INDIA - $4,950
Various Income-Generating Projects
Project Coordinator - Mrs. N. Saraswathi

Mercy Trust, operating in Madurai District, Tamil Nadu, is a current partner. They have identified nine villages in the region for implementing another project. Five women each will be engaged in palm leaf baskets, mat weaving, sheep rearing, tiffin and snack stalls, or pickle and appalam preparation. Beneficiaries will be trained for fifteen days on their income-generating project. Loans will be given according to the activity and will be repaid at 12% interest. Anticipated economics are:

ACTIVITY	LOAN	GROSS INCOME	EXPENSE	LOAN PAYMENT	NET INCOME
Baskets	$130	$215	$105	$12	$98
Mats	$855 (group)	$855	$425	$80	$350 ($70 per person)
Sheep	$215	$855*		$240*	$615*
Tiffin	$855 (group)	$855	$425	$80	$350 ($70 per person)

* Annual

From Dr. R. Kannan’s site visit report, “MT is a small, women-headed organization. It has two women staff and has formed 55 self-help groups. The proposed project is based on the local skills and knowledge of people. There is a good demand for the baskets made of palm products, mats, tiffin stalls, and sheep. The target area is semi-arid and has lots of palm trees and wasteland for sheep rearing. MT has good rapport with people and their groups are well organized.

Project Completed: June 30, 2011