We Care Winter Internship Report

7/31/2019 We Care Winter Internship Report

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SVKMs NMIMS


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Acknowledgement


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Chapter 1 Introduction & Project Methodology

1.1 The Ambuja Cement Foundation: An Introduction

Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF) is the CSR wing of Ambuja Cement Limited (ACL), oneof I ndias biggest cement manufacturers . The Foundation focuses on the sustainable growthof the villages in and around ACLs plants and factories. The Foundation works with the ruralcommunity on several issues such as health, education, environment, poverty alleviation andwomen empowerment.

1.2 Problem Identification:

Ambuja Cement Ltd. has a major plant in Chandrapur, which is surrounded by severalvillages, many of which lacked basic amenities initially. Over a period of more than 10 years,ACF worked hard on the problems of these villages in various fields such as education,water, women empowerment, health, community development and environment protectionalleviating several issues in these villages.

Women empowerment forms a major part of ACFs CSR activities and one of its initiativesto empower women includes forming Self Help Groups which save money on a monthlybasis and use the money thus saved or loaned from the bank for various income generatingactivities.

However, despite the efforts taken by the Foundation, the SHGs continue to invest the moneythey save in largely agricultural activities or personal use such as weddings, illness etc. Thereis a tremendous scope for several entrepreneurial activities that can be tried by these SHGs.The project aims to explore all the possible income generation activities and their feasibilityin the villages where ACF works.

1.3 Objectives:

The project aims to fulfil the following objectives: To study how the various self help groups save money and invest it in income

generation activities. To suggest new business models that are sustainable and profitable in the long run for

these Self Help Groups. To study the challenges of the proposed and existing income generation activities. To suggest ways to overcome these challenges.


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1.4 Project Methodology:

The primary target group of the project is the women from Chandrapur and Panvel. Thegeographical scope of the project is limited to the villages around the ACL plants inChandrapur and Panvel. Due to the lack of time, it is not possible to cover each and everyvillage in which ACF has its presence but as many villages as possible are covered.

The service delivery mechanism can be depicted as below:

Service Delivery Mechanism

1. Data Collection

Data collection includes the visits to maximum number of villages where ACF worksand interacting with the women of various Self Help Groups.

The second step involves interacting with the ACF employees and getting a deeper

understanding about the villages and the women. The next step of data collection is from secondary sources like internet.

2. Data Analysis

The data collected from the field visits was analysed. The interaction with the womenbought about some newer perspectives.

The secondary data collected from the internet was analysed and seen how profitablethe income generation activity would be.

Only internet is not enough to make the plans. Talking to several secondary sources is

also essential.

3. Report and PPT

The final step is to present the analysis in a report and power point form. Recommendations and suggestions were given regarding the income generating

activities. The strengths and weaknesses of the plans were studied and their feasibility was

presented.

Data collection

Visits to SHGs Discussion withe ACF

employees Internet data

Data Analysis

Visits data Internet research Secondary data

Report & PPT

Analysis Recommendations Suggestions Feasibility


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Chapter 2 Data Collection & Observations

This chapter discusses how the data was collected for compiling the report and the

observations that were made. Data was collected in 3 forms: visit to nearby villages,Discussion with ACF employees and internet data. Visits to the villages and interaction withthe women was an enriching experience and it cleared several doubts.

2.1 Visits to SHGs

Over the course of 6 days, 9 villages were visited and interaction took place with severalwomen of various SHGs. Even within a radius of 50 km, the diversity was very muchevident. The women of different villages displayed varied characteristics. Some women weretoo shy to share their ideas, some were very confident and ambitious.

The following observations were made based on the interaction with the SHGs:

The average size of a SHG is 10-12 women. There were a couple of men SHGs aswell.

The women saved 30-100 Rs. per month per member and used these savings to eitherlend the money internally at a 2% rate of interest or loan some amount from the bank.

It was observed that the loaned amount was largely used by the women foragricultural purposes which included buying seeds, fertilisers and pesticides.

The loaned amount was also used by some women in allied activities such as buyingcattle, goat farming, chicken rearing, dairy, contract farming etc.

However, the money was used only by very few women for non agricultural incomegenerating activities.

The non agricultural income generating activities included bag making, tailoring,general stores, pan shop, chilli and flour mill, mandap decorators and various foodproducts.

2.2 Interaction with ACF employees

Mrs. Nishtha Jiwankar handles the SHG projects here at Chandrapur and she gave a lot of information about the SHGs. She arranged for all the trips to the villages and made sure thatthe women were available and were giving the required information correctly. She alsosuggested several ideas and various discussions with her regarding the various IG activitiesthat were in progress gave tremendous insight into the scope of the projects that can becarried out here.

