International Women’s Day: ‘Next, I will build a pucca house and beauty parlour’

One of the busiest shops on the highway passing through Naranga village in Jharkhand’s Pakur district is run by Golapi Devi and her husband Nandlal Maraiya.

Parents to two sons and a daughter, the couple’s days are now mostly about taking turns to run this shop selling daily consumables. 

It wasn’t, however, always like this. Till 2016, Nandlal would travel to other states to look for more sustainable work. Golapi would stay at home and take care of the children. She would sometimes work on other people’s fields as a daily wage worker.

When Trickle Up introduced its program on livelihood intervention in Naranga, Golapi refused to join the self-help group (SHG) – she was scared and unsure. Several stories of how women attached to SHGs were unable to return the credit they owed, and the consequences that followed, had made her suspicious. It took Trickle Up a few rounds of discussions before Golapi could be convinced of the non-profit’s objectives.

Once she joined the group, Devi was also chosen as a participant for M-Powered – a project run by Trickle Up in partnership with Tata Communications.

She was now eligible for a seed grant of Rs 3,000 and a smartphone. While a lot of women in her group opted for agricultural practices or livestock rearing, she chose to run a shop of her own. She started selling edibles like chocolates and biscuits, but gradually moved on to household items, stationery items, costume jewelry and toiletries.

Devi's tiny shop is also the most popular tea and paan joint in the area, where most vehicles would stop for some friendly chatter. 

“The smartphone changed the way I work. It has become easy to coordinate with my husband when he goes to the wholesale market to buy stock for our shop. I can tell him if I’ve missed any item on our list. I can know if he would be late. Sometimes, I even call up the distributors to send the stock to my shop. That saves us a lot of time and commuting cost,” she said. 

Her eldest son is in class XII; the younger son recently appeared for his X class board examinations and her daughter, the youngest, is studying in class VIII.

Devi makes a profit of about Rs 300-400 from her shop every day. This has instilled confidence in her and she believes she would be able to give her children access to quality education.

What makes the journey more special for Devi is her husband’s constant support.

“I have always supported her. She has never been alone in her struggle. And I will support her always. With this smartphone, we are now better connected. That helps us run the shop better,” said Nandlal. 

From being a homemaker satisfied with whatever life offered her and convinced of a life full of struggle, Devi has come a long way. Today, she dreams big.  

“The next step is to build ourselves a pukka house, and open my beauty parlour. There are no parlours in the vicinity, and I love to dress up and look good,” she smiled.

“I feel most women around me also feel the same way, but don’t have the means. I have been in talks with the field staff of Trickle Up regarding the second business. My husband could run the shop and I the beauty parlour.” 

“This group has changed the way I think. It has made me believe that if others can do something, so can I. I am trying, and I am going to make it happen,” she said.

Devi family now realises that when women are empowered, the entire family benefits from it. This International Women's Day, let's pledge to ensure that more women like her are encouraged to change the destinies of those around them as well. 

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