Village Development Centre

Vision:

 Establishment of sustainable social order with equality and justice by enhancing people’s participation for eco friendly life.

 Mission:

 Working with children for ensuring their rights;

• Working with unorganised labourers for getting their development rights,
• Working with women for their socio-economic and educational empowerment.
• Working with dalits and tribal communities for inclusiveness
• Working with farmers for promoting organic farming activities
• Working with groups for establishing governance by people
• Working with similar organisations and networks for the welfare of one and all

The team leader is the head of the organisation. He is looking the day to day administration, monitoring the project activities, managing the personal, community visits, reporting to the donors and other activities related to the organisation including grant and finance mobilization. Further is plays role in training the personal, community, finding suitable resource persons and controlling mechanism. He is appointed by the board with terms and conditions and with roles and responsibilities. He is answerable to the board. On policy decisions he should get concern from the board.

We give equal priorities in implementation of all our projects whether it is small or big or low funding or high funding. We understood that each project activities are carried out its’ own objectives, activities and results. We plan our work very honestly and implement the same with community participation. If we get the support from LEAP, we will implement the project with necessary care towards it objects and end results. We always honest and obedient and respect our donors. We submit our reports according to their needs and other documents like audit report, photos, paper clippings and community reflections.

Ensured income for poor women through door mat production and to combat poverty

VDC proposed to implement this project among poor women, widow and single women especially from arunthathiyar (cobbler) and dalit community The target community women are the members of women self help groups promoted by VDC. The very poor women in the groups placed a request to VDC for their income and livelihood support to combat their poverty. So, this project is proposed by our women group members.

The target women belong to dalit, widow and destitute. Past one decade we have enough rain falls but it was unseasonal rain which is not match to agricultural activities. So the small land holders who depends the seasonal rain leave their land as uncultivable. The employment opportunity from agriculture are declined and the agricultural laborers loss their employment. They suffer lot and struggle hard without any income source for livelihood with their schooling children, elders. It leads the landless labourers to extreme poverty. They are forced to borrow money from private moneylenders and pay high rate of interest. Even their meager earning from wage work is not sufficient to daily family expenses and to pay the loan. The tragedy is that the men’s income go to the alcohol shops and they return to their home with unconscious and empty pocket. It leads quarrel among the family members and with neighbours.  The widows and destitute have no social security and poor status at home as well as in the community. Men are addicted for narcotic drugs and never contribute their income for the family. At work place the young widows are abused if not cooperated with men at working place. When women protest for justice,  such women would be refused in job opportunity.

Their children are dropout at high school level. They have to earn for food and children education. They are living in huts, tiled homes and rental home. The beneficiaries are associating with us for the past several years and placed this request during our women group meetings. Presently, we have identified 76 beneficiaries consisting widows, destitute, dalit and poor.

We propose the following solution. The project aims to provide skill training on door mat weaving for 40 women. They will be given orientation training on entrepreneur skill for two days. The door mat weaving skill training will be conducted into 2 batches each 20 women morning 3 hours and evening 3 hours for a period of 30 days.  The women will be given skills in door mat weaving, entrepreneur skills and economical support to start the door mat weaving production at their home. The proposed activities are;

• VDC identified 40 women for this project,
• It will organise two day orientation training to develop their entrepreneurship skills,
• Skill training will be given on door mat weaving in 2 batches. The training duration is 30 days. There will be two batches each batch consists of 30 women,
• During the training period itself 20 door mat weaving machines will be purchased and each beneficiary will learn the work at their own machines. There is small risk that we have to identify a suitable big place to erect the 20 machines. Each machine needs 40 sq feet to erect.  
• Two Instructors will be appointed for 10 months. The Instructors will train the beneficiaries in door mat weaving like assembling, waste cotton cutting, colour matching, different sizes of door mats, attending the minor repairs, assembling and re-fitting the door mat machine.  
• Raw materials for the training will be purchased from Tirupur and it will be procured on bulk basis. After training period we insist the collective purchase of raw materials, production, packing and marketing to the beneficiaries to get fair price for thei products.  
• After the training the raw materials will be purchased on collective basis. The Instructors will purchase the raw materials for production along with few beneficiaries.   
• We have formed a small committee at the beginning of the project, consisting of 5 members (VDC staff 2 + 3 beneficiary) to monitor the whole activities of the project,  
• Collective marketing will be arranged. The finished door mats will be collected and sold to the buyers and the income will be shared according to the number of door mats supplied by the each beneficiary
• Once the training is completed, we will give one door mat weaving machine to each trained women along with raw materials for a month. They will erect the machine at their homes and start to work.
• There is no chance to work all the beneficiaries in one place. Because, there is no such big building at the villages. If women work at their home, they can weave at any time and take rest as their wish. Moreover they have more freedom on their work and spent more time with their family members, Another possibility is that the other members are also learn the work and do the same without rest or they will purchase another door mat weaving machine and start their production. This project is replicable model.

