Epic Post, Part II

So I’ve just come back from an incredible day in Setrawa, a relatively large, rural village about 2 hours outside of the city of Jodhpur. My head is spinning right now, I’m thinking about everything that went on today, and the excessive desert heat doesn’t help much. I also drank village water straight from the well, I was just so thirsty, so we’ll see how that turns out.

Today was the general interest and informational meeting for a potential microfinance initiative in Setrawa. Essentially, the organization that I’m interning with is putting together a proposal to provide 5,000 Rps. loans to 40 women in the village, mainly for stitching and textile work, but also for handicrafts, livestock, and food. Around 30-35 women (from two different self-help groups in the village) showed up for the meeting, which gave 2 Hindi-speaking interns the opportunity to explain the overall microloan system as well as the risks involved. The self-help groups that have already been established will be used in the proposed microloan structure, which includes mandatory savings (50 Rps./month) over the 6-12 month pay-back period.

The school day was just ending, so we got a chance to spend time with girls, singing, dancing, etc. (I work at the Sambhali school near my home in the city, but there is also one in Setrawa. Both schools do sewing/stitching training and teach English.) The girls had a very impressive repertoire, including some traditional Marwari songs as well as ‘You are My Sunshine’ and ‘We Shall Overcome.’ I sang the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ very poorly and did some kathak as well. I then sat down at the meeting and began fanning myself and another elderly woman with a cardboard flashcard of famous Indian architecture…

I think the most incredible part about today was seeking this lofty concept of ‘microfinance’ on a very basic, fundamental level. Today was literally the beginning of the entire initiative: explaining how the system would work, having a discussion about its feasibility, and collecting information about the problems that the system will face in this specific community. For example, stitching and sewing are considered prideful, accomplished trades for an Indian woman, so most women are interested in producing clothing, textiles, etc. But economically, all women can’t produce the same items, it will just lead to a race to the bottom. That was a major point of contention. It was also easy to see the tensions between the wealthier members of the village and those who have their food subsidized and are involved in public works projects (the wealthier women usually are interesting in positions of power within the SHGs, so this may become a serious problem when loans are distributed).

Then, we had chai with two of the school teachers in a modest, concrete-floor house that reminded me a lot of Frida Kahlo’s studio (the colors)…best chai I’ve had yet in India, by far. I have so much to say about all of these issues, but I’m going to wait until I have time to write a long rant/essay/reflection piece about the microfinance project and the politics/problems associated with it…very humbling, this whole process.