Madam also analysed the ideas that were proposed and suggested whether they will besuccessful or not. She also provided the complete data on the savings of the SHGs and whatkind of entrepreneurship activities they carried out. A snapshot of the SHGs and their

activities can be summarised as below:


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Particulars Data

No. of Villages 23

No. of SHGs 87

No. of Accounts in SBI 38

No. of Accounts in Co-operative Bank 41No. of Accounts in Bank of India 8

Avg savings per month per member 66 Rs

Avg members per group 12

Avg monthly saving per SHG 744 Rs

Total bank loan availed so far 1,70,43,000 Rs

Total Corpus 85,93,248 Rs

Table 1 SHGs in Chandrapur: A brief snapshot


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Chapter 3 Analysis of the existing Income Generation Activities

There are several income generation activities that the women of the SHGs carry out. Most of these activities are based on agriculture. We shall see a detailed analysis of all these activitiesand try to find out the strengths, weaknesses and further scope for improvements of each.

Some of the existing Income generating Activities at a glance:

IG Activity

No. of womenengaged

in it

Averagemonthlyincome

Auto 1 7500Bag Making & Tailoring 18 2800

Candle making 2 625

Chilli Mill 3 1000

Contract Farming 11 3800

Dairy 4 3000

Flour Mill 4 2000

Food Products 1 1000

Goat farming 3 2500

Mandap Decoration 1 3333Pan material 1 1500

Vegetable 2 10000

Table 2: Existing IG Activities data

Analysis of Existing IG Activities

3.1 Agriculture:Agriculture is the backbone of the economy in Chandrapur and Cotton production remains

the largest activity here. The total area under agriculture is 4810 Sq. kms. i.e. 46.05 % of thetotal area of the district. Paddy, Cotton, Jowar and Soybean are the main crops in the districtwhile 34.33 % of the total area is under forest cover.

Almost all of the women of SHGs use the money obtained from internal lending or bank loanfor agricultural purposes such as buying seeds, fertilizers, equipments etc.

Agricultural activity can be divided into 3 main parts:

1. Self Farming2. Contract Farming3. Labourer on Farms


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Self Farming : Majority of the women of bigger villages own their own lands and hence usethe funds for their own farms.

Strengths:

Farming has been carried out for generations and hence the people have considerablyhigh skill in this occupation.

Lands in Chandrapur are conducive for growth of cotton which has tremendousmarket in both Indian and foreign markets.

Irrigated lands make farming a perennial activity and give the opportunity for thefarmers to try new crops throughout the year.

Self Farming reduces dependence on others.

Weaknesses:

Farming is still largely dependent on rains and other weather conditions. A bad year for crops means considerable losses for the people who are heavily

dependent on agriculture. Traditional farming using Bulls is prominent here in most parts of Chandrapur.

Technological advancement remains pretty low. The extremely bad condition of the roads is another hindrance for the farmers to reach

the markets.

Contract Farming : Contract farming is wherein an individual or a group take a piece of landfor farming. The owner is paid a fixed annual amount and/or a part of the crops produced.Contract farming is a very prominent occupation here in Chandrapur.

Strengths:

Even the landless can earn sufficient income by farming lands on contract. A good crop can give more than expected profits.

Weaknesses:

Again, this is heavily dependent on weather conditions, which is very unpredictable.

A bad crop will mean heavy losses for the contract farmer as he will have to sufferboth the losses of paying the owner as well as the failed crops.

Labourers on farm : Several women work as labourers on lands and earn a lot during thepeak season of cotton plucking which lasts for almost six months.

Strengths :

During the peak season, a woman can earn an average daily wage of Rs 300. Depending on a womans skills she can earn up to Rs 500 during the plucking season. In the other months, a woman can earn on an average Rs 100 daily.

Weaknesses :


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A bad crop means the employability in farms reduces which will in turn reduce thenumber of women labourers employed as well as their daily wages.

Heavily dependent on manual skills and health of the woman.

Opportunities and scope for improvement in Agriculture:

ACF is already doing a great work with its Better Cotton Initiative and can furtherintensify it in the coming years.

Technology is something we cannot ignore in the long run and for farming to remaintruly sustainable it has to be integrated with technological advancements.

The technological advancements include highly resistant seeds, harmless pesticidesand fertilisers, use of tractors and other modern equipments.

Even if a small patch of land is developed to grow vegetables, it will not only bringsome income but also satisfy the everyday needs of vegetables of the families.

