Livelihood opportunities under DAY-NRLM to Mrs. H.Lalzikpuii

Introduction

Mrs. H. Lalzikpuii is a widow hailing from a small village Thingdawl in the northern part of Mizoram. The family’s main income pre DAY-NRLM was Rs. 90,000/- per annum from rearing pigs in their 1-acre land and a small areacanut plantation. However, after entering the DAY-NRLM fold, she and her family have expanded their cattle rearing and farming tremendously by availing all possible financial assistance, training under the Mizoram State Rural Livelihoods Mission (MzSRLM) and convergence with other line departments. Today, her family’s gross annual income is Rs. Rs 5,35,800/-, excluding her income from other sources such as MGNREGA, labour, etc.

Background

Pi H. Lalzikpuii has been a member of Alphonsa SHG since long. There are 3 members in her family- she and her two children, one in his late 20’s and one in her mid-30’s. She and her daughter were the ones mainly responsible for looking after their cattle, pigs and their farm, as her son is still pursuing higher education at Aizawl. Pi H. Lalzikpuii’s group Alphonsa SHG was created under the Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY), but with no proper guidance received especially about financial management, not much progress has been made regarding their livelihood.

Opportunities offered under DAY-NRLM

Her family started rearing cattle since 2013 when they bought their first cattle using their own money. After joining DAY-NRLM, their group has progressed tremendously. Alphonsa SHG even received best performing SHG award in 2018 among SHGs throughout Mizoram, given by NABARD. Pi Ziki, immediately became a Mahila Kisan after joining DAY-NRLM and took her 1st dose of Bank loan of Rs 50,000/-. Combining this with her own money of Rs 50,000/-, which she used for purchasing cattle.  Subsequently, she took Rs 1,00,000/- as 2nd dose of bank loan for purchasing another cattle. Her hard work and determination did not go unnoticed and in 2019, she received a greenhouse, free of cost, from the horticulture department where she used her own money of Rs 3800 for the site leveling and Rs 2500 for water Tank/Syntex. She was given Cucumber seeds by Horticulture department for free and she received good returns from the harvest.

She is currently rearing three pigs which they bought using the profit they made from their cattle. Their cattle shed were constructed through convergence with MGNREGS and from her own money. She has now registered herself under “Ranvulhtute thian”, a project under CAU, Selesih. She had undergone many trainings since joining DAY-NRLM conducted in convergence with line deparments. She is now fully aware as to whom to approach when faced with problems regarding her animals and her farm. They only used cow dung and vermicompost for fertilizers and often apply wood ash to deter snails, aphids, fruit fly etc. and also often apply Neem leaves solution and Ginger-Garlic-Chili paste for insecticide. As a progressive farmer she was given Rs 9,000/- for construction of Vermicompost Pit by ICAR Kolasib and was also given various vegetable seeds for her nutrition garden. She was given tomato seeds especially for greenhouse cultivation. 

Now, her family’s livelihood condition have improved noticeably, and her annual income from Greenhouse harvest (Tomato/Mustard leaves) is approximately Rs 28,000/-, annual income from milk is Rs 4,32,000/- approximately (20 litres per day at Rs 60/litre for 30 days/month), income from other crops grown in her farm is Rs 2,000/- approximately per annum, annual income from piggery is Rs 72,000/- (when 3 adults are sold/butchered in a  year) approximately and lastly, her income from vermicompost/dried cow dung sales is Rs 1,800/- approximately last  year. So, her annual gross income from her farm alone is approximately Rs 5, 35,800/-, excluding her income from other sources such as MGNREGA, labour, etc. 

Through her income, now she is now supporting her son’s education, who is currently pursuing B.Ed in Aizawl and also, her family is now constructing another house at Thingdawl.

Source: Inspirational Stories of Aatmanirbhar Rural Women