Empowering Women, Nurturing Communities through Economic Empowerment of Self-Help Groups

• Self-Help Group (SHG) formation requires a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15 like-minded women with similar financial status from the same locality
• Election of President, Secretary, and Treasurer for SHG governance
• Mukti and MCDF workers provide assistance in understanding methodology and development logistics
• Project aims to harness the capabilities of rural population
• Provision of knowledge, skill sets, tools, and finance to empower rural communities
• Enable decent livelihood through self-employment
• Increase chances of securing employment in different sectors

• The project involves the formation of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) consisting of 10 to 15 women with similar financial status.
• From all SHGs in one or more neighboring localities, one member (preferably the President) from each SHG will form the Forum Branch (FB).
• Each FB may comprise a maximum of 200 SHGs. Annual general meetings will be held in each Branch to elect or select their Forum’s executive committee.
• The committee will consist of 7 to 11 members who will be elected or selected for a one-year term.
• The committee members will then elect their President, Treasurer, and Secretary.

Sundarbans and adjoining areas Mathurapur-I, Mathurapur-II, Kultali, PatharPratima, Canning, Basanti, Namkhana, Kakdwip, Sagar Blocks in South 24 Parganas District and Egra-1, Datan-I, Datan-II, Keshiary, Narayangarh, Nayagram Blocks in East and West Midnipur and in Jhargram Districts

• The MCDF project was initiated in 2014 as a pilot initiative, starting with one Forum Branch at Village Purbasridharpur under the Raidighi block of South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal.
• Due to its success, the programme was replicated in six other areas, covering 369 SHGs and involving 3,610 women in total.
• The programme has been expanding since 2016, with a portion of group savings reinvested as loans for members to initiate Income Generating Activities (IGAs).
• The attached table indicates the present status of the MCDF programme. Currently, MCDF involves 30,000 women, has created 2,850 SHG groups, and has established 30+ branches across West Bengal.