3.2 Animal Husbandry:Animal Husbandry is perhaps the second most important occupation after Agriculture. It ismore of an allied occupation. It includes goat farming, chicken breeding, cows and bullocksrearing. Dairy perhaps has the largest scope as a business in these parts and if the women canexploit this opportunity theres a lot of profit in it. So far dairy has been tried by 4 womenand their monthly average income is around Rs 3,000.

Strengths:

Lower initial investment as compared to other occupations. The animals multiply over the time increasing the scope of income generation further.

Weaknesses:

Health of the animals being bred is a big concern. Poor veterinary services in the areamake matters worse.

The shepherd who takes the animals to graze charges Rs 100 per animal which is acostly investment.

Breeding animals requires lot of care and patience.

Opportunities and scope for improvement in Animal Husbandry:

The biggest challenge in the Animal Husbandry business lies in the poor veterinaryservice in the area which needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

The villages lack milk facilities and hence even if one SHG starts a dairy business itwill be profitable and encourage other women to try the initiative.

Nutritious fodder is an effective way of keeping the animals healthy and also to fetchmaximum income while selling them.

The dung and animal faeces obtained from the animals can be used to make organic

manure which can be used in the farms to increase the productivity.


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The manure can also be used to make biogas, however the initial investment is highwhen it comes to biogas plant.

3.3 Tailoring:Tailoring may include making clothes, bags etc. There are almost 18 women in Chandrapurthat engage in tailoring as an income generating activity. They take loans from the SHG viainternal lending to purchase the sewing machine and other materials required for tailoring.

Strengths:

The average monthly income of these women from tailoring activities comes out to beabout Rs 2800 /-

Tailoring is a very good business as free time can be utilised by the women forsomething productive.

It is convenient for the women to go for someone in the village itself for their tailoringneeds.

Weaknesses:

Readymade garments are the biggest threat for small tailoring businesses. The margins of profits remain pretty low.

Opportunities and scope for improvement in Tailoring:

Tailoring still remains restricted to making small clothes like blouse and there is a

tremendous scope of increasing the products offered. ACF does a lot of activities in the educational field and has good relations with theschools, if any contracts can be obtained from the schools for bag or uniform making,it will generate a lot of income for these women.

Woolen clothes can find a market during the winters here. The women can start withmaking smaller woollen garments such as socks and then depending on the successcan go on to make bigger clothes.

3.4 General/Kirana Stores:From the visits made to the 9 villages, it was clear that the villages had very few generalstores and people relied heavily on the markets of Gadchandur. So a lot of scope exists in thisoccupation.

Opportunities and scope for improvement in General Stores:

Setting up a general stores will require a larger capital and if the entire group of women starts the endeavour, it will yield greater benefits and a greater economy of scale.

If even one SHG decides to start this venture and then expand the business, it will doa lot for their economic growth.


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Transportation of the material remains the biggest challenge which can be taken careof by buying the material in larger lots once every month.

The general stores can also be used as a means for selling the wares and products of other SHGs on a commission basis.


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Chapter 4 Proposed Income Generation ActivitiesThis chapter discusses the possible income generation activities that the women of SHGs cantry in future. Although 2 weeks are not enough to list all the possible IG activities and theirexact cost of commissioning, an attempt has been made to provide as much details as possible

for each of the proposed activity.

4.1 Food ProductsIf we observe the entrepreneurship data of SHGs in Table 2, we find that producing foodproducts has remained an unexplored income generating activity. It is said that education andfood industry will always remain recession proof. So it will be a good idea for the women toventure into making food products. The following food products can be tried:

4.1.1 Papad and Pickle making Although sounds a very trivial income generating activity, papad and pickle remains

an essential part of every Indian households meal. The biggest advantage of papad and pickle is the fact that it doesnt require any

formal training as all the women make their own papad and pickle at home. The only training that needs to be given is that of packaging of the Papads and pickles

to make it attractive and marketable to urban parts. Once the pickles business finds a stronghold, newer flavours can also be made like:

chilli, lemon etc. The same applies to the papad business: newer flavours such asmasala, moong etc can be tried out.

Market Opportunity:

If we see carefully, the Ambuja Cement colony itself provides a tremendous marketfor the food products. A stall once every week can give the opportunity to the womento sell their products to the ACL employees in the colony.

The food products can also be supplied to bigger cities and villages nearby throughcontracts with bigger retailers.

The Tuesday market also provides an opportunity for the women to set up one stallwhich sells all the products made by all the women.

There are a few women who own their own general stores, the food products can be

sold to them who would in turn sell it for commission.

Cost Analysis:

There is a bare minimum initial investment for this business and it includes only theraw materials such as raw mangoes, udad dal etc

The only investment other than the raw materials will be that of packing the productsand the plastic bags required for it.

