Reapers, solitary no longer.

• Position: NGO Watch - Tamil Nadu Women's Development Project

Despite their virtual lack of access to the means of improving their incomes in many developing countries, women make an essential contribution to their families' survival, especially among the poorer strata. fact, in India, rural women are estimated to be the sole family providers in nearly a quarter of homes, clearly a workforce with economic potential. Building on the experiences of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working with poor rural villagers, the Tamil Nadu Women's Development Project (1990-1998) of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) recruited 27 NGOs to work with women self-help groups. They spent the first six to twelve months building group cohesion and familiarizing members with savings and borrowing procedures. Once the women overcame the fear of borrowing money and found they were able to repay their group-based loans, they were assisted in requesting and obtaining formal bank loans, half of which went towards livestock activities that provided landless and smallholder women with the opportunity to have some sort of daily income, and a quarter towards handicrafts and small-scale trading. The groups also managed to save money and set up a system for small emergency loans among members. These savings helped build confidence and empowerment and, indeed, the sustainabi lity of the initiative.

Branching out beyond savings and credit, many groups have taken the initiative in community-oriented projects and held negotiations with authorities. By adopting a method of group organization, the project assisted rural women in improving their skills and economic activities to acquire the self-confidence to become regular bank clients and entrepreneurs. This built self-reliance and raised their status in the family and the community, leading to important changes in social patterns and norms. For instance, women involved in the project have become more independent economically, and their overall decision-making role in the family and sense of empowerment have also been enhanced.

Here are some specific results of the Tamil Nadu Project:

* some 4,602 self-help groups were formed, bringing together 108,300 women in eight districts;

* over 68,800 loans were granted on market terms (12.5% interest) by the 108 branches of the Indian Bank;

* of the State Government of Tamil Nadu decided to expand the project, using its own resources to all its districts, while the World Bank and IFAD are replicating the experiment in...