Women Cooperatives meet to share success stories and best practices

Surguja: Surguja’s Mahila Udyami Bahuddeshiy Sahakari Samiti (MUBSS), supported by Adani Foundation shared best practices of effective operations management with state-supported cooperatives besides extending their cooperation to strengthen market presence.

Over 20 members of Bihan Mahila Kisan Producer Company Limited and Dudh Sagar Sahakari Samiti from Ambikapur visited the various livelihood project sites of MUBSS earlier this week. Cooperative Dudh Sagar is involved in procuring and marketing milk whereas Bihan MahilaKisan Producer Company is engaged in sourcing grains from local farmers.

They proposed the sale of pure milk and grains to MUBSS and the purchase of authentic spices manufactured by them, demonstrating new collaborative and scalable models for rural cooperatives. Besides exploring business opportunities, members from these two cooperative institutions gained insights in cooperative management, challenges faced and significant efforts taken to raise members’ incomes and improve lives.

Producer organisations explored the diverse operations of the cooperative including white phenyl making, cloth bag making, spice grinding, wheat flour making, mid-day meal to Adani Vidya Mandir School and organic farming. These organisations work under the guidance of Rahul Mishra, an official of the government’s National Rural Livelihood Mission, (NRLM) and Surguja Zila Zanpad CEO Kuldeep Singh (an IAS officer). NRLM is a poverty alleviation project implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) with a focus on promoting self-employment and organisation of the rural poor.

“We express gratitude to MUBSS and the Adani Foundation for their guidance on managing various income enhancing and employment generation projects,” said Mrs Shanti Devi Rajawade, President- Bihan Mahila Kisan Producer Company, Ambikapur.

This is the second interaction recommended by the local district administration. In September, a team of 3 officials of NRLM Rahul Mishra, Santlal Dubey and Subhas paid a visit to the livelihood projects of MUBSS at Parsa, Salhi and Gumga villages of Udaipur block of Surguja district. The meeting included Spice Grinding Unit at Parsa, Filter Drinking Water Project Jeewan Amrit at Salhi and Sanitary Pad Unit at Gumga village.

“These exchanges demonstrate the success of our Cooperative and we hope to inspire people through our various initiatives,” said Mrs. Amita Singh, President, MUBSS.

MUBSS, which has registered a phenomenal 100 percent year-on-year growth in revenues over the last two years through its various microenterprises, is a testament of the enormous opportunities that can be created by fostering self-reliance and inclusive growth. In September, MUBSS became the first women’s cooperative in the state to collaborate with e-commerce marketplace Amazon to sell an authentic and rustic line of products. Currently, the cooperative sells multi-utility and eco-friendly cloth bags but will soon be expanding its offerings through sale of packaged organic rice and authentic spices to urban consumers. The partnership is expected to generate higher income for rural entrepreneurs through greater market access and also promote the use of sustainable alternatives to plastic.

At the end of the meeting, the members of the two producer organisations were felicitated by the Adani Foundation with cloth bags, white phenyl and pure spices produced by the women’s cooperative MUBSS.