SVKMs NMIMS

Acknowledgement

Chapter 1 Introduction & Project Methodology

1.1 The Ambuja Cement Foundation: An Introduction
Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF) is the CSR wing of Ambuja Cement Limited (ACL), one of Indias biggest cement manufacturers. The Foundation focuses on the sustainable growth of the villages in and around ACLs plants and factories. The Foundation works with the rural community on several issues such as health, education, environment, poverty alleviation and women empowerment.

1.2 Problem Identification:

Ambuja Cement Ltd. has a major plant in Chandrapur, which is surrounded by several villages, many of which lacked basic amenities initially. Over a period of more than 10 years, ACF worked hard on the problems of these villages in various fields such as education, water, women empowerment, health, community development and environment protection alleviating several issues in these villages. Women empowerment forms a major part of ACFs CSR activities and one of its initiatives to empower women includes forming Self Help Groups which save money on a monthly basis and use the money thus saved or loaned from the bank for various income generating activities. However, despite the efforts taken by the Foundation, the SHGs continue to invest the money they save in largely agricultural activities or personal use such as weddings, illness etc. There is a tremendous scope for several entrepreneurial activities that can be tried by these SHGs. The project aims to explore all the possible income generation activities and their feasibility in the villages where ACF works.

1.3 Objectives:
The project aims to fulfil the following objectives:

To study how the various self help groups save money and invest it in income generation activities. To suggest new business models that are sustainable and profitable in the long run for these Self Help Groups. To study the challenges of the proposed and existing income generation activities. To suggest ways to overcome these challenges.

1.4 Project Methodology:

The primary target group of the project is the women from Chandrapur and Panvel. The geographical scope of the project is limited to the villages around the ACL plants in Chandrapur and Panvel. Due to the lack of time, it is not possible to cover each and every village in which ACF has its presence but as many villages as possible are covered. The service delivery mechanism can be depicted as below:
Data collection
Visits to SHGs Discussion withe ACF employees Internet data

Data Analysis
Visits data Internet research Secondary data

Report & PPT

Analysis Recommendations Suggestions Feasibility

Service Delivery Mechanism 1. Data Collection Data collection includes the visits to maximum number of villages where ACF works and interacting with the women of various Self Help Groups. The second step involves interacting with the ACF employees and getting a deeper understanding about the villages and the women. The next step of data collection is from secondary sources like internet.

2. Data Analysis The data collected from the field visits was analysed. The interaction with the women bought about some newer perspectives. The secondary data collected from the internet was analysed and seen how profitable the income generation activity would be. Only internet is not enough to make the plans. Talking to several secondary sources is also essential.

3. Report and PPT The final step is to present the analysis in a report and power point form. Recommendations and suggestions were given regarding the income generating activities. The strengths and weaknesses of the plans were studied and their feasibility was presented.

Chapter 2 Data Collection & Observations

This chapter discusses how the data was collected for compiling the report and the observations that were made. Data was collected in 3 forms: visit to nearby villages, Discussion with ACF employees and internet data. Visits to the villages and interaction with the women was an enriching experience and it cleared several doubts.

2.1 Visits to SHGs

Over the course of 6 days, 9 villages were visited and interaction took place with several women of various SHGs. Even within a radius of 50 km, the diversity was very much evident. The women of different villages displayed varied characteristics. Some women were too shy to share their ideas, some were very confident and ambitious. The following observations were made based on the interaction with the SHGs: The average size of a SHG is 10-12 women. There were a couple of men SHGs as well. The women saved 30-100 Rs. per month per member and used these savings to either lend the money internally at a 2% rate of interest or loan some amount from the bank. It was observed that the loaned amount was largely used by the women for agricultural purposes which included buying seeds, fertilisers and pesticides. The loaned amount was also used by some women in allied activities such as buying cattle, goat farming, chicken rearing, dairy, contract farming etc. However, the money was used only by very few women for non agricultural income generating activities. The non agricultural income generating activities included bag making, tailoring, general stores, pan shop, chilli and flour mill, mandap decorators and various food products.

