Farmer Group Membership Leads to a Better Life
For Elizabeth, things started to look up when she and 10 other women formed a farmers group under the auspices of local partner North East India Committee on Relief and Development (NEICORD). Until then, her family depended mostly on their small farm and any meager earnings they could get from day labor, and life was a struggle.
The other women elected Elizabeth as the group’s secretary, though she had never kept records of any kind and certainly not for a group. NEICORD gave her bookkeeping training so she could carry out her responsibilities confidently. Now she is able not only to keep the group’s records but teach other members how, which comes in handy at home as well.
Elizabeth says, “NEICORD also offered training to our group members on health, nutrition, improving water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH principles), kitchen gardening and composting, conservation farming techniques, and adding value to what we produce and sell. This is the first opportunity any of us has ever had to receive such instruction. It has been so helpful.”
After learning all about home gardening, she immediately began a kitchen garden right by her house. She cultivates a variety of vegetables including garlic, mustard, beans, tomatoes, and carrots. She’s delighted that her garden provides a regular supply of good quality vegetables that contain “all kinds of vitamins and minerals,” she says.
“As a mother, it makes me happy that my children are eating nutritious, delicious, chemical-free food that I grow for them, and that I have enough to share with my neighbors. I’d always had to buy any vegetables we ate at the weekly market, but now I can save that money and use it for other purposes for my family.”
India Dimoria Program
Led by World Renew and Local Partner North East India Committee on Relief and Development (NEICORD)