The Hindu : Other States / Uttar Pradesh News : Flowers bring a new meaning to their life

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 29, 2004

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Other States - Uttar Pradesh

Flowers bring a new meaning to their life

By K. Kannan

VARANASI, SEPT. 28. The city of Varanasi is not only famous for its temples but also for its intellectual and social prowess from times immemorial. Along these lines, its temples have been witness to a social change of a different kind these days -- by offering a platform for the sale of flowers made by economically marginalised women in Chiraigaon block.

Organised into self-help groups, these women have taken to floriculture in a big way. Whether it is `desi gulab', `bela', `kamani', `ganda' or any other flower, they now grow them in the fields in and around this town. "We earn between Rs. 10,000 and15,000 every three months. And each day, we supply these flowers to the local mandi here from where it gets distributed to the various temples,'' says Raj Rani of Dinapur village, who started cultivating flowers way back in 1995.

Facilitating this perceptible change in the lives of women like Raj Rani is the Delhi-based Centre for Social Research which has been working with them for nearly a decade now. "Floriculture was offered as an alternative to paddy cultivation in the area because we recognized its power and potential to change the economic status of women,'' says Kanchana Singh of CSR, who began organizing women into self-help groups to make them come out of their shells.

The change effected in the lives of these women has happened through the Parivartan Mahila Swavlamban Samitis (PMSS) which the CSR has helped form in every village. While floriculture was the first occupation that women in the area took to, they have taken up other occupations like goatery, keeping cows and running paan shops in the villages.

Today, there are more than 37 SHGs in the area and it has impacted the lives of several thousand women who have successfully freed themselves from the clutches of moneylenders.

"Many families were earlier completely destroyed because they got into a debt trap and were unable to pay off the moneylenders. We help such women to initially come out of the debt trap and then work towards making them economically self-reliant,'' says Kanchana.

Other occupations by which women's lives have been changed include masala making, manufacturing pickles and setting up shops.

"We have helped set up more than 110 shops in villages in the Chiraigaon block,'' says Kanchana. And even in terms of floriculture, there is a lot of potential as high-end flowers like Rajni Gandha and Galodyol that fetch a decent sum in the market can be planted. Besides, there is lot of demand from florists in the town.''

The holistic development model presented by CSR through the PMSSs and the SHGs has spread to other villages in the area.

"We want to take this movement to the other parts of the area. But that can happen only if this effort to put women at the centre of development is taken seriously by the political leadership,'' says Kanchana.

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Flowers bring a new meaning to their life