Sita and Laxmi

It is Diwali. Tonight many people will create a rangoli in the front of their homes and decorate their houses with lights to attract Laxmi, the goddess of wealth and good fortune. Crackers are exploding loudly and soon, as the son sets, groups of singing locals will provide movable concerts...Deusi re...for a donation.Yesterday, all over Nepal, dogs were garlanded with marigolds and daubed with paint. Tomorrow it is the turn of cows! It is Gai Puja.And for Sita, who has been coming to Samunnat for over a year, tomorrow is an especially important Gai Puja. For the first year ever, Sita has her own cow. Sita's story highlights the work of both Samunnat and the thriving micro finance cooperative that the ladies from Samunnat established just over a year ago. Initially 25 ladies each paid approximately $15 to become members. Now there are 75 shareholders and 48 others who save. All aim to bank around $1-2 each month as they are able. Members can then approach the Cooperative for loans to assist them in income generation activities. Loans can be up to around $300 and must be approved by a Loan Committee who are in turn observed by another Committee. There are lots of checks and a huge amount of book work to ensure transparency and fairness. Much of the account keeping is handled by Kumari and Deepa.Sita's problems are complex. She is in a very vulnerable situation and she approached us over a year ago to help her come up with some sustainable solutions. As well as a number of family issues, Sita struggles with poor eyesight and was therefore unable to work with the polymer as she would have liked. For some time, the polymer ladies paid Sita a small wage to help,with office cleaning and making chiya but we all knew that this was not enough for her and not really sustainable. It did provide Sita however, a context to talk about her issues and to think about strategies she had used in the past. Some were helpful and some weren't and being with the ladies, some of whom had similar problems, helped her to identify some of her strengths and realistic options.Sita approached the Cooperative for a cow. She would spend her days tending to the cow, preparing the food, cutting the grass, milking the cow and selling dairy products. She could earn an income and pay back the loan. A cooperative loan has much lower interest than a loan from a bank, or worse still, a private loan agency. With her $300 and a small interest free loan from elsewhere, Sita could then look for a suitable cow. And Laxmi is indeed very suitable. She has a small calf (male) in tow, so he can be sold for pulling a dray when he is older. Laxmi produces around 6 litres of milk a day and with the love being showered on her could well produce more. Some of Sita's problems continue, but Laxmi is providing some of the means to Sita's ultimate independence. And Sita was very happy today when we went to visit and drink coffee made from Laxmi's sweet milk!