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In Maharashtra’s Drought-Prone District, a ‘Goat Bank’ Is Making Women Financially Secure -Sukanya Shantha

-TheWire.in

The ‘Goat Bank of Karkheda’, started by agriculturist and educationist Naresh Deshmukh in Akola district, has helped many women overcome their debt-ridden life.

Mumbai: Pratibha Patil’s family has come a long way. Just two years ago, as landless agricultural labourers in Sangavi Mohadi village in Akola, Patil and her husband toiled for over nine hours on the land of the rich to earn their collective sum of Rs 350 per day. Today, Patil owns over 25 goats and no longer needs to work as a daily wage labourer.

A novel initiative, the ‘Goat Bank of Karkheda’, started by an agriculturist and educationist Naresh Deshmukh in Akola district, helped Patil overcome her debt-ridden life. “Two years ago, I paid Rs 1,100 to get a pregnant goat from the (goat) bank,” Patil says. The goats multiplied in no time, and today, Patil has over 11 grown ones that are ready to be sold. “I recently sold a male goat for Rs 35,000,” she proudly shares.

The concept is simple: pay Rs 1,100, and get a goat, most likely a pregnant one. In the 40 months to follow, the buyer takes care of the goat and her lambs. Within this span of 40 months, four lambs are to be returned to the bank. The returned lambs are then raised at the bank and when they grow old enough, they are sold to four other women for Rs 1,100 each.

“Every six months, the goat gives birth to a twin or a triplet. Returning four lambs in over three years in lieu of a well-established business is barely a problem,” she said.

Patil was one of the first persons to have bought a goat from the bank. Her success influenced three more families in the Sangavi Mohadi village, she said. Word spread soon, and today, over 1,250 women across nine districts of Maharashtra are buying goats from the bank.

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