In rural areas, accessing loans from formal financial institutions is often a difficult process. People are required to produce numerous documents and secure guarantors before a loan can be approved. Even when, they manage to obtain a loan, the burden of high interest rates, makes repayment challenging. As a result, many rural residents avoid seeking loans altogether, discouraged by the complicated procedures and heavy financial costs involved.

Before the Cooperative: A Life of Struggles

Benjamin Marak, a resident of Kentrikona village in South West Garo Hills, is the Secretary of the Kentrikona Integrated Village Cooperative Society (IVCS). Before the IVCS was established on September 19, 2017, life was far more challenging for him. He relied on small-scale business activities and daily wage labor, earning just enough to meet his family’s basic needs. Savings were almost nonexistent, and financial insecurity weighed heavily on him, an experience shared by many rural workers with limited opportunities for growth.

In the rural areas of Garo Hills, most women remain heavily dependent on their husbands for financial support. Their daily lives are consumed by household responsibilities and childcare, leaving them with little opportunity to pursue independent ventures. This lack of exposure not only prevents them from achieving financial empowerment but also limits their ability to emerge as leaders within their communities. As a result, many women are unable to participate meaningfully in decision-making platforms or contribute to broader social development.

Training and Skill Development

Kenila strengthened her entrepreneurial journey by attending a 10-day intensive training program at the Bolmoram Training Centre on piggery farming. This program provided her with hands-on experience and practical knowledge in areas such as pig rearing, feed management, disease prevention, marketing strategies, and overall farm management. The training not only improved her technical skills but also boosted her confidence to run her enterprise more efficiently and profitably.

Pineapple is one of the major fruit crops cultivated in the East Garo Hills district. The region is blessed with abundant production, and this fruit has been an integral part of the community’s agricultural tradition since the time of their ancestors. Despite the plentiful availability of pineapples in the district, farmers face significant challenges in marketing their produce. The lack of proper market linkages and fair pricing mechanisms often prevents them from receiving the value they truly deserve for their hard work.

Rural communities, despite their rich agricultural potential, often face critical challenges such as fragmented value chains, limited access to platforms that connect them directly with buyers and a lack of collective mechanisms to process and market their produce, resulting in unfair pricing and reduced income opportunities.