MYRADA

Mysore Resettlement and Development Agency
Business Ethics Assignment

REMIN SLADANHA

SUJATH SHAROFF

RANJITH R

NEHA SETHI

SIJU


c




 MYRADA
Mysore Resettlement and Development Agency (MYRADA) is a Non
Governmental Organisation managing rural development programmes in 3
States of South India and providing on-going support including deputations of
staff to programmes in 6 other States. It also promotes the Self Help Affinity
strategy in Cambodia, Myanmar and Bangladesh

1.INTRODUCTION

Established in 1968, MYRADA is a non -governmental organization working

for micro-credit initiatives and sustainable development in Southern India. From
1968 to 1978, MYRADA concerned itself with the resettlement of 1 5,000
Tibetan Refugees with the Indian government. After 1978, MYRADA shifted
its focus to working with poor communities in rural India. Currently,
MYRADA centers its attention on the districts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh
and Tamil Nadu through its 14 act ive projects. MYRADA focuses on the
building of appropriate peoples¶ institutions rather than on the delivery of
goods. Efforts are made to motivate the people to contribute money and time
and to absorb the skills necessary to maintain these goods. MYRADA had 489
staff members in 1994 and 1000 rural volunteers trained in community health
care, animal husbandry, forestry, literacy and other relevant areas who provide
services in the project areas. MYRADA is now working directly with 75000
families, approximately 8,50,000 people.

2.The Mission Statement

~ To foster a process of ongoing change in favour of the rural poor in a way in

which this process can be sustained by them through building and managing
appropriate and innovative local level institutions based on their rights and
rooted in values of justice, equity and mutual support .
~ To recreate a self-sustaining livelihood base and an environmentally clean
habitat and the institutions to sustain them, based on a balanced perspective
of the relationship between the health of the environment and the legitimate
needs of the poor.
~ To promote institutions, strategies and skills through which poor families
are able to exercise their rights to develop their livelihood strategies leading
to food security and to secure the rights of women and children ,minorities
and marginalised sectors.
 ~ To promot good governance and convergence in t e PR t at foster
effective, appropriate and timel primary health care and education and
which address the issues related to natural resources, sanitation and
HIV/AIDS/STIs in a holistic and sustainable manner.
~ To influence public policies in favour of the poor.
~ To strengthen networks and linkages between and among formal and
informal institutions that can foster and sustain the impact of development
initiatives.

£.G L

M RADA is committed to doing its part in contributing to achieve the

Millennium Development Goals. Very recently, an attempt was made to
categori e M RADA¶s records to date in support of the MDGs. Some of its
goals are as follows:

‘
ù r dic t
tr m P v rt nd n r

ù Ac i v Univ r Prim r d c ti n

ù Pr m t G nd r it nd mp w r W m n


ù dc
idrtit nd mprvtrnt


ù mbt A D ,Tbrci,rindt
rirDi


ù nr nvirnmnttinbiit


ù GbPrtnr
iprDvmnt

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger:

1.1. Formation and strengthening of Self Help Affinity Groups

(SHGs/SAGs): Over 10,000 such groups have been promoted directly by
M RADA till date. Through the efforts of M RADA and in collaboration with
other institutions like NABARD, the State and Central Governments in India,
and multi lateral agencies like IFAD, UNDP, UNOPS, etc., the SHG concept
has been transformed into a national and regional movement. As a result of
policy influencing, lending regulations have been modified to include priority
sector loans directly to SHGs and without asking for beneficiary lists or pre-
formulated loan utilisation plans.
Membership in MYRADA-facilitated SHGs is over 160,000 of whom more
than 95% are women. They control a Common Fund of over Rs.1.1 billion (own
savings, interest earned on loans given to members, bank interest, etc.). They
have advanced over 1.1 million loans amounting more than Rs.2.7 billion. Thus,
they have created money in the hands of people, given them the choice to
negotiate with others, to cope with adversities and to pursue their aspirations.

‘
 l
 il  ii Apart from the resettlement of
Tibetan refugees that marked the origin of MYRADA, it has also enabled the
resettlement of over 10,000 others (Srilankan repatriates, and released bonded
labourers) on lands allotted by the Government. As a consequence of these
experiences, MYRADA was also approached by and assisted the Government
of Karnataka and assisted in the preparation of rehabilitation plans for around
20,000 families being displaced by a major dam project (the Upper Krishna
Project).

