SOIL Report 2008 - ACCESS Development Services

Civil Society InitiativesCase Study 9Myrada 17Established in 1968, Myrada is an NGO involved in microcredit initiatives and sustainable developmentin the southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu through 14 active projects. Theorganisation focuses on the building of appropriate peoples’ institutions rather than on the delivery ofgoods. 18There are three categories into which the livelihoods activities of the poor broadly fall in Myrada’s experience:i) farm (agriculture); ii) on farm (includes activities around the farm which are direct sources ofincome like animal husbandry and poultry, but increasingly - since the late ‘90s - vermicompost and otherorganic inputs which are being sold); and iii) off-farm (ranging from processing food products, cottageindustries, small shops, trading and increasingly ancillary units manufacturing or finishing products outsourcedby the private sector). Myrada works on the premise that one cannot design a livelihood strategyfor the poor; the situation in which each family is placed differs, the risks vary and are unexpected. Ratherthan pre-designed livelihood assets the poor need support (infrastructure, communication, technical,skills) and institutional space (which gives them the power to call for and use these support services attheir time and to the extent required - they drive the convergence, not outsiders).Myrada workson the premisethat onecannot designa livelihoodstrategy for thepoor.Rather thanpre-designedlivelihood assetsthe poor needsupport andinstitutionalspaceSome key initiatives:Self-help Affinity groups (SAGs): Myrada’s unique SAGs emerged from a breakdown of one cooperativein Kadiri. Discussion with members of the cooperative, who met Myrada staff in groups to discussthe crisis, showed clearly that what linked the members of the group were relations of trust and thewillingness to support one another. This relationship was described later as ‘affinity’. This is why Myradacalls the groups it has formed and trained “SAGs”, whose members are homogeneous economically, andself-select themselves. While they belong to different castes, inclusion is based on affinity. The SAG is aparticipative/membership institution of people at the base of the diamond that has proved that it canempower the poor provided they are functioning well. In the mid-90s about 20-25 SAGs joined togetherto form one federation. About 100-120 SAGs form one Community Managed Resource Centre (CMRC)which provides support for livelihood strategies. They are centres where farmers bring their producefor onward sale .They provide legal services, raise funds from government, provide training in skills andare actively engaged in job placement. They are able to lobby with the government for veterinary careand health programmes and to access support from the private sector for agricultural diversification,horticulture and poultry. They also provide various services like telephone, fax, internet; 14 of them haveV-SAT. They support the aged by ensuring that they get pensions and provide services to the disabled.Focus on women groups: Myrada’s focus on forming women’s groups is based on the assumption thatthis would provide women with the opportunity to grow in confidence, management and negotiatingskills, as a result of which they would be able to invest in livelihood strategies; secondly that they wouldspend their income on their children and in the home. Myrada also assumed that if the women becamea source of money as well as knowledge for the family, their status in the home would rise.Lobbying with Gram Panchayats (GP): Another institution at the base, which is more representativethan participative, is the GP. The GP too can and should play an important role in supporting thelivelihood strategies of the poor. Unfortunately, even though more and more funds are flowing into theGPs, its governance leaves much to be desired. Myrada is currently lobbying government to appointadministrators for at least the major GPs who can manage all the service providers attached to it as well17Aloysius Prakash Fernandez, Myrada18http://web.mit.edu/urbanupgrading/upgrading/resources/organizations/MYRADA.html147