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An SHG that thinks innovatively

Highlighting issues: Samam members take out a rally in Villianur on Saturday.

PUDUCHERRY: Making soap, vermi-compost, agarbathi, sambrani, candles and eatables such as pickle, jam and squash are some of the ‘traditional’ jobs that members of self-help groups take up. But, members of Samam Makalir Suyasarbu Iyakkam (Samam) have diversified into other new vocations.

They have taken up 48 different vocations, including ironing clothes, teaching tailoring to students, cattle rearing, running bakeries, petty shops and beauty parlours, binding books, and tying flowers and selling them.

Samam, started in 1992, has members in 57 villages. It comprises over 4,000 members from around 200 SHGs. Each group has 20 members. The members currently have a total of Rs. 89 lakh as savings, and have, in the last 10 years, taken internal loans of Rs. 2.72 crore and bank loans of Rs. 2.92 crore.

On Saturday, over 500 women members of SAMAM met at their 13th annual general body meeting and presented their accounts at a wedding hall in Villianur. As many as 640 members sought training for 27 different areas, including on how to start agri-based enterprises, and those on food products and chemical products used in homes. They also sought computer training and training for maintaining accounts at small shops. “We now plan to have village-level leadership training. We will also be creating awareness of women’s rights, health and gender equality,” said R. Ramesh, convenor, Samam.

They also discussed various issues, including the need to implement the Domestic Violence Act and Employment Guarantee Act in Puducherry. “We aim to empower women and inform them about women’s issues at the National and International levels. We want decentralisation of powers and more powers to local bodies,” said Hemavathi, president, Samam.

They also demanded that the Government supply six essential commodities – thoor dal, salt, palm oil, chillies, tamarind and dhaniya – through the public distribution system. In the evening, the women took out a rally to highlight the negative effects of the damage to Earth’s ecology, global warming, deteriorating natural resources and its negative impact on women.

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