JAIPUR: They powered the photo voltaic power revolution within the rural heartland, incomes the moniker “Solar Mamas”. Priyanka Sable, a 31-12 months-previous from Maharashtra’s Sangli, and 24-12 months-previous Kismat from Ajmer district are amongst a clutch of grasp trainers now empowering ladies throughout villages of Rajasthan and three different states as enablers of a financial literacy motion operating on userfriendly cell tech.
The Solar Mamas’ ally within the ongoing initiative is the Aage Badhein App, a cell app developed by the Rajasthan-based Barefoot College International. The group has up to now skilled greater than 2,000 ladies in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, utilizing the app to inculcate the behavior of saving, comply with family budgeting, perceive debt, perform ATM transactions and leverage the power of UPI.
“In emergencies, villagers are prone to selling, mortgaging their land or borrowing from money lenders at high interest rates. They get caught in a vicious cycle that sometimes even triggers suicide. We train women how tocut down on daily expenses and save small, ultimately building a corpus that comes in handy,” mentioned Priyanka, recounting how she personally saved Rs 10,000 over time and created a 5-12 months fastened deposit with which she hopes to renovate her house.
Priyanka had enrolled for the Solar Sakhi programme in 2019, studying find out how to make photo voltaic-powered lamps and different home equipment. The expertise liberated her in additional methods than she might imagineat the time. She and different Solar Mamas have since been encouraging and empowering others to take cost of their lives, serving to many even grow to be entrepreneurs.
During the pandemic, when ladies from totally different states couldn’t go to Rajasthan to coach for the photo voltaic programme or different BCI initiatives, the organisation partnered with native institutes in different states. In November 2020, one such centre opened in UP’s Azamgarh, the place 22-12 months-previous PriyaYadav was launched to the chance by a relative.
“Selling the products I learnt to make, I was able to pay for my own education and appear for examinations like PGT and NET,” mentioned Priya, who’s now learning for a BEd diploma from Purvanchal University.
She paid half the course payment of Rs 51,000 together with her earnings. “Working in the field, I realised that men in villages make it extra difficult for women to do sales. They would ask unnecessary technical questions and demoralise them. I help these women answer queries about a particular product, besides promoting financial literacy,” Priya mentioned.
One of the ladies Priya skilled saved Rs 5,000 in two months and funded her remedy for a gynaecological dysfunction. Two different younger ladies not too long ago began small cosmetics companies with an preliminary funding of Rs 60,000 every that got here from sale of photo voltaic-powered merchandise.
Kismat from Ajmer is at present educating a group of rural college students in Jaipur district find out how to use small quantities of cash as constructing blocks for the longer term. “We track their development after five-six months, making sure they make a habit of saving,” she mentioned.
Source: PTI