2.2 Interaction with ACF employees

Mrs. Nishtha Jiwankar handles the SHG projects here at Chandrapur and she gave a lot of information about the SHGs. She arranged for all the trips to the villages and made sure that the women were available and were giving the required information correctly. She also suggested several ideas and various discussions with her regarding the various IG activities that were in progress gave tremendous insight into the scope of the projects that can be carried out here. Madam also analysed the ideas that were proposed and suggested whether they will be successful or not. She also provided the complete data on the savings of the SHGs and what kind of entrepreneurship activities they carried out. A snapshot of the SHGs and their activities can be summarised as below:

Particulars No. of Villages No. of SHGs No. of Accounts in SBI No. of Accounts in Co-operative Bank No. of Accounts in Bank of India Avg savings per month per member Avg members per group Avg monthly saving per SHG Total bank loan availed so far Total Corpus

Data 23 87 38 41 8 66 Rs 12 744 Rs 1,70,43,000 Rs 85,93,248 Rs

Table 1 SHGs in Chandrapur: A brief snapshot

Chapter 3 Analysis of the existing Income Generation Activities

There are several income generation activities that the women of the SHGs carry out. Most of these activities are based on agriculture. We shall see a detailed analysis of all these activities and try to find out the strengths, weaknesses and further scope for improvements of each. Some of the existing Income generating Activities at a glance:
No. of women engaged in it 1 18 2 3 11 4 4 1 3 1 1 2 Average monthly income 7500 2800 625 1000 3800 3000 2000 1000 2500 3333 1500 10000

IG Activity

Auto Bag Making & Tailoring Candle making Chilli Mill Contract Farming Dairy Flour Mill Food Products Goat farming Mandap Decoration Pan material Vegetable

Table 2: Existing IG Activities data Analysis of Existing IG Activities

3.1 Agriculture:
Agriculture is the backbone of the economy in Chandrapur and Cotton production remains the largest activity here. The total area under agriculture is 4810 Sq. kms. i.e. 46.05 % of the total area of the district. Paddy, Cotton, Jowar and Soybean are the main crops in the district while 34.33 % of the total area is under forest cover. Almost all of the women of SHGs use the money obtained from internal lending or bank loan for agricultural purposes such as buying seeds, fertilizers, equipments etc. Agricultural activity can be divided into 3 main parts: 1. Self Farming 2. Contract Farming 3. Labourer on Farms

Self Farming: Majority of the women of bigger villages own their own lands and hence use the funds for their own farms. Strengths: Farming has been carried out for generations and hence the people have considerably high skill in this occupation. Lands in Chandrapur are conducive for growth of cotton which has tremendous market in both Indian and foreign markets. Irrigated lands make farming a perennial activity and give the opportunity for the farmers to try new crops throughout the year. Self Farming reduces dependence on others.

Weaknesses: Farming is still largely dependent on rains and other weather conditions. A bad year for crops means considerable losses for the people who are heavily dependent on agriculture. Traditional farming using Bulls is prominent here in most parts of Chandrapur. Technological advancement remains pretty low. The extremely bad condition of the roads is another hindrance for the farmers to reach the markets.

Contract Farming: Contract farming is wherein an individual or a group take a piece of land for farming. The owner is paid a fixed annual amount and/or a part of the crops produced. Contract farming is a very prominent occupation here in Chandrapur. Strengths: Even the landless can earn sufficient income by farming lands on contract. A good crop can give more than expected profits.

Weaknesses: Again, this is heavily dependent on weather conditions, which is very unpredictable. A bad crop will mean heavy losses for the contract farmer as he will have to suffer both the losses of paying the owner as well as the failed crops.

Labourers on farm: Several women work as labourers on lands and earn a lot during the peak season of cotton plucking which lasts for almost six months. Strengths: During the peak season, a woman can earn an average daily wage of Rs 300. Depending on a womans skills she can earn up to Rs 500 during the plucking season. In the other months, a woman can earn on an average Rs 100 daily.

Weaknesses:

A bad crop means the employability in farms reduces which will in turn reduce the number of women labourers employed as well as their daily wages. Heavily dependent on manual skills and health of the woman.

