Jemli Bai's entrepreneurial journey: A Rajasthan tribal woman's story of hope and opportunity

By Bharat Dogra 

Jemli Bai lives in the Borikhera hamlet of the Bhil tribal community, located in the Kushalgarh block of the Banswara district in Rajasthan. Until about a decade ago, she and her husband toiled as migrant workers in various cities across Gujarat.

Recalling those difficult days, she says, "Sometimes we were paid very low wages, and other times we just stood and waited at a hiring spot for an employer who never came. Living in huts surrounded by mud and slush, we spent our days in great hardship; it was even difficult to cook food."

Then, during a visit back to her village, she learned about a training program offered by Vaagdhara, a voluntary organization active in her area. The program taught participants how to start a nursery for fruit, vegetable, and other trees. Jemli, who had a strong interest in this kind of work, decided to enroll.

During the training, the organization recognized her natural aptitude and offered her additional support if she decided to set up her own nursery. Vaagdhara had previously been distributing plants to increase tree cover but was also keen to create income-generating opportunities from within the community.

So, about six years ago, Jemli stopped migrating to focus all her attention on her nursery. With her natural talent and the training she received, she quickly and comfortably settled into the work, which she enjoyed. Starting with an annual income of about seventy thousand rupees in the first year, her earnings have steadily grown, reaching nearly half a million rupees this past year.

With her savings, she and her family opened a small shop in their remote village that sells daily necessities. The shop is doing reasonably well, especially when most villagers are at home. Alongside the shop, she also runs a small flour mill, or atta-chakki, which provides some additional income and meets a need for her neighbors.

Achieving success in these new ventures hasn't made Jemli give up her traditional livelihood of farming. Instead, along with several other members of her community, she now practices natural farming.  This approach allows her to make substantial savings on costs while producing healthier food for her family. About half of her nearly one-acre farm is devoted to the nursery, while the other half is used to grow healthy food for her family in a natural way.

While Jemli and her family have done well in increasing their income, it's also worth noting that her work is aligned with community needs. The nursery provides plants, the shop offers daily necessities, the flour mill provides a much-needed service close to home, and her natural farming protects the environment while yielding healthy food.

Looking back on this turning point in her life, Jemli thanks the voluntary organization wholeheartedly. Their contribution was undeniably helpful, but what's equally remarkable is the great entrepreneurial talent she had all along. For a lack of opportunity, this talent remained dormant for so long and might have stayed that way if a chance had not suddenly emerged.

While her experiences are an inspirational story on their own, they also highlight a wider reality: there is so much potential in remote villages that can be tapped for significant achievements if more attention is given to nurturing the creativity waiting for suitable opportunities in these areas.

Baba Amte once said, "Many poor villagers do not need charity; they need opportunity." Jemli is a powerful example of what opportunity and a helping hand can mean for a woman in a remote village whose hidden talents were held back for too long but immediately found wings once the right opportunities emerged.

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The writer is the Honorary Convener of the Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Man over Machine, and A Day in 2071