World Vision India helps Self Help Group set-up tea plantation

Dec. 27, 2011 - PRLog -- World Vision India has helped a group of women start their own tea plantation in Nilgiris. The NGO, which facilitates community development across the country through its Area Development Programmes (ADP), provided assistance to a group of women by helping them lease two and half acres of tea land.

Members of Vellairoja SHG, one of the Self Help Groups that World Vision India had helped set-up in the district, these women were employed as daily wage earners in tea plantations before they started out on their own. Over the years they had gained extensive experience in the nuances of tea plantation, which they hoped would help them start their own entrepreneurial venture.  

World Vision India’s Area Development Programme (ADP), assisted them by donating Rs. 2,05,000 for leasing two and half acres of tea land for 3 years. While the money donated by World Vision India helped them lease out the land, the SHG members also contributed a nominal share towards the cleaning and maintenance of the given tea land.

The tea plantation now not only provides the members with a source of income but has also helped boost employment opportunities in the area. Through regular monitoring and counseling World Vision India has ensured that the venture functions smoothly. Now nearly 700kgs of tea leaves are collected from this plantation every month.

Self-employed and self-sufficient, the women of Vellairoja SHG are quite proud of what they have accomplished in such a short span of time. As Mailamma, leader of Vellairoja SHG, stated, “We’ve become an inspiration for the women in our community and everyone is proud of our achievement. Word Vision India has been providing assistance through many livelihood promotion programs and this has really changed the pattern of life for the women in Nilgiris”.

Grateful for the timely help that they had received from Word Vision India the SHG now provides employment for other women in the area, which in turn has ensured that the children in the community are taken good care of and also provided with an access to good quality education.