Opportunities and scope for improvement in Agriculture: ACF is already doing a great work with its Better Cotton Initiative and can further intensify it in the coming years. Technology is something we cannot ignore in the long run and for farming to remain truly sustainable it has to be integrated with technological advancements. The technological advancements include highly resistant seeds, harmless pesticides and fertilisers, use of tractors and other modern equipments. Even if a small patch of land is developed to grow vegetables, it will not only bring some income but also satisfy the everyday needs of vegetables of the families.

3.2 Animal Husbandry:

Animal Husbandry is perhaps the second most important occupation after Agriculture. It is more of an allied occupation. It includes goat farming, chicken breeding, cows and bullocks rearing. Dairy perhaps has the largest scope as a business in these parts and if the women can exploit this opportunity theres a lot of profit in it. So far dairy has been tried by 4 women and their monthly average income is around Rs 3,000. Strengths: Lower initial investment as compared to other occupations. The animals multiply over the time increasing the scope of income generation further.

Weaknesses: Health of the animals being bred is a big concern. Poor veterinary services in the area make matters worse. The shepherd who takes the animals to graze charges Rs 100 per animal which is a costly investment. Breeding animals requires lot of care and patience.

Opportunities and scope for improvement in Animal Husbandry: The biggest challenge in the Animal Husbandry business lies in the poor veterinary service in the area which needs to be addressed as soon as possible. The villages lack milk facilities and hence even if one SHG starts a dairy business it will be profitable and encourage other women to try the initiative. Nutritious fodder is an effective way of keeping the animals healthy and also to fetch maximum income while selling them. The dung and animal faeces obtained from the animals can be used to make organic manure which can be used in the farms to increase the productivity.

The manure can also be used to make biogas, however the initial investment is high when it comes to biogas plant.

3.3 Tailoring:
Tailoring may include making clothes, bags etc. There are almost 18 women in Chandrapur that engage in tailoring as an income generating activity. They take loans from the SHG via internal lending to purchase the sewing machine and other materials required for tailoring. Strengths: The average monthly income of these women from tailoring activities comes out to be about Rs 2800 /Tailoring is a very good business as free time can be utilised by the women for something productive. It is convenient for the women to go for someone in the village itself for their tailoring needs.

Weaknesses: Readymade garments are the biggest threat for small tailoring businesses. The margins of profits remain pretty low.

Opportunities and scope for improvement in Tailoring: Tailoring still remains restricted to making small clothes like blouse and there is a tremendous scope of increasing the products offered. ACF does a lot of activities in the educational field and has good relations with the schools, if any contracts can be obtained from the schools for bag or uniform making, it will generate a lot of income for these women. Woolen clothes can find a market during the winters here. The women can start with making smaller woollen garments such as socks and then depending on the success can go on to make bigger clothes.

3.4 General/Kirana Stores:

From the visits made to the 9 villages, it was clear that the villages had very few general stores and people relied heavily on the markets of Gadchandur. So a lot of scope exists in this occupation. Opportunities and scope for improvement in General Stores: Setting up a general stores will require a larger capital and if the entire group of women starts the endeavour, it will yield greater benefits and a greater economy of scale. If even one SHG decides to start this venture and then expand the business, it will do a lot for their economic growth.

Transportation of the material remains the biggest challenge which can be taken care of by buying the material in larger lots once every month. The general stores can also be used as a means for selling the wares and products of other SHGs on a commission basis.

Chapter 4 Proposed Income Generation Activities

This chapter discusses the possible income generation activities that the women of SHGs can try in future. Although 2 weeks are not enough to list all the possible IG activities and their exact cost of commissioning, an attempt has been made to provide as much details as possible for each of the proposed activity.

4.1 Food Products

If we observe the entrepreneurship data of SHGs in Table 2, we find that producing food products has remained an unexplored income generating activity. It is said that education and food industry will always remain recession proof. So it will be a good idea for the women to venture into making food products. The following food products can be tried:
4.1.1 Papad and Pickle making

Although sounds a very trivial income generating activity, papad and pickle remains an essential part of every Indian households meal. The biggest advantage of papad and pickle is the fact that it doesnt require any formal training as all the women make their own papad and pickle at home. The only training that needs to be given is that of packaging of the Papads and pickles to make it attractive and marketable to urban parts. Once the pickles business finds a stronghold, newer flavours can also be made like: chilli, lemon etc. The same applies to the papad business: newer flavours such as masala, moong etc can be tried out.

