More than 30% of our clients are involved in agriculture. The Mann Deshi Foundation, in partnership with the state and central government, organizes woman farmers and helps them gain access to market and technology. This enables them find a market for their products.The Mann Deshi Foundation also organizes fairs where women can sell their products, and annual conferences in farming subjects. In 2006 a conference held in Vaduj had 6,000 women delegates.
Under the farming program 600 SHG have been set up and 12,000 women are currently benefiting. The Mann Deshi Foundation offers a number of projects aimed at helping these women increase production and earn a higher income.
Improving Soil Quality
Farmers rely on the quality of their soil to produce a high crop yield. To help farmers achieve this aim, the Mann Deshi Foundation offers soil-testing facilities through a Kiosk Center. We also run soil testing training camps, and teach our women to compost. Composting ensures that the nutrients are returned to the soil in an inexpensive, environmentally friendly way.
Mobile veterinary services
For many women, their animals— goats, sheep, and water buffalo —are their only assets. At the veterinary training camp, women are taught the skills needed to care for their animals. Veterinary services in the Satara district are limited and expensive so by teaching women to care for their goats, they can protect the health and production capacity of these vital assets.
Women Dairies
Working in conjunction with the Federation of Self-Help Groups, Mann Vikas supports twelve cooperative dairies run by women. It provides entrepreneurial training and helps with securing credit for animals at subsidized rates.
The bank gives credit to self-help-groups of women in order to purchase mulching animals and to form dairies with their livestock. Women can thus create income, develop assets in their name, and also assert leadership through their collectives. Today, the dairies sell over five thousand liters of milk every day.
Silk Production Workshop:
Course on production of Silk Cocoons after Feasting On Mulberry Leaves.
Mann deshi Udyogini has started the course of producing silk cocoons.
As the marketing for the silk is promising even silk cocoons have good market. Farmers are moving towards silk production. Udyogini started silk cocoons production course.Women were trained to grow mulberries and raise the silk cocoons. It takes 25 days to raise the silk works and get silk cocoons. Under this course women were given information to grow mulberry and then buy silk worm and raise silk worms under shed and feed them mulberry leaves. Once the feeding process is started silk worm creates cocoons. Government buys the cocoon. Mann Deshi has also tied up with agriculture department to buy the silk cocoons from women and to provide the subsidy for the silk cacoon production.
Farming Programs