‘    
 i  i   so that investments in economic
spheres translate into actual increases in income. To give an example, in
villages bordering forests there is no guarantee that investments in agriculture
will result in better yields when the crops are subject to predation by wild
animals. In rainfed drylands, without investment in soil and water conservation
activities agriculture is a risky proposition. Hence, MYRADA strives to reduce
such risks. Promotion of LEISA, fencing of crop lands in risky locations,
construction of godowns and safe storage structures, promotion of
mixed/alternate crops, post harvest value addition, life and asset insurance, etc.
are some of the measures taken up on scale to reduce risks to the poor.

‘    i 
 
illil  is an area that
MYRADA believes holds an answer to the threatened livelihoods of the rural
poor in the current context of liberalisation and globalisation. The youth see a
greater future in the manufact uring and services sectors when compared to
dryland agriculture. MYRADA has successfully trained a number of young men
and women who have since found employment as masons, electricians,
plumbers, fitters, drivers, in the garment industry, as veterinary pro moters, food
product retailers, etc. In one location, MYRADA has also enabled a group of
over 200 young women to set up a private limited company of their own ±
where they are the shareholders, managers, and workers ± to assemble watch
straps and make gold and silver jewellery. It has also set up a Technical
Training Institute where boys and girls (including high school drop outs) can
learn trades for employment in the industrial sector. Nevertheless,
entrepreneurship development and training for employment in the non-farm
sector remains an area in which MYRADA has to expand its investments and
efforts.

‘  i  
i  iii MYRADA has always been clear that it should
not compromise its development role with the role of a financier. On the other
 hand, besides continued and as yet unmet needs for credit by the poor, there is
enormous space for innovation in the field of micro -finance that has not yet
been tapped by mainline financial institutions. Hence, MYRADA has promoted
a non-banking and not-for-profit micro-finance institution called Sanghamithra
Rural Financial Services. In the relatively short time that it has been in
operation (since January 2000), it is partnered with over 90 NGOs and has
advanced credit of over Rs.2.6 billion directly to mor e than 6,000 SHGs
(including repeat loans to the same groups). It is now well -known in the field of
micro-finance and has started to independently command the attention of others
in the field, who visit to learn from its systems and field practices.

Πl
 iiliE i 

w Donor support to MYRADA has enabled it support more than 20,000

children to complete 10 years of schooling. It is not that the children have been
given substantial material inputs to stay in school, though that has also been
done; it has been more of working with parents to convince them of the value of
schooling, and working with the government and the school committees to build
a better learning environment in schools. Around 1,580 classrooms have been
constructed for schools in rural areas. In close to 200 schools it has been
possible to provide drinking water, toilets, teaching materials, play materials,
library and laboratory materials and so on. More than 300 schools have been
supported with additional teachers to tide over staff shortages, and Myrada has
worked to strengthen school committees in over 300 schools and motivate them
to work for school betterment.
w Regular summer camps are held for children in some of MYRADA¶s
project locations with a mix of lessons and cultural activities. Teachers¶ training
programmes have been conducted in the past in the techniques of µJoyful
Learning¶. Close to examination times, special coaching classes have been
conducted each year to enable children of non -literate parents to prepare better.
w Donor support in some locations has enabled MYRADA to contribute to
an insurance programme where a lumpsum of money is realised by the time the
student completes high school. This facility has been extended to more than
5,000 children.
w As briefly mentioned under point 1.4, MYRADA has set up one
vocational training institute that is now independently registered. It offers 3 to 6
month courses in a variety of vocational skills for both boys and girls. It has
residential facilities. This institute trains upto 120 youth per year, and one of its
important features is that unlike other vocational training institutes, it also takes
in boys and girls who have discontinued school after coming up to Class 8 or 9.
w It is important to note that till date, the SHGs promoted by MYRADA
have advanced more than 20,000 loans to members to support the education of
their children. Apart from the financial facility, this indicates that the members
who are drawn from the poorer sections of society now see a futu re in investing
in their children.
 Œ l  ŒEqliE  