Market Opportunity: If we see carefully, the Ambuja Cement colony itself provides a tremendous market for the food products. A stall once every week can give the opportunity to the women to sell their products to the ACL employees in the colony. The food products can also be supplied to bigger cities and villages nearby through contracts with bigger retailers. The Tuesday market also provides an opportunity for the women to set up one stall which sells all the products made by all the women. There are a few women who own their own general stores, the food products can be sold to them who would in turn sell it for commission.

Cost Analysis: There is a bare minimum initial investment for this business and it includes only the raw materials such as raw mangoes, udad dal etc The only investment other than the raw materials will be that of packing the products and the plastic bags required for it. The selling price should be such that it should cover the expenses of raw materials, packing, transport and a profit margin.

Raw material cost per packet

Packing cost per packet

Transport cost per packet

Profit Margin

Selling Price per packet

Selling Price Estimation Where, Raw material cost per packet = Total raw material cost / No. Of packets Packing cost per packet = Total packaging cost / No. Of packets Transport cost per packet = Total cost of transport / No. Of packets Profit margin can be kept at 20% over the cost price (which includes all costs) in the beginning until a market is captured. Once the market stabilises, the profit margin can be increased.

Future Initiatives: Later on if the scale needs to be increased we can use automatic papad making machines, the information of which can be found below: http://www.pulveriser.co.in/papad-making-automatic-machine.html Papad Making Machine

4.1.2 Sevai Making

Sevai is one of the delicacies that is regularly savoured by the villagers here as breakfast with milk and sugar. Sevai is usually made in the summers by the women which lasts for the entire year. Sevai is generally made by the traditional methods which are manual and time consuming. An SHG group here is interested in setting up a Sevai making unit which will cost about Rs. 25,000 /-

Market Opportunity: The Ambuja Cement colony again provides a tremendous market for the food products. A stall once every week can give the opportunity to the women to sell their products to the ACL employees in the colony. The food products can also be supplied to bigger cities and villages nearby through contracts with bigger retailers. The Tuesday market also provides an opportunity for the women to set up one stall which sells all the products made by all the women. There are a few women who own their own general stores, the food products can be sold to them who would in turn sell it for commission.

Cost Analysis: Sevai making will require an initial investment of buying the machine and then the raw materials required for making the sevai. The costing of the sevai packets is similar to that of papad making, only change will be including the cost of machine in the selling price to recover the cost. The cost of machine and the interest paid thereof to the bank can be spread over a suitable period (2 years) and every month a target should be set to recover it. A monthly estimation of no. of packets to be sold can be calculated and the monthly cost of the machine added to it. Rest of the things like raw materials cost, transport cost, packing cost will be added to the selling price.

A prototype of the machine can be found below and more details can be obtained on the following website: http://www.pulveriser.co.in/vermicelli-making-machinery.html Sevai Making machine

4.1.3 Chips and Finger making

Potato chips and fingers are one of the most favourite snacks among kids and opening a chips/finger making unit will be very beneficial for the women. Several women have shown interest in manufacturing chips and fingers and training in the same is expected to be successful.

Market Opportunity: Chips and fingers can be sold in the village itself where they are produced which will reduce the cost of transport as well. Door to door selling is an effective way. The Ambuja Cement colony againf provides a tremendous market for the food products. A stall once every week can give the opportunity to the women to sell their products to the ACL employees in the colony. The Tuesday market also provides an opportunity for the women to set up one stall which sells all the products made by all the women. There are a few women who own their own general stores, the food products can be sold to them who would in turn sell it for commission.

Cost Analysis: There are several machines available for making chips and fingers. Some are very simple and cost less, while others are big in size and costlier. Depending on the scale to which the business is to be carried out, the women can buy a machine accordingly. It can range from as low as 2,000 Rs. to 20,000 Rs. The cost of production will include the monthly cost of the machine, the raw material which will largely include potatoes and spices, the transport cost and the profit margin.

