Chaitanya

Client Success Stories

Renukamma

Renukamma and Ichalu Products

Bharamasamudra is a village in Chaitanya's Jagalur region and is located six kilometers away from Jagalur city. In Bharamasamudra, Chaitanya has formed eight centers. In one center, all the clients draw their income by relying on their ichalu (date palm) weaving skills to make baskets and sweepers. The clients sell their handmade products in the local market, and if production increases on a large scale, they cover a larger geography by selling in markets throughout the district.

Renukamma is one of Chaitanya's clients whose livelihood is based on ichalu weaving. She lives with her mother, age approximately 48 and her son, age 4. Her husband left her and she is landless.

In March 2010, Renukamma took a loan from Chaitanya of Rs. 5,000/- for her ichalu production. With the loan and her own personal contribution, she purchased ichalu sticks and 1,000 sweepers from Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh. With the ichalu sticks, Renukamma wove baskets and sold them alongside the sweepers in her local market and neighboring villages. The entire process took her 45 days.

Expenses included transportation to Puttaparthi, which is approximately 170 kilometers away from Bharamasamudra. After accounting for expenses, Renukamma earned Rs. 4,500/- from this activity. 100 Rs. /day

Gangamma

 Gangamma with her Cow

Nayakanahatti is a village in Chaitanya's Jagalur region and is 27 kilometers away from Jagalur city. In Nayakanahatti, Chaitanya has established seventeen centers. Gangamma is a client in the 3^rd center of Nayakanahatti, which has eleven clients total.

Gangamma has a total of four members in her household, including herself, her husband and two sons. She also has a daughter who is married and lives elsewhere. Her husband works as an attendant in a high school in Nelagattinahatti. Her sons have completed their education in English and ITI and recently left for Bangalore to search for jobs.

In December 2009, Gangamma took a loan of Rs. 10,000/- to purchase a cow. The total cost of the cow was Rs. 15,000/-. The cow augmented Gangamma's household income by providing four liters of milk daily, of which she sells three liters to the dairy and local hotels at Rs. 16/- per liter. With the sales, she earns Rs. 48/- a day. Her ten-month net income from the cow, minus expenses such as animal feed and interest on her loan, is Rs. 5,000/-.  Her household also benefits from the cow purchase through the extra liter of milk she keeps, the cow dung it provides, and another baby cow. Gangamma is almost done paying off her first cycle loan – she has five installments remaining. Pleased with the benefits of her first loan, she has decided to take a 2^nd cycle loan of Rs. 15,000/- to buy another cow.

Rathnamma

Petty shops and Payphones

In Chaitanya's Jagalur region, fifteen centers exist in Khanahosalli village. Khanahosalli is 28 kilometers away from Jagalur city. Rathnamma is a client from Khanahosalli in Chaitanya's 11^th center, which has a total of fifteen clients.

Rathnamma's household size is four, including herself, her husband, and her two young daughters. Her husband does coolie work on a farm. Her eldest daughter is in 7^thrd standard. standard and her youngest is in 3

In April 2010, Rathnamma took out a loan of Rs. 10,000/- to invest in her existing petty shop. With the loan, she purchased supplies locally for her shop and added a coin-operated telephone booth.  Rathnamma makes a minimum of 20% profit on each Rs. 100/- of turnover at her shop. The daily turnover is now between Rs. 350 and Rs. 400, earning her a daily average of Rs. 80/-. The coin-operated telephone booth augments her monthly income by Rs. 450/- and bringing her total monthly income gained from the shop to Rs. 2,450/-.