This is a small community group consisting of 36 motivated men and women, young and old. They are based in Kultali Island on the eastern side of Sundarbans. They have facilitated the formation of over 130 Self-Help-Groups involving 1500 women up to April 2005. They also have several other projects running including a hospital project (funded by the Irish Embassy, New Delhi).
Tiger Widows Organisation funds the Self-Help-Groups Program. Seven staff members give their full attention to Self-Help-Group formation, maintenance and capacity training.
This project has seen great success as the women start small savings and see the benefits of their labour grow. It is a wonderful example of sustainable development. Some of the BTS staff are also group members.
A brief BTS Self-Help-Group staff profile is given below.
| Name | Personal Details | Training/Areas of Expertise | Special Skills to Share Vision for Self-Help Groups (shg) |
| Susanta Giri | He is married with one child. Local man with great energy for all projects. | Leadership and communication skills. | Secretary of BTSImmense vision for whole area and people. Organises funding and projects. |
| Poli | She is the desk-in-charge of thethis SHG Project. Grew up on a farm. She is a member of a Self-Help-Group. | Trained in shg formation, dance and sports, youth teamwork, tailory and agriculture. | Has initiated womens' projects in farming, fishing, tailory, poultry, grainbanks, candle and insense making. Has extra responsibilities within the project, will undergo more capacity training. |
| Prasanta | He grew up on a very small plot of land and his father worked hard to support them. | Has training in shg formation allopathic medicine and agriculture. | Wants to promote kitchen gardening and nutrition, healthcare matters. |
| Rina | She is married with three children. Her husband sells saris locally, they started the business with a small loan, she is a member of a Self-Help-Group. | Trained in shg formation, Agriculture and wool knitting. | Has already initiated several income generating projects in her groups including whole group schemes one in embroidery and one grain bank. Individual loans have supported women to start pond fisheries, mouri rice making, selling diesel oil and bird farming. |
| Purnima | Vocal songs and voice. | Has training in shg formation, womens' empowerment, child development, agriculture and food preservation. | Has established IGP's such as poultry, goatery, sugarcane, betel leaf growing and mouri rice. |
| Purabi | She grew up on a farm | Has training in shg formation teacher training, ngo network training and clay modelling. | Has initiated income generating projects such as a goatery, animal husbandry, kitchen gardening and embroidery-jewellery. |
| Dipak | Family grew up on a small piece of land. He is still trying to complete his schooling. Enjoys dancing. | Training in shg formation. | Wants self-reliant income-generating projects for his womens' groups. |
| Biswajit | He joined BTS in 2004 and is taking care of all the accounts. | Has Masters in commerce and acccounting, trained in shg formation. | Informs the BTS team and Self-Help-Group leaders on savings and loans. Keeps all funding accounts for the project. |
| Sawpan | He came from a small farm, family are all musicians. | Training in shg formation and agriculture. Has social skills. | Wishes to promote the 'no-dowry' approach in the community. Works among the poor scheduled caste families of Nagenabad. |
BTS have received funding from the Irish Embassy and other sources to build a hospital, primary school, health centre and an agri-awareness centre. However they need many more resources to implement their plans for these poor islands. Please contact us if you would like more information on BTS and their projects.
This group has built a hospital in the remote Satjelia Island in the eastern part of Sundarbans with funding from the Irish Embassy. ICNL is associated with Project Tiger and many international conservation groups dedicated to the protection of the Royal Bengal Tiger and the habitat of the Sundarbans. It was this group that introduced me to the widows of Sundarbans in 2001.
Tiger Widows Organisation have provided some funds for the refurbishment of a boat that can be used for local medical emergencies and transport needs for ICNL and Tiger Widows Organisation. Travelling by boat around the Sundarban Islands is the only effective means of transportation.
Families in Sundarbans who participate do not have to risk their lives by going into the forest. This is how we are...
Serving the People to Save the Tiger
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