DURING a recent visit to Kerala, I addressed what was amongst the most remarkable audiences I have ever seen: some 7,000 rural women, gathered under a tent in the courtyard of a school in the small dusty town of Kollengode. Many of them had travelled great distances to attend an event celebrating the Society for Rural Improvement (SRI), a micro-credit venture run by an America-returned ex-NRI, Dr. "Ron" Prabhakar, which had touched their lives directly in ways that decades of official development projects had not.

Showing the way

We all know that poverty persists in our country, and we have to stop regarding it as a sad but inescapable aspect of the human condition. We know from example after example around the world that, over a very short time, poverty and maternal and infant mortality can be dramatically reduced, while education and gender equality can be dramatically advanced. Rural micro-credit projects like SRI (as Dr Prabhakar's society dubs itself) are showing the way.

The poor rural women I addressed have exploded the myth that they are not credit-worthy. They have proven that, if given the opportunity, they know how to wisely invest their money for economically viable and environmentally sustainable income generating activities, repay their loans with almost a 100 per cent repayment rate, and become the masters of their own destiny without the interference of their men. This idea was first tested, and proven, in Bangladesh by the Grameen Bank of Dr. Muhammad Yunus, who was awarded last year's Nobel Peace Prize for his achievements. Dr. Prabhakar has taken the same idea and successfully replicated the Grameen Banking System of Bangladesh in Kerala's Palakkad District.

Women and poverty

It is no accident that micro-credit is provided only to women. The fact is that in most of the world, poverty has a female face. Women experience poverty more than men. Generally, when money is given to men, it seldom trickles down to the family: the toddy shops of Kerala flourish on the self-indulgent spending habits of men. Women take far more seriously the responsibility of bringing up their children, and they bear the brunt of this task. The result is that when a woman is empowered, a family is empowered.

True heroines

So the women patiently assembled from seven taluks around Kollengode were the true heroines of development. They had shown yet again that we must not underestimate the entrepreneurial skills of poor rural women merely because they are poor. In turn, SRI accepts that its job is to help the women to help themselves — not to micro-manage the efforts of the rural women, but to provide the necessary assistance, guidance, leadership and capital and let the women themselves get on with their own work to pull themselves out of poverty.

Of course, poverty alleviation is not simply throwing money into the hands of the poor women and enforcing repayment. This is also done by unscrupulous agents who go from door to door in the villages (opportunistic people who lend money to the poor women at exorbitant interest, exploit their vulnerable situation, and addict them to perpetual borrowing). These lending agents in the villages are called "blade companies" because of their cut-throat interest rates.

SRI is different: it seeks to build social assets along with economic assets. Poor work ethics and a distorted notion of the dignity of labour have limited the development of Kerala. The SRI project — whose beneficiaries make and sell re-usable, economical, and eco-friendly items using indigenous material like areca nut leaves — is breeding a new-generation work force, imbued with professionalism and a sense of customer service. Dr. Prabhakar has taught them that there is no greater dignity of labour than doing your work well and with pride.

Investing in the future

In addition, SRI is providing free education and computer training to about 200 poor and needy students. Learning is important, but besides academic subjects, they are taught the basic tenets of discipline, good behaviour, and civic duties. If they cannot only overcome poverty but be groomed into responsible, productive and law abiding citizens when they grow up, society will be the winner.

Of course, micro-credit is not a panacea: it cannot be the perfect solution for all our socio-economic ills. But it can be a precious tool in the empowerment of poor rural women. Yet, not everyone in Kerala has shown the open-mindedness to support such creative and innovative efforts. Dr.

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