Case Study Status Report on Gram Nidhi - APFED

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Institutional Setting The actors of this programme are a leading implementation organisation, the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), the institution at village level, Paryavaran Vikas Mandals (PVMs) and target villages. The Centre for Environment Education was established in 1984, supported by the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the Indian government. The centre aims to improve public awareness and understanding of the environment through developing education material and programmes, as well as to create overall environment and development strategy for India, pursuing a better environment and a better quality of life. With this background of the establishment of the CEE, the strong and deep involvements of CEE staff in the target- village contribute to the success the implementation of the programme. The institutional setting is a primary factor for the substantial success of the project. Before starting the Gram Nidhi, CEE has been working since 1988 in the fields for eco-development programmes, and started assisting in the formation of the Self Help Groups (SHGs) in 1996. Since then, there have been many programmes implemented in the village and Self Help Group have been set up already in the villages. The SHGs are formal groups established by the community people, usually consisting of 15-20 persons. The purpose of the formation of SHGs is that even poor people need access to social and economic interaction when they face an emergency situation. With this background for the formation of SHGS and environment, Gram Nidhi project has been implemented. The mechanism of the Gram Nidhi project shows in Figure 1. The major stakeholders of this project are Paryavaran Vikas Mandal (PVMs) and NARMADA Trust and entrepreneurs. First, the CEE formed the PVMs as an informal group, consisting of mainly youth. The PVM, a legal institution at the village level under Bombay Trust Act (1950), is translated as Natural Resources Management Development Group, consisting of women and young people to commit to the programme. The CEE facilitates these PVMs to foster youths and women to participate in the initiative for environmentally - friendly activities. The 450 members of PVMS for the Hingolgadh Nature Education Sanctuary in Rajikot district are currently engaging in institutional activities (CEE, 2008). The willingness for voluntary works for environment and development at the village is a criterion for becoming the member of PVMs. The CEE set up the Eco-Enterprise Investment committee (EIC) which consists of the representative of PVMs, NARMADA TRUST, CEE, local government officials, financial institutions, NGOs and experts. Eco Enterprise Investment Committee (EIC) will conduct the screening based on the criteria. The Gram Nidhi project supports access to reasonable credit and low interest. The villagers first have to become a member of SHGs to receive the benefits of the borrowing and credit. The villagers apply for the credits to SHGs, the application is forwarded the NARMAD Trust, and the EIC makes a final decision for an approval. Currently, the villagers can borrow money with 7 % interest, which is a relatively low rate compared to other similar microfinance schemes. For example, the basic interest at Grameen Bank, Bangladesh is 10 % with flat rate, and the housing loan is 8%. Although the SHGs repaid to the NARMADA TRUST actually with 5 % interest, the SHGS repaid 7%, and 2% of interest as a safety fund. The guideline was set up for lending funds to villagers by NARMADA Trust members, NGOs, and CEE. 2
Flows for the implementation of Gram Nidhi 1 Approval by Eo-Enterprise Investment Committee (EIC) 2 NARMADA Trust disburses funds to PVMs NARMADA Trust Revolving fund :5% interest Paryavaran Vikas Mandals (PVMS) Revolving fund :no interest Revolving fund :7% interest Eco Enterprise Fund (EEF) Eco-entrepreneurs Members of Eco-Enterprise Investment Committee (EIC) NARMADA Trust Paryavaran Vikas Mandals (PVMS) CEE (Center for Environment Education) NGOs Financial Institutions Local Government Officials Figure 1: Flow of the Implementation of Gram Nidhi Project The application should be environmentally sound, therefore there are many criteria including the points for assisting environmentally sustainable activities as well as for improvement of their lives. These eligibility criteria were prepared by EIC for enterprise financing; • Projects should be environmentally sound, economically viable and technically feasible. Demonstrate an impact on environmental conservation efforts at the project site and provide financial benefits to the community and local environmental organizations, contributing to local employment; • In the proposed enterprises low cost environmentally friendly practices and options should be adopted contributing to the strengthening of biodiversity and sustainable development. Compulsorily at least three of the following practices/technology should be applied: bio-pesticides, vermi-compost/bio-compost, vermin-wash, bio-control by yellow strip, cow urine, and saplings; • To ensure viability smaller operational units were considered. The average project cost for on-farm development activities will be restricted to Rs.20.000/-per enterprise for individual eco-entrepreneurs; and • The successful enterprise has possibilities of large scale replicable in the other nearby rural area. Up to now, the payback of all loans is 100 percent, and 7 SHGs are currently gaining benefits from Gram Nidhi funds. 3
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Page 6 and 7: Photo 1& 2: Members of NARMADA TRUS
Page 8 and 9: The innovativeness for this micro f
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Case Study Status Report on Gram Nidhi - APFED

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