Jamuna joint liability group is an all women group in Tikrapada Adivasi Basti of Muniguda town. Just behind the Muniguda railway station, there is a settlement which houses these women. It doesn’t have basic facilities such as running water. While the electricity is there in the village, the power cuts are frequent and lasts for long durations. This has been affecting the daily lives of the people.  Almost 3 months back the group decided to buy solar lanterns with the help of the Milaap solar loan. The primary source of income for members of the group has been the leaf plate making business. On an average a woman is able to make 200 leaf plates a day besides doing her daily household work. One leaf plate is sold for Rs 1 in the market. With the help of the solar lanterns that the group members bought with the help from Milaap solar loan, they have been able to turn their otherwise idle hours during the power cuts to more productive hours and making more plates. In this way solar lanterns are not only providing light to the households but also helping them in running their small enterprises. The group members expressed their gratitude to Milaap and field partner for the easy availability of the enterprise loan at a modest interest rate.
Jamuna JLG
