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Case Studies
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Doing it for themselves: women's group turns pond into profit

Children look at the contents of a net at an Indian fish farm Fourteen women in one of India's poorest states have become entrepreneurs with their own thriving fish farm, with help from the External link Poorest Areas Civil Society Programme (PACS) and their own determination to overcome local opposition.

The women, from the village of Gopalpur in Maharashtra, formed a self-help group through PACS with the aim of transforming the village's stagnant pond into a source of income.

The group set aside money each month, and when they had saved up 6,000 rupees (about £71), used this money to clean the pond and introduce fish and eggs for breeding and harvesting.

Within a few months, they were earning around 16,000 rupees (£190) with each catch.

Overcoming local opposition

But their success led to resentment among some of the male villagers. Sarjerao Revankar, who helped the women to kickstart the project, said: "The profit was too huge to escape notice. Everyone felt that this had been easy money because, unlike farming, the women did not have to do anything except watch the fish grow."

The head of the local council was quick to move in for a share of the spoils. Sarjerao added: "He demanded a share of the profit because the pond officially belonged to the council. But the women held firm and decided to buy electric bulbs, poles and wires to set up streetlights in the village. He then had no option but to agree because opposition would have implied that he didn't care about the progress of the village."

From strength to strength

The business is succeeding. The women employ a professional fisherman to come and place nets every five or six months and supervise the healthy growth of the fish. The catch is sold to an agent who sells it to retailers in a neighbouring town.

Some fish is also sold in the village, and locally, the women even have scope to expand the business - the farm collects rainwater from the surrounding hills, which minimisises the risk of running short of water.

Key facts

PACS supports civil society organisations that help people in India's poorest districts.
PACS helped the women in Gopalpur through Gramin Vikas Mandal (GVM), a civil society organisation.
DFID is providing up to £27 million over seven years to support PACS.