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Beyond despair : A quest for hope

Manakamana Tole, located at ward no. 4 of Butwal municipality does not have any 'trappings' of town life to which it administratively belongs. The inhabitants of this Tole have to derive solace only from visible glitter of core city area just a few kilometres away. Without electricity and water supply, the Tole dwellers, majority of whom are daily wage earners, are living in miserable conditions.

Baburam Badi is one such inhabitant of this Tole living in a small mud hut. He basically comes from a backward occupational caste the members of which have skills in making Madal , one of the traditional musical instruments used widely in Nepal. Baburam, illiterate, and at a ripe age of 57, is living with his wife having to fend for themselves as all three of his sons left them to raise their own families after getting married.

At this age way past their prime, Baburam and his wife had no other option other than to work in a nearby stone crushing site to earn their everyday meal. Even though an arduous occupation with minimal return, Baburam had to hang onto it to sustain his and his wife's livelihood.

Although a skilled craftsperson, Baburam had not been able to capitalize on his traditional skills due to poverty and lack of marketing ideas.

Things seemed to taking better turn however when RUPP Tole committee formation process expanded to his community and he along with other community members were sensitized about RUPP's approaches, Baburam saw a glimmer of hope thinking he too can engage in some income generating activities and be self reliant with some support from RUPP. He was particularly interested at the prospect of being able to take up the occupation the skills for which had been passed down to him by his forefathers. He was especially encouraged after he came to know about RLL (Rural Labour Linkage) component of the Programme.

One day he personally approached one of the Community Mobilisers of the Programme and asked if he could get some marketing help and loan from the Programme that will allow him to earn his living by capitalizing on his traditional skills. The Community Mobiliser acquired all the details from him and was surprised at the size of the loan amount requested by him which was NRs. 5,000. This amount would actually see his dream project go off the ground. The CM could also see that as Madals were very popular musical instrument played both in urban and rural areas, marketing would not be a major problem given the increasing popularity of the instrument.

When asked as to why he waited that long for that kind of money, Baburam replied that in the absence of any collateral it was not feasible for someone like him get that kind of loan. Approaching moneylenders was out of question, as no one would trust him owing to extreme poverty that he was in. Exorbitant interest rates charged by moneylenders was yet another deterrent.

Being the one falling under the target group of the Programme and having been endowed with traditional, occupational skills with proven market potential, Baburam was selected for Programme support following a structured process of case selection.

After the completion of all necessary formalities Baburam was provided Small Business Management training and loan from RUPP under RLL component. With this he was all set to start his business of making Madal.

Baburam is a very happy person now. Thanks to the efforts on part of the mobilizers, his Madals have found market in Butwal and surrounding areas. Already six months in business now, he and his wife do not have to go to the stone quarry any longer and engage in kind of manual labour for which they are way past their age. He is living in relative comfort thanks to NRs. 2,000 - NRs. 3,000 that he makes every month. "Now I do not have to depend on anyone if I need health care. I can afford medicines now", he says happily.

He has customers coming directly to his workshop to buy his products. And he is thankful to RUPP for all this. "When even our children left us behind to fend for ourselves, RUPP cam in as saviour" says Baburam in a tone that makes our community mobilizers feel proud of their efforts.

Baburam plans to explore other sources of financial support for more loan after his first repayment cycle is completed so as to be able to expand his business.

RUPP remains committed to bring meaningful changes in the lives of people like Baburam - those who have skills but do not simply have access to resources and marketing know-how.