By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 15 May: The Rural Enterprise Acceleration Project (REAP) aims to connect women members of self-help groups and federations formed under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) with livelihood-oriented and entrepreneurial activities to increase their income.
Within the project, an essential activity is providing support to ultra-poor families for establishing enterprises, offering them an interest-free loan of Rs 35,000.
In the Doiwala block of Village Gumaniwala, Rajkumari, who is a member of the Gayatri Self-Help Group, has benefited from the Ultra Poor Package. She has successfully established a dairy enterprise and cattle farming. Before her entrepreneurial journey, Gayatri used to rely on daily wage labour for her family’s survival. Now, with the help of her new enterprise, she leverages her entrepreneurial skills to meet local demand for dairy products.
Gayatri shares, “My experience with the project has been encouraging. Through financial support, I now earn a pure profit of Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 every month by selling 150 litres of milk monthly. I take pride in supporting my family’s needs and moving toward success.”
REAP also inspires other women associated with the Gayatri Self-Help Group in Doiwala to explore self-employment opportunities. So far, the project has supported 42 ultra-poor members in Doiwala block alone, enabling them to create sustainable livelihoods.
Under the guidance of Chief Development Officer, Dehradun, the REAP project aims to benefit 451 families by providing financial support for small-scale enterprises and income generation at the local level during the financial year 2024-25.