Ú As already mentioned, more than 95% of the membership in SHGs is of

women. The important thing to note here is not only do they now have savings
in their own name, access to credit, and have experienced a rise in status coming
in the wake of this money power, every member of each SHG also undergoes
between 8 and 14 modules of training in a variety of topics that prepare them to
face the challenges of integrating with the mainstream. To this end, MYRADA
conducts more than 5,000 training programmes for CBOs each year.
Ú A recent rapid stock-taking review has shown that more than 200 women
from self help groups have been elected to Panchayaths and other local bodies.
Ú MYRADA can take credit for organising the devadasi women of
Belgaum District (Karnataka) not only to work for their own social and
economic development but even more importantly, to carry out a movement
through which dedications of future generations of devadasis has been
effectively contained. The women now have an organisation of their own
(MASS). They have also expanded their activities to include prevention of child
marriage, besides which they have a legal support programme that is available
to all vulnerable people and not just the devadasi members of MASS. Adoption
of a similar approach directly by the Government in the neighbouring district of
Bijapur-Bagalkot, and the involvement of MASS by the Government and NGOs
to support similar movements in Raichur and Koppal districts have been other
achievements.
Ú As already mentioned in a prior paragraph, MYRADA has been
instrumental in setting up MEADOW, a Private Limited Company that is
owned, managed, and staffed by 200 young women. They are linked with a
major watch manufacturer earn wages upward of Rs.3,000 per month from
making watchstraps, assembling watches and table clocks, and crafting
jewellery. Initially, MYRADA had been asked to manage this programme
directly but refused on the ground that its role was to promote the growth of
appropriate people¶s institutions to manage their own programmes. MEADOW
had been functioning successfully for the past 8 years, has built up a good asset
base (land, buildings, machinery), and has been making profits each year. The
women themselves are respected as major bread earners in their families; they
are taking their own decisions, are no longer under pressure to marry early, and
have the freedom to do many things where earlier they were controlled by their
families.
Ú Through Community Managed Resource Centres MYRADA has been
able to establish legal help desks in more than 25 locations, and in most
locations the services are being provided mainly to women.
Ú In the last 2 years MYRADA has been able to organise around 350 SHGs
of female sex workers. Though this was not originally planned (the plan was
only to work on HIV-AIDS issues with high risk groups), the women showed
interest in forming SHGs. These SHGs are also receiving institution-building
training inputs, and some of them have also taken membership in the
Community Managed Resource Centres where they are well accepted by the
others.

Πl !il li" l#l

In RCH (Reproductive and Child Health) activities, MYRADA is identified as

Training Resource Centre for its successful interventions in training community
level RCH Resource Persons identified both by MYRADA and by other NGOs.
It also implements RCH programmes in several districts (e.g. Kolar,
Chitradurga, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Dharmapuri, Anantapur). In all these
locations it is collaborating successfully with the Government and other NGOs.

Πl$! %#"&"'()% l i(li *ill

'i

Ú Since the late 1980s, MYRADA has been extensively popularising facts
related to the µSix Killer Diseases in Childhood¶ (polio, whooping cough,
tetanus, diphtheria, measles, and tuberculosis) and has worked with the
government to promote full immunisation of all children. In this context, it has
also actively participated in the more recent Pulse Polio Campaign and has
won prizes for enabling the most number of immunisations.
Ú As early as in 1994, MYRADA pioneered a large scale rural-focussed
HIV-AIDS awareness and prevention programme to cover an adult population
of over 1 million in 4 talukas of Belgaum District, Karnataka. Using a multi -
media approach, the programme adopted many of the strategies and activities
that have since come into mainstream use in India. The programme was very
favourably evaluated by Price Waterhouse. MYRADA was invited to a
conference in Ethiopia to present its work.
Ú Currently, MYRADA is collaborating with the Government of Karnataka
(Karnataka Health Promotion Trust) and the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation on HIV-AIDS prevention and impact mitigation in 4 districts (in
38 small towns). It is in regular contact with over 12,000 sex workers (female,
male, eunuch), has established 34 drop -in centres, 750 condom outlets, 61
programme/referral clinics, more than 350 SHGs of sex workers, and is also
working with the Panchayaths and district administration to make