How a community bank is reducing climate change risks for working women in India

Erratic weather patterns had devastated her livelihood: Bhavanben Rathod is a smallholder from Naga na Math village in Gujarat’s Aravalli district in India. After several extreme climate events had slashed her crop yields and milk production, she was facing severe financial distress between 2017 and 2019. Being a member of SEWA, the Self Employed Women’s Association, she went there for help. 

SEWA is a trade union for women in the informal sector – an association of women who have joined forces to secure and improve their livelihoods. The SEWA community has set up a variety of support services for its members, including a community bank. Since it is owned by the cooperative’s members and not profit-oriented, it can provide financing solutions at much better conditions than any private lender. SEWA bank offered Bhavanben a fair loan of 100,000 Indian Rupees (about $  1170) at a monthly interest rate of 1.5 % – far less than the exploitative 12 % usually charged by local moneylenders. 

She invested in a precision pump and diversified into vegetable growing to achieve a more stable income. Over time, this financial boost helped her family move from a makeshift thatched hut into a sturdy concrete home.

In addition to her farm work, Bhavanben struggled with the hardship entailed by traditional firewood cooking, which involves spending long hours gathering wood and poses health risks. When SEWA introduced her to biodigesters, she succeeded – despite some initial hesitation – in setting up a biogas plant. As she now generates enough gas to cook for 10 to 15 people using only cow dung and water, she no longer needs to collect firewood or pay for expensive LPG refills. She also uses the leftover slurry as organic manure, which increases her farm’s productivity and generates additional income.

Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is a trade union for women working in the informal sector in India.
mail@sewa.org