The selling price should be such that it should cover the expenses of raw materials,packing, transport and a profit margin.


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Selling Price Estimation

Where,

Raw material cost per packet = Total raw material cost / No. Of packets Packing cost per packet = Total packaging cost / No. Of packets Transport cost per packet = Total cost of transport / No. Of packets Profit margin can be kept at 20% over the cost price (which includes all costs) in the

beginning until a market is captured. Once the market stabilises, the profit margin can be increased.

Future Initiatives:

Later on if the scale needs to be increased we can use automatic papad making machines, theinformation of which can be found below:

http://www.pulveriser.co.in/papad-making-automatic-machine.html

Papad Making Machine

Rawmaterialcost perpacket

Packingcost per

packet

Transportcost per

packet

ProfitMargin

SellingPrice per

packet
http://www.pulveriser.co.in/papad-making-automatic-machine.htmlhttp://www.pulveriser.co.in/papad-making-automatic-machine.htmlhttp://www.pulveriser.co.in/papad-making-automatic-machine.html


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4.1.2 Sevai Making Sevai is one of the delicacies that is regularly savoured by the villagers here as

breakfast with milk and sugar. Sevai is usually made in the summers by the women which lasts for the entire year.

Sevai is generally made by the traditional methods which are manual and timeconsuming. An SHG group here is interested in setting up a Sevai making unit which will cost

about Rs. 25,000 /-

Market Opportunity:

The Ambuja Cement colony again provides a tremendous market for the foodproducts. A stall once every week can give the opportunity to the women to sell theirproducts to the ACL employees in the colony.

The food products can also be supplied to bigger cities and villages nearby throughcontracts with bigger retailers. The Tuesday market also provides an opportunity for the women to set up one stall

which sells all the products made by all the women. There are a few women who own their own general stores, the food products can be

sold to them who would in turn sell it for commission.

Cost Analysis:

Sevai making will require an initial investment of buying the machine and then the

raw materials required for making the sevai. The costing of the sevai packets is similar to that of papad making, only change willbe including the cost of machine in the selling price to recover the cost.

The cost of machine and the interest paid thereof to the bank can be spread over asuitable period (2 years) and every month a target should be set to recover it.

A monthly estimation of no. of packets to be sold can be calculated and the monthlycost of the machine added to it.

Rest of the things like raw materials cost, transport cost, packing cost will be added tothe selling price.

A prototype of the machine can be found below and more details can be obtained on thefollowing website:

http://www.pulveriser.co.in/vermicelli-making-machinery.html

Sevai Making machine
http://www.pulveriser.co.in/vermicelli-making-machinery.htmlhttp://www.pulveriser.co.in/vermicelli-making-machinery.htmlhttp://www.pulveriser.co.in/vermicelli-making-machinery.html


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4.1.3 Chips and Finger making Potato chips and fingers are one of the most favourite snacks among kids and opening

a chips/finger making unit will be very beneficial for the women. Several women have shown interest in manufacturing chips and fingers and training

in the same is expected to be successful.

Market Opportunity: Chips and fingers can be sold in the village itself where they are produced which will

reduce the cost of transport as well. Door to door selling is an effective way. The Ambuja Cement colony againf provides a tremendous market for the food

products. A stall once every week can give the opportunity to the women to sell theirproducts to the ACL employees in the colony.

The Tuesday market also provides an opportunity for the women to set up one stallwhich sells all the products made by all the women.

There are a few women who own their own general stores, the food products can besold to them who would in turn sell it for commission.

Cost Analysis:

There are several machines available for making chips and fingers. Some are verysimple and cost less, while others are big in size and costlier.

Depending on the scale to which the business is to be carried out, the women can buya machine accordingly. It can range from as low as 2,000 Rs. to 20,000 Rs.

The cost of production will include the monthly cost of the machine, the raw materialwhich will largely include potatoes and spices, the transport cost and the profitmargin.


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A prototype of an economic chips making machine is as shown below and further details canbe obtained from the following site:

http://www.pulveriser.co.in/chips-machine.html

Economical Potato Chips making Machine

A prototype of a slightly bigger potato chips making machine is as shown below and furtherdetails can be obtained from the following site:

http://www.pulveriser.co.in/potato-chips-making-machine.html

Potato Chips Maker

A prototype of a simple fingers making machine is as shown below and further details can beobtained from the following site:

http://www.pulveriser.co.in/french-fries-making-machine.html
http://www.pulveriser.co.in/chips-machine.htmlhttp://www.pulveriser.co.in/chips-machine.htmlhttp://www.pulveriser.co.in/potato-chips-making-machine.htmlhttp://www.pulveriser.co.in/potato-chips-making-machine.htmlhttp://www.pulveriser.co.in/french-fries-making-machine.htmlhttp://www.pulveriser.co.in/french-fries-making-machine.htmlhttp://www.pulveriser.co.in/french-fries-making-machine.htmlhttp://www.pulveriser.co.in/potato-chips-making-machine.htmlhttp://www.pulveriser.co.in/chips-machine.html


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Simple Finger Making Machine

4.1.4 Ladoo Making

Ladoos remain an integral part of Indian dessert and is used on several occasions likewedding, celebrating birth of new borns etc.

