Two new businesses help Dropati find her own voice

Dropati is a housewife living in the rural village of Khursipar in Madhya Pradesh in central India. When Dropati first married, the management of the family’s two-acres of land was left entirely to her husband. But over the last year, Dropati has taken on a more active role, starting two new businesses, building a new home and finding her own voice.

Dropati’s life began to change when she joined a women’s self-help group run by Good Shepherd. One of the first group activities that Dropati took part in was training in fish farming and small business management.

Dropati and her husband feed the fish at the family pond

There is a large pond on Dropati’s land that had always been used to water crops and vegetables and had occasionally yielded a fish that Dropati would cook for dinner. Dropati quickly learnt that her pond could support over 100 kg of fish stock. Good Shepherd helped her access 10kg of high quality fertilised fish eggs of several species and fish feed.

The local fishery officer advised Dropati on when and how to look after her fish. In her first season, Dropati harvested 50 kg of fish and earnt $80 Euros. Next year, she expects to double her fish production and income.

Using some of her profit from the fish farm, Dropati bought additional seed to cultivate vegetables for sale at the local market. She now earns between $9 and $11 Euros on market day each week.

“To construct a new house was a dream for my entire family,” says Dropati.

A higher income is not the only benefit of Dropati’s newfound entrepreneurial spirit.

“Day by day, I realize that I have been developing confidence,” she continues. “My friends too tell me that I have improved my communication skills.”

Because of her increased income, Dropati was successful in applying for government support to build a new home.

The weekly vegetable stall brings in €10 Euro per week.

Good Shepherd is supporting 220 women from Tribal and Dalit communities to find economic independence and social empowerment through human rights education, peer support, counselling and, perhaps most crucially, assistance to access financial and support services so that they can start new businesses.

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd who support the project have observed the changes first hand. Tribal and Dalit women are beginning to attend village meetings and voice their opinions. Men are also starting to invest time and resources in the economic activities started by the women from the Good Shepherd groups.

“My husband encourages me and involves in the decision-making process in the family and supports me in the income generation endeavours like fish farming and vegetable vending,” says Dropati.

With the support of her friends and her husband, Dropati is only growing more ambitious. Having already established a successful fishery and a successful vegetable business, Dropati now has her sights firmly set on a third business: a goat-rearing enterprise.

Other Journals

Become a NILS Referral Partner

At Good Shepherd Ireland we operate the NILS programme through a model of partnership.
We partner with client-facing, like-minded, local organisations to ensure we can reach those in financial crisis.

When a household appliance breaks it usually needs to be replaced immediately, but finding the money to pay for it can be a struggle. When it happens just before Christmas, the financial pressure can be even more intense. The No Interest Loan Scheme is there to help people tackle those unexpected expenses.

Bumps on the Journey

Just over a year ago, Delia was faced with a dilemma. She had damaged her car, and had been quoted over €600 to fix it. Postponing the repairs wasn’t an option as she needed transport for school runs. But she didn’t have the money to meet such a large expense, and felt she had nowhere to turn.

Sustainable Living, from Congo to Limerick

Sowing seeds of hope: How NILS helped Maurice to develop vegetable garden project

On a farm outside Limerick, Maurice and a team of volunteers are teaching young people how to grow African vegetables for the local community. The No Interest Loan Scheme was instrumental in getting the project off the ground.

“He will have a diploma. She will have a diploma.”

“Il aura un diplôme. Elle aura un diplôme,” chant the children of the Bon Pasteur School in Domaine Marial, a settlement at the edge of the mining town Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The thought that even a single boy or girl in this settlement might one day earn a school diploma is not something that would not have been considered possible a few years earlier.

“I’m in a better position now to get a job”: A step closer to employment thanks to NILS

Benoit loves to actively contribute to his local community, but as an asylum seeker has not been allowed to work. Thanks to the No Interest Loan Scheme, he recently returned to study and is preparing to enter employment in Ireland.

“Thank God we are together again” – The path to Ireland for one Syrian family

It is a typical school scene: a group of children sit in a classroom, several more play football outside, a few lucky ones are having fun on the swings and seesaw in the playground. Over the roof of the building are the words ‘My school’ and on the other side of the picture is written a single word: ‘Welcome’. A Syrian flag flies above the school, while a backdrop of mountains, birds and fruit trees suggest an idyllic valley setting.

Sharing Success in a Dairy Cooperative

Jayasri and her family – her husband, two children and parents-inn-law – are landless. Because they have no land of their own to farm, the family is entirely dependent on the irregular wages they earn as agricultural day labourers and selling the milk from their buffalo cow.

Economic Independence Helps Reduce Violence Against Women

The women of Domaine Marial are sewing a bright new garment. Many hands hold down the colourful fabric as one of the women irons a straight new seam.
They are part of a women’s economic empowerment project run by Good Shepherd at their training centre on the outskirts of Kolwezi, a town in the southern-most province of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“When you have passion for something it is not difficult”: How NILS helped Champion follow his dreams

Champion is passionate about planes and recently undertook an introductory course in Aviation Engineering, thanks to the No Interest Loan Scheme. It was an important stepping stone for him as he builds his career and life in Ireland.