A prototype of an economic chips making machine is as shown below and further details can be obtained from the following site: http://www.pulveriser.co.in/chips-machine.html Economical Potato Chips making Machine

A prototype of a slightly bigger potato chips making machine is as shown below and further details can be obtained from the following site: http://www.pulveriser.co.in/potato-chips-making-machine.html Potato Chips Maker

A prototype of a simple fingers making machine is as shown below and further details can be obtained from the following site: http://www.pulveriser.co.in/french-fries-making-machine.html

Simple Finger Making Machine

4.1.4 Ladoo Making

Ladoos remain an integral part of Indian dessert and is used on several occasions like wedding, celebrating birth of new borns etc. Ladoo making may include making Methi, Dink, Boondi ladoos.

Market Opportunity: ACF is constantly in touch with the Arogyatais through its health initiatives and the Tais are in turn in constant touch with pregnant and mothers of newly born child. A pregnant woman is always in need of better nutrition and according to our Indian traditions, a methi or dink ladoo is the richest source of nutrition. If a few women take up the ladoo making business, through the Arogyatais we can sell the Ladoos. Another idea is that ACF buys the ladoos from the SHGs and that can be gifted to the pregnant ladies as a goodwill gesture. The other idea is selling the ladoos on contract basis to nearby hotesl, marriage halls, schools or sweet shops.

Cost Analysis: Like papad making there is not much initial investment apart from the raw materials that are required to make the ladoos. The cost thus includes the cost of raw materials, packing cost and profit margin.

4.1.5 Sauce/Jam/Jelly Making

Villagers are no longer shying from buying products such as sauce, jams and jellies and there is a scope for selling it at the local markets as well as their own villages. Niral Business Institute is an organisation in Mumbai that specialises in teaching several things for unemployed youth. The sauce/jelly/jam making course costs Rs. 750 and more details can be obtained from the following site:

http://www.niralbi.com/other-running-items/other_running_items01.asp#03
4.1.6 Chocolate Making

Chocolates are also no longer a product that is savoured by the urban class, it is also famous and in demand in rural areas. Niral Business Institute has a chocolate making course which ranges from Rs 1000 to 2500 depending on basic to advanced. More details can be found at:

http://www.niralbi.com/chocolate/default.asp
4.1.7 Cake Making

Birthdays in villages nowadays are celebrated with cakes and chocolates and so cake making can also be explored as an IG activity. We dont need sophisticated ovens for starting this venture as there are several recipes wherein cake can be made on a pan. However, proper training needs to be given for the same. Another idea is the Pillsubury cooker cake which can be made in a cooker. Packets can be bought from nearby city and the women can make cooker cakes. These cooker cakes can be made saleable by adding readymade cream on top and sides. Name of the birthday boy/girl can be put above it.

4.1.8 Samosa Stalls

A visit to nearby places and the Tuesday market has revealed that samosa is the favourite delicacy around these parts. A group of women can start a Samosa stall during the Tuesday market of Gadchandur, which attracts hundreds of people and remains crowded throughout the afternoon. The venture can start with samosas in the beginning and go on to add other items such as bread rolls etc to their offerings. The initial investment will be the raw materials required to make the samosas and a handcart to sell the items on.

4.1.9 Pepsi Making

Pepsi (the ones sold for 50 p or 1 Rs.) is quite a favourite among school kids and will be a definite hit near schools. A small machine is available to make the pepsis which packs the liquid in the plastic tubes that are then refrigerated and can be sold later on.

Since several households have refrigerators in this part, freezing the pepsis will not be much of a problem. During the lunch break and after the schools are left for the day, the women can carry the pepsis in a basket which can then be sold. Initial investment will include the cost of machinery, the plastic tubes and the raw material to make the syrup.

4.2 Mehendi Cone Making

Mehendi cones are in tremendous demand during the wedding season which starts in April-May period. The wedding season is also the time when the villagers have no work on their fields and hence the women have plenty of free time with them. Nishtha Madam is working on arranging a Mehendi cone making workshop for the young girls and women here. If along with the cone making, the girls are taught how to make mehendi designs they can earn a lot during the peak wedding seasons. The initial investment for this activity is very less as it requires only buying mehendi leaves.