Sangeeta Gupta

EMBROIDERY ARTISAN AT SHRAMIK MAHILA MANDAL (SMM)

When Sangeeta joined SMM she did not have her own bank account. She did have a joint account with her husband, back in her native village. Money had to be deposited there, and when she needed money, she had to ask her husband to take it out for her. When the cooperative asked her to open a new account in her name only, Sangeeta was unconvinced. She did not think she needed one, and she did not think she had the proper papers to be allowed to open an account on her own. Because it is now mandatory that all the artisans have their own accounts, the group's Manager stepped in to help.

As Sangeeta suspected, because she did not have any documents showing her address in Mumbai, the bank would not allow her to open an account. The Manager looked into how to rectify this lack. A registered rent agreement did the trick, and she was finally able to open an account in her name.

Now that she has this account, Sangeeta understands more fully the responsibilities and advantages of controlling her own money. She has been diligently learning how to manage the processes and planning. While she admits that she still finds going to the bank and carrying out the procedures difficult and intimidating, her daughter has been learning everything alongside her and often goes with her when she makes withdrawals. She has learned to take out only how much she needs, leaving the rest in the account so she can budget future expenses accordingly.

When she became part of the Quality Control (QC) team and started making additional income, Sangeeta put some thought into how to handle it. "Earlier I did not plan or think so seriously about savings and its benefits. Our co-operative has had so many meetings about money management and as I listened to the other members, my views changed. Then we started the group savings, and I saw how that worked." She decided it would be a good idea to save her QC earnings as a contingency fund, "for any sudden happy or sad events."

Now the woman who did not think she needed a separate account in her name has two! "So now I have an account where we take care of all our daily expenses and another where I put away the extra earnings. My way of thinking and saving has changed."

Shramik ("Hard Work") Mahila Mandal's name says it all. This group of 14 women was started in 2015 in Nallasopara. This rural area north of Mumbai has little public transportation and poor employment opportunities, especially for women. These highly motivated women established SMM so that they could work and earn while taking care of their children and homes.

After establishing their workshop, the artisans hit the ground running. They repaid the loan given by MarketPlace to start their cooperative in record time. Plus, they have been so efficient that they have started profit-sharing more quickly than any other group. Their hard work has resulted in an impressive record of on-time deliveries and has allowed them to double their production. They also participate in social programs, although they often have to travel a long distance. Yet they are always on time!