Ladoo making may include making Methi, Dink, Boondi ladoos.

Market Opportunity:

ACF is constantly in touch with the Arogyatais through its health initiatives and theTais are in turn in constant touch with pregnant and mothers of newly born child.

A pregnant woman is always in need of better nutrition and according to our Indiantraditions, a methi or dink ladoo is the richest source of nutrition.

If a few women take up the ladoo making business, through the Arogyatais we cansell the Ladoos.

Another idea is that ACF buys the ladoos from the SHGs and that can be gifted to thepregnant ladies as a goodwill gesture.

The other idea is selling the ladoos on contract basis to nearby hotesl, marriage halls,schools or sweet shops.

Cost Analysis:

Like papad making there is not much initial investment apart from the raw materialsthat are required to make the ladoos.

The cost thus includes the cost of raw materials, packing cost and profit margin.


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4.1.5 Sauce/Jam/Jelly Making Villagers are no longer shying from buying products such as sauce, jams and jellies

and there is a scope for selling it at the local markets as well as their own villages. Niral Business Institute is an organisation in Mumbai that specialises in teaching

several things for unemployed youth. The sauce/jelly/jam making course costs Rs. 750 and more details can be obtainedfrom the following site:

http://www.niralbi.com/other-running-items/other_running_items01.asp#03

4.1.6 Chocolate Making Chocolates are also no longer a product that is savoured by the urban class, it is also

famous and in demand in rural areas. Niral Business Institute has a chocolate making course which ranges from Rs 1000 to

2500 depending on basic to advanced. More details can be found at:http://www.niralbi.com/chocolate/default.asp

4.1.7 Cake Making Birthdays in villages nowadays are celebrated with cakes and chocolates and so cake

making can also be explored as an IG activity. We dont need sophisticated ovens for starting this venture as there are several recipes

wherein cake can be made on a pan. However, proper training needs to be given for the same.

Another idea is the Pillsubury cooker cake which can be made in a cooker. Packetscan be bought from nearby city and the women can make cooker cakes. These cooker cakes can be made saleable by adding readymade cream on top and

sides. Name of the birthday boy/girl can be put above it.

4.1.8 Samosa Stalls A visit to nearby places and the Tuesday market has revealed that samosa is the

favourite delicacy around these parts. A group of women can start a Samosa stall during the Tuesday market of

Gadchandur, which attracts hundreds of people and remains crowded throughout the

afternoon. The venture can start with samosas in the beginning and go on to add other items such

as bread rolls etc to their offerings. The initial investment will be the raw materials required to make the samosas and a

handcart to sell the items on.

4.1.9 Pepsi Making Pepsi (the ones sold for 50 p or 1 Rs.) is quite a favourite among school kids and will

be a definite hit near schools. A small machine is available to make the pepsis which packs the liquid in the plastic

tubes that are then refrigerated and can be sold later on.
http://www.niralbi.com/other-running-items/other_running_items01.asp#03http://www.niralbi.com/other-running-items/other_running_items01.asp#03http://www.niralbi.com/chocolate/default.asphttp://www.niralbi.com/chocolate/default.asphttp://www.niralbi.com/chocolate/default.asphttp://www.niralbi.com/other-running-items/other_running_items01.asp#03


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Since several households have refrigerators in this part, freezing the pepsis will not bemuch of a problem.

During the lunch break and after the schools are left for the day, the women can carrythe pepsis in a basket which can then be sold.

Initial investment will include the cost of machinery, the plastic tubes and the rawmaterial to make the syrup.

4.2 Mehendi Cone Making Mehendi cones are in tremendous demand during the wedding season which starts in

April-May period. The wedding season is also the time when the villagers have no work on their fields

and hence the women have plenty of free time with them. Nishtha Madam is working on arranging a Mehendi cone making workshop for the

young girls and women here. If along with the cone making, the girls are taught how to make mehendi designs they

can earn a lot during the peak wedding seasons. The initial investment for this activity is very less as it requires only buying mehendi

leaves.

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