Sl.
No. |
Characteristics |
Criteria
for labelling the Sangha "GOOD" |
| 1. |
SANGHA
SIZE |
Though
size, in itself, cannot be a criterion
for calling a sangha weak or strong,
in general it is seen that effective understanding
of issues and participation in
discussions and programmes occurs in groups
that are small, i.e., less than 20-25 members.
Therefore, the strength of the sangha
members should be aimed at 20 or less. (small size, i.e. less
than 20 is now also stipulated
for bank linkage) |
| 2. |
COMPOSITION
a) The
Socio-Economic Category
|
Poor
families only.
Where strategically necessary, the better-off
farmers can serve in advisory committees,
where groups can make use of
their experience, but they cannot become
members and they have no decision
making powers. Educated youth from
poor families need not be excluded simply
because they are now employed in jobs
where the income is better. |
| b)Can
men and women belong to the same
group? |
They
can. However, generally in such groups
women are outnumbered and/or overwhelmed.
So it is better to encourage the formation of separate groups. Where this is
not possible, women
in mixed groups must receive special
attention from staff to see that they
are not marginalized. |
| c)
Can one sangha have more than one member
from the same family? |
Though
in practice this is not widely prevalent,
there should be no objection, as
long as members conform to the sangha
rules and regulations. |
| 3. |
STRUCTURE
a) Should there be office bearers carrying
designations? |
Terms
such as `President', `Secretary' carry
a risk. On the one hand, the people carrying
the designation feel that their status
is elevated and that they have greater
say in decision- making; on the other
hand, other members feel that they
have no responsibility since the President
and Secretary will take care of everything.
Therefore, such designations may
be avoided as far as possible. Instead
some neutral terms like `Representatives'
can be used. These representatives
can vary from task to task. |
| b)
Should sanghas have advisory committees |
Not
Necessarily. |
| c)
Should sanghas federate into Apex Bodies
|
Not
compulsorily. But in many instances several sanghas have
come together for specific
purposes such as purchasing seeds
and fertilizers in bulk, operating an agricultural
service centre, or planning and
executing a village drinking water and sanitation
programme, etc.
The formation of apex bodies should not
be
forced; they should emerge in response
to needs. |
| 4. |
MEETINGS
a) Frequency |
Weekly
meetings should be aimed at.In a month
two of the meetings may be business
meetings, and the other two can be
training or recreational get-togethers. But
where this is difficult, sanghas should meet
atleast twice a month. |
| b)
Fixing the day and time of meeting |
There
should be a fixed day and a fixed time
for weekly meetings, that can be changed
only under special circumstances and
after adequate intimation to all members. |
| 5. |
ATTENDANCE
AT MEETINGS |
All
members must attend all meetings. Absentees
should have given prior intimation
and the reason must be genuine,
wherein genuine means acceptable
to the other members.
In case of an
emergency meeting, all members
should be prepared to gather even
at very short notice. |
| 6. |
PARTICIPATION
IN MEETINGS |
All
members (wherein all means 10 out of 10
members) should understand all the issues
and programmes being debated by the sangha, and staff should develop a
method
to ascertain this.
No single member should be allowed to dominate
the group.
All members should speak/share ideas/contribute
in all the activities of the sangha. |
|
|
Staff
should see to it that the stronger members
are themselves encouraging the weaker
ones to participate. |
| 7. |
RULES
AND REGULATIONS |
Must
be framed by the members themselves,
understood by all members, acceptable
to all members and followed by
all members.
Rules must be
framed not only to facilitate
administration, but also to bring about
positive behavioural changes among members. |
| 8. |
SAVINGS
a)Frequency |
Every
member should save atleast some amount
each month. |
| b)
Should there be a fixed amount |
The
minimum monthly amount to be saved will
be as decided by the sangha and can differ
from sangha to Sangha. |
| c)
Interest on savings |
This
is an incentive for members to save. Members
can decide whether to pay interest
on savings; if so, how much and for
what amount (i.e., some sanghas pay interest
only for Rs.100/- and multiples of
Rs.100/-). As yet there is no pattern that
is emerging on the issue of paying interest
on savings. Since, direction of staff
effort cannot run contrary to natural
inclination of sanghas, this area will
have to be considered again, at a later
date. |
| d)
Withdrawal of savings |
Though
records are kept of individual savings,
the money itself is held in a common
fund from where the sanghas can advance
loans to members and also take up
other activities. |
|
Hence,
members are encouraged to apply for
loans rather than withdraw savings. However,
individual sanghas may take their
own decisions in whether to permit withdrawals,
when, and how much of the amount
saved.
When a member for
some reason leaves the
sangha his/her individual savings will be
returned to him/her. |
| e)
Acceptance of savings from non-members |
The
issue has not yet been properly discussed. |
| 9. |
LOANS
AND REPAYMENTS
a) Application and approval |
There
should be a proper selection/rejection
of beneficiaries and loan
purposes, wherein ‘proper’ means that
the selection or rejection is based on
a reasoning that is understood by all members,
and especially the applicant.
A good sangha is
not just one which has approved
a number of loans, but also one that
has rejected applications for valid reasons.
(E.g. a member may
have worked out the economics
of keeping 6 sheep, but the sangha
may ask her questions such "You have
no yard, so where will you keep thesheep?" or
"What do you know about sheep
rearing? Have you ever had any experience
with sheep?" and so on.
A member is not
entitled to a second loan if
there are over-due installments on a first
loan. |
|
|
Loans
cannot be given to members who do not
abide by the other rules and regulations
of the sangha, such as attendance
at meetings, taking responsibility
for programmes, etc. |
|
b)
Interest on loans |
Interest
builds up the sangha’s common fund.
Interest rates should be less than what
is charged by moneylenders, but more
than what is charged by Banks and other
credit institutions. Interest rates should
be based on purpose, risk, productivity,
etc. |
|
c)
Repayments and Recoveries |
The
repayment schedule should be decided
based on the purpose of loans and
the members’ actual ability to repay within
the stipulated time.
Repayments
must be regular, as per the installments
agreed upon.
Recoveries must be
100%.
Recoveries, in both
cash and kind, should be
acceptable.
Repayment schedule
may be modified under
exceptional circumstances; for example,
in 1988 in some areas the groundnut
crop could not be harvested as it
had not rained and the ground was too hard.
Under these circumstances, interest
on the extended period was waived
and the repayment schedule modified. |
|
d)
Can one sangha lend to another? |
No
specific stand has been taken, but in practice this has
happened in a few cases. |
|
e)
Can non-members take loans? |
This
issue has also not been thoroughly discussed,
but indications are that such a practice
will be discouraged, since non-members do
not have a stake in the sangha
and neither does the sangha have any
control over them. |