD supported MYRADA with a grant of Rs.1 million in 1987 from its R & D fund, for the pilot initiative. Though MYRADA adopts a non-party political approach, over 600 members of the SHGs have been elected to various Panchayat institutions. So far Banks have advanced Rs. 3 Crores as direct loans to SHGs.
   
2. A focus on women and children: MYRADA adopts the SHG strategy for women's empowerment and invests heavily in formal and non-formal education for school going children and dropouts, with a bias towards the girl child. Women have taken thousands of loans from SHGs for their children's education; this is a good indicator that they have placed a value on educating their child. In partnership with PLAN International, our major donor, MYRADA works with 21,000 children of poor families, providing health facilities, upgrading educational services and forming school better committees; women/parents as well as the SHGs and Parent Teacher Associations are actively involved in these initiatives. MYRADA is collaborating with the Tamil Nadu Women's Development Corporation in Dharmapuri District and with the Government of Andhra Pradesh's UNDP programme in Anantapur District; in both Districts thousands of women's SHGs have been organised. In collaboration with the Karnataka Women's Development Corporation, MYRADA is involved in the Rural Women's Empowerment and Development in the Districts of Anantapur , Kolar, Mysore and Chitradurga where MYRADA already has projects in collaboration with German Agro Action, NOVIB, CHF and EZE. MYRADA has deputed staff to the Belgaum ZP to train SHGs most of whom are women's groups. MYRADA's strategy to support the formation of SHGs of Devadasi's has culminated in the organisation of these women into an NGO called Mahila Abhivruddhi Mathu Samrakshana Samsthe (MASS) which has over 1500 members. During the past 4 years, MYRADA has trained women in non-traditional skills like masonry, welding, plumbing and autorickshaw driving. A major initiative with Titan employing 156 women in polishing and assembling watchstraps has been functioning for 3 years. Their incomes range from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 3,000 p.m.; they have now formed a Private Limited Company and hired one of MYRADA's senior staff. Recently MYRADA has set up a Legal Support Cell with the support of SDC; it is based in Belgaum with support from Bangalore; it is full dedicated to tackling women problems.
   
3. Management of Micro-Watersheds: Around 1985, realising that a major investment in dry lands was required to ensure food security of the poor, MYRADA began exploring the strategy of micro watershed management in Gulbarga District in collaboration with the SDC and the Government of Karnataka. MYRADA's focus was to foster appropriate people's institutions which would take on the responsibility of planning, budgeting and implementing treatment measures in a watershed and then managing the investment for sustained impact. MYRADA has two simple slogans; "Make the Water walk" and "Bring the soil back to life" (through judicious use of biomass, compost, silt and soil cover). ISRO's satellite photographs of 1986 and 1994, prove that there has been remarkable change in the biomass cover in the project area. Several studies have shown sustained increases in productivity and the ability of crops to weather prolonged dry periods. The lessons learned from this project were incorporated in others both in MYRADA and outside; the National policy and strategy for micro watershed management drew from this experiment. MYRADA's major concern however were that all the inputs were grants; this does not lay the basis for financial sustainability; people do not make sound investments if grants are available. MYRADA has attempted to introduce the practice of taking loans for treatment measures on private lands with NOVIB, CHF support.. This experiment now covers 42 micro watersheds and has the support of NABARD. A new project with KAWAD and DFID started in 1999.

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