There are a lot of people around the world using business for social development. It is called social enterprise. Cooperatives also come under the same category. This is the success story of a social entrepreneur woman.
Jamuna Giri – an energetic woman in her late forties lives at Shivapur in Tilottama municipality. She has a tragic story of her marital life. But high will power and morale has brought her in the limelight. She is an epitome of cooperatives movement. She has over 24 glorious years of experience in the 64 years history of cooperatives movement in Nepal. In the year 2054 B.S. she established a cooperative in her own initiation. She led a group of 26 women from her own village to form Progressive Women Development Multipurpose Cooperative Organization. Now 2500 women members are the shareholders of the same cooperative. She is an active campaigner of cooperative movement.
Basically, a cooperative is an association of people united to meet common economic and social needs through jointly owned enterprises. They are organized by and for their members, who come together to provide a shared service from together to provide a shared service from which they benefit.
In the beginning group members collected Rs. 10 monthly. Now the monthly saving amount ranges from Rs 100 to 1000/-. Several innovative saving schemes like newlywed (bride) entry savings scheme, neonatal (with effect from the naming day) scheme, elderly citizen savings scheme etc.
Hard work definitely pays off one day. Jamuna and her friends’ struggle and pain during the time of inception of the cooperatives is heart touching. It could be a good plot story to make a good film from the ups and downs these social entrepreneurs. Jamuna could play a role of heroine. It may not be over exaggeration to say this because her physique and beauty is not less than a film star.
Jamuna at present is the manager of the same cooperative. Six other friends are also devoting themselves to the organization voluntarily with service motive. Jamuna looks after the administrative and economic affairs. Sita Neupane is the chairman at present.
The cooperative has been providing loans to aspiring women entrepreneurs. Loan amount ranges from Rs 3 lakhs (without collateral) to 10 lakhs (with collateral). Jamuna has empowered women of the village through economic prosperity. She is leading all members of cooperative’s executive committee in the development of leadership skills and capacity enhancement. She is struggling herself in the field of cooperative and been able to breathe the air of satisfaction.
Besides her office hours she reaches to the doorsteps of cooperative members. Shares their grieves and sorrows. Women need economic freedom at first, she opines. She is of the opinion that dream of our prosperity could be achieved only when women come in the forefront.
After Jamuna’s chairmanship tenure in the cooperative Parvati Khatri took over the responsibility. Parvati is now a successful entrepreneur. She has done commercial cow farming & agriculture. She is now the owner of a tractor & a micro-bus. Locals have got employment. Her children are able to get good education.
Likewise, Laxmi B.K. owns a jewellery shop. She is a ward member as well. She is involved in commercial vegetable farming. It was only possible through the loan she obtained from the cooperative. Jamuna encourages such women and arranges useful trainings and technical assistance as well.
More than 50 members of the cooperative are sustaining their livelihood through agriculture, animal husbandry and other income generating activities. They are benefitting themselves through entrepreneurial activities. Being self reliant they have been able to uplift their morale. At present Jamuna has become the charioteer of cooperative movement. She is like the queen in the bee-hive.
Account of her activities itself proves that Jamuna Giri is a pioneer campaigner og cooperative movement. Actually, cooperative model is a type of social entrepreneurship. She believes that dream of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’ could be achieved through cooperatives which is one pillar of the Nepalese economy as enshrined in the constitution of Nepal 2072.
कमला ितवारी सोमबार ०२ माघ, २०७९ आइतबार भएको विमान दुर्घटनामा सरकारले शोकमा बिदा दिएपनि आज बैंकिङ सेवा भने खुला रहेको…
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