A part of India’s unorganised sector, the cottage industry often tends to exploit its workers who anyway earn a paltry sum. The beedi industry is one such agro based industry, in which nearly 90 percent of the workforce are women from rural areas, who barely earn enough to keep it together.
The residents of Domakonda village in Telangana’s Kamareddy district earned their livelihood primarily from the exploitive beedi industry, until one man decided to come in and help.
Hyderabad-based D Bala Prasad, who managed to free himself from this vicious circle, is helping his village folk access alternative and better sources of income, as per a report by ‘The Better India’.
A techie by profession, Prasad founded ‘Live In For Everyone’ (LIFE), a non-profit, that has played a key role in organising various skill-based programmes in Domakonda.
I had been providing schoolchildren of our village with educational support until a few years back. At some point, I realised that the impact isn’t penetrative enough. Most of the youngsters in our region took to beedi making. Plus, there seemed to be no other alternative too.D Bala Prasad, founder, LIFE
One of the biggest concerns among the Domakonda residents was the deteriorating health of women workers, who were working for nearly 16 hours a day.
My own mother fell prey to cancer, spending most of her life making beedis. Girls as young as 12 are pushed into doing the same because an extra pair of hands means more productivity. But, by the time they reach adulthood, their health is already dilapidated
The women are most vulnerable to diseases like cancer, as they are exposed to dangerous levels of carcinogens present in tobacco, which can enter their bloodstream through their skin or can be inhaled as dust.
This was one of the main reasons that pushed Prasad to help the villagers break away from this hazardous profession.
I had decided to categorise the people in the village according to their age and their social binding. While youngsters were willing to relocate to cities in search of employment, the middle-aged women didn’t want to step out of their village.
“For young girls who did not complete their academics, we got in touch with Apollo Hospitals who were ready to provide skill-based training. Close to 15 women have found jobs as lab technicians in nearby cities where the pay is almost triple the meagre amount that they were given for making beedis,” Prasad told The Better India.
Later, Prasad tied up with Hyderabad-based GMR Skills Development Institute to empower men through similar means.
The first batch of 30 young men have not only successfully completed their training but have also found jobs in the city. The second batch has already begun its training last week. This time, we have people from neighbouring villages as well.
In order to reach out to middle-aged women in Domakonda, Prasad got in touch with local NGO ‘Nirmaan’, which decided to pursue local enterprises.
The NGO trained about 10 women in skills like making compounds like detergents, phenyl, hand wash, and candles. But, it wasn’t all that easy. A lot of hard work went behind the process of convincing rural women — a task that was voluntarily taken up by many women employees at my workplace.
Prasad’s own organisation has managed to approach local government hospitals, which are now buying products made by the women of Domakonda, thus, helping them eke out a living.
LIFE is also playing a key role in improving the lives of the farmers in that region by initiating ‘natural farming’. Diversifying into other areas, LIFE also has a stake in the education sector, and offers scholarships to meritorious schoolchildren. To that extent, Prasad has been supporting four government schools in the region.
My driving force behind undertaking each of these initiatives is to make our village and the people independent. These may be small changes for an outsider, but for these people, it is a matter of self-sustenance. It is their life, and I’m just being a facilitator in helping them take control of it — with pride.D Bala Prasad
(With inputs from The Better India)
(#TalkingStalking: Have you ever been stalked? Share your experience with The Quint and inspire others to shatter the silence surrounding stalking. Send your stories to editor@thequint.com or WhatsApp @ +919999008335.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)