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In earlier the cotton cloth waste from the hosiery companies at Erode, Karur and Tirupur are dumped in the canal, rivers, and ditches and fired. This causes for many diseases and environmental pollution. A decade back new innovation was identified to recycle this waste cotton cloth. The main innovation was door mat making from the waste cotton cloth. In the beginning this door mat making was done in hand made and latter door mat weaving machine was designed. It is designed for door mat weaving without using electricity. So, at all times the beneficiaries will do this work. In the initial stage this work was done in nearby hosiery companies and now it spread to neighbouring districts and villages.

The beneficiaries will purchase the waste cotton from the hosiery companies on bulk basis and cut the waste cloth as tread. They will join the thread during their weaving and will use different colors. Even the small size waste cloth will be used in the weaving. So, the waste would bellow 5%. Through this door mat weaving the waste cloth are reused and it is the innovation in the project. Pollution by the waste cotton is prevented. We don’t know whether there is any study or research on this work. Hope that MSW students may have some studies on this. 

We don’t know whether there is any study or research on this work. Hope that MSW students may have some studies on this. 

The project activities will yields good result among the beneficiary and their family members. They will get ensured income, ensured market, work at home and self employed,

• Whether the project earnings will support for a family?
• Whether there is any possibility for extension or for replication?
• Whether this is create any health hazards or environmentally friendly work?

After the training period, each beneficiary will be given a door mat weaving machine and they establish the machine t their home. It needs very small place. The maximum 50 sq feet is enough. Along with door mat weaving machine 125 kg waste cotton worth Rs. 1800 will be given as seed material to each beneficiary. They will buy the weaving thread, plastic dub and two scissors on their own cost and invest cost is Rs.1200. So total investment for a month is Rs. 3500. Through this investment they can able to weave 500 door mats (15 inches X 24 inches) (average 6 hours work per day) in a month. It will be sold for Rs. 9,000 (Rs 18X 500 mats). Average they will get monthly income Rs. 5,500 (Rs. 9000 –Rs. 3500= Rs. 5500).

To continue the work, the raw materials will be procured collectively and distributed among the beneficiaries according to their orders. The buyers and the retail sellers will sold the mats in market each Rs. 25 and above. Almost in all companies, homes, hospitals, educational institutions, hotels, avoid the plastic mats and they buy the cotton door mats. The cotton door mats will be used for one or two months and it will be replaced. So, we have regular market for our products. Sometimes the buyers will give the size of the door mats according to their needs and the beneficiaries will produce accordingly. Thus the beneficiaries will get regular employment and sustainable income.

VDC will organize monthly meeting to the beneficiaries. During the meeting we will get the information about the improvements of their production and sales and their requirements. If there will be any short falls it will be rectified immediately. We will have one to one discussion, one to group discussion, focused group discussion and verify the financials of the beneficiaries. Further the staff will visit regularly at their work spot and have interaction with them. We will monitor their work progress, income level, savings, repayment of their debts, amount spending for education and health. The committee (ie Revolving Fund Management Committee) will meet once in a month and will decide the next beneficiary those who are in need. Once in six months we will organize an internal evaluation and the committee members will involve in the evaluation. Through the above activities we will able to measure the sustainability of the project. Once the beneficiaries will start their work they will get regular income.

We will from another 3 member committee for Purchase and Marketing comprising the beneficiaries and they will involve collective purchase, collective production and collective marketing and share the income according to the production of the each beneficiary. This will help us for sustaining the project and to train the beneficiaries in collective purchase, production and marketing. The staff will help them in all the activities.

We will follow

In short term the 40 women will learn the door mat weaving work and will start the work at their home immediately. They become self employed. In long run they have earn regular income, spent their earnings to their family, educate their children, invest in small assets etc,