Promoting Indigenous Women Alternative Livelihood and Reducing Climate Change - India

Promoting Indigenous Women Alternative Livelihood and Reducing Climate Change is helping charcoal-dependent women who live on under USD 1.25 a day to mitigate climate change and adapt to more sustainable livelihood options through innovative weaving skill training and production of market-based eco-friendly products, by women for women.

Fast facts:

50 women saving and credit groups and 20 youth business groups were formed;
This activity has directly impacted 5,000 families below the poverty line as well as 720 indigenous people in 35 villages;
Women who lived under USD 1.25 a day are now earning USD 5 a day;
20 full-time jobs and 40 part-time jobs have been created for women creating and selling market-based eco-friendly products.

The problem

Indigenous women in India are highly dependent on selling charcoal and slash-and-burn activities to earn an income.

The solution

Through education on how charcoal activities contribute to climate change, women are being motivated to change their livelihood options. This activity provides intensive weaving skill development training to indigenous women who depend and live on under USD 1.25 a day from the charcoal business. It also is facilitating the formation of women self-help groups, helping them assert their rights under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. More than 40 women groups are now able to take lead roles on asserting their rights and promoting a sustainable livelihood. Once women are earning USD 5 a day from their market-based eco-friendly products, they are able to take lead roles in the social marketing system, creating awareness on climate change and other rights-based issues.

Helping the planet

By creating alternative sustainable livelihood options and raising women’s income levels and productivity, women are leaving the charcoal business, which destroys large swaths of virgin forest every year. Leaving trees standing is helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing carbon sequestration. Women are also being trained to detect forest fires on the ground. Satellite picture/data enables them to minimize incidents by focusing their climate change communication efforts in those areas. More than 45 hectares of virgin forest were protected in 2012 and 2013.

Helping people

The Seed Money and Community Revolving Fund created by this activity offers 20% returns from the women groups' combines incomes. It is providing a cushion to fall back on, encouraging more women to start businesses that address climate change and provide alternative livelihoods for themselves and for other women in their community.

Scaling Up

This activity can be scaled up through the installation of more weaving machines to cover more capacity building training for charcoal-dependent women and to reduce climate change. With 20 machines, 120 women can be trained in production of market-based eco-friendly products in one year. The process can be scaled up every year to reach out to over 3,000 women in three years. As the number of women groups involved in this activity increase, the amount of the community revolving fund will increase, paving the way for more women to join. Community awareness on climate change can be scaled up through mass media campaigns and outreach over social media.