At 19, PRADYUMAN SINGH is a much sought-after salesman. This resident of Vinchhiya village uses a bicycle to do the rounds of the rural areas. “I bring to the people’s doorstep what they want”, says Singh who has already taken two loans from ICECD.

He prefers the bicycle because of its low-cost maintenance. He can’t think of using the bus because of its irregularity and also “you have to pay for the ticket”, he chuckles.

Pradyuman comes from a family of peasants but branched out first as a salesman of cutlery items and now deals in any item the villagers express a preference for. Thus this business combines the sectors of trading and service. A close look at the stock worth Rs.1,000, that he invariably carries shows a variety of items. His  turnover is around rs.250/- per day of which half is profit.

Pradyuman is fond of cricket and captains the village cricket team. A close friend of his owns a provision shop. My friend gives credit; my business is on a pay-and-carry basis”. His earning is total Rs.3,000 per month. He is thankful to ICECD for providing him the right perspective about business. He wants to take future loans and increase business and savings.

VINU, a twenty four year old woman was disabled with a childhood attack of Polio. Her work does not require much movement and could be done sitting in one place. She had taken a three month training in embroidery.

Her day begins at four o’clock. After completing other household chores, she prepares food for her family. In between her chores, she embroiders. Every one in the family except her goes out to work in the field, so she also has to look after her brother’s children. She never had any ambition for higher education, but wanted to become self reliant. Initially she was embroidering as a hobby but ICECD training helped her to look at her hobby in a different light and learn how to make a business out of it..

She took the first loan of Rs.1,000/- and her second loan was Rs.6,000/-. She gets the order from the village itself. Some one from the family gets the printing done and brings raw materials like threads and mirrors for her work. She does simple as well as “Rabari” embroidery but at present customers prefer simple work. She does embroidery on bed sheets and earns Rs.350/- per piece. She also does crochet borders on Chundadies which is highly demanded in her village. During the marriage season which lasts for 2 months she earns fifty to sixty rupees per day. She feels that she can expand her business if she works on an embroidery machine and earn more compared to what she is making at present. This has not only endorsed her self confidence, but has improved her social status in the family and village. She now has a say in the decision making in her family.