The 'wavli' programme.

In south Gujarat, India, especially in Valsad district, there is a traditional tribal custom of "Wavli", a unique tribal tradition giving a woman sovereign right over her earnings. The husband, father or brother will never dream of having a share in this income; they sincerely believe that if any money is taken from the "Wavli", they will surely go to hell. Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation (BAIF) reactivated the traditional custom and started women's income-generating activities as the "Wavli" Programme, initially in five villages--Mindhabari, Lacttaked, Umarkvi, Kawdej, Ghodmal--selected on the basis of availability of water and land, and women who were willing to work in groups, each with about 25 members.

From isolated small-scale vegetable cultivation and gathering of minor forest produce, "Wavli" is now a group activity of raising nurseries, grafting mango and cashew saplings, and other non-conventional activities. A tribal woman's day starts from early dawn and ends late at night, taking care of food, water and health needs of the family, apart from contributing to breadwinning. With support from UNICEF, BAIF imparts health education to tribal women, whose common problems include malnutrition, worms and scabies. Forming and nurturing small, homogenous and participatory self-help groups of the poor offers a potent tool for human development, allowing poor households to collectively identify and analyze the problems they face in the perspective of their social and' economic environment, pool their meagre resources--human and financial--and prioritize their use for solving their own problems. The emphasis on regular thrift collection and its use to solve immediate problems of consumption and production not onl y helps meet their most emergent needs but also trains them to handle financial resources more skillfully, prudently and with a more lasting impact.