I am Shobha w/o Kumar from a very poor economic background. I am living with my husband, two children and my mother-in-law. We had a small business of chemical fertilizers. Business was seasonal and irregular and very competitive so the income was meagre. It was very difficult to meet the necessities of life and could not provide good education to my children. At this point SMSSS animators and Coordinator motivated me to join the SHG where they gave awareness on various schemes.
SMSSS organised a training on self employment where I learned about the benefits and facilities of sale of vermicelli. I was so happy about the training so I purchased second hand vermicelli preparing machine through loan from the SHG. I started producing vermicelli in a small scale. Gradually the demand increased and I earned additional income which enabled me to by larger machine which produces 8kgs of vermicelli at a time. I bought machine with my savings and loan from Streebandhu Multipurpose Souharda Co-operative Limited a dream initiative of SMSSS for the development of women. Now my shop has been very popular and has a great demand. Wholesale dealers purchase larger quantities of products. I have regular income. Through this I am able to provide good education two my children and also provide good health care facilities to my mother-in-law.
At present there is greater demand for the products. So I have employed two members as helpers. I sell the product in my own brand name as “Annapurna”. I earn Rs. 40,000/- profit per month. Along with this I also take order from Marriage parties for bridal makeup and I earn Rs. 2,000/- for the same.
I am very grateful to SMSSS for changing my life. I actively participate in the SHG as well as federation meetings and motivate others to earn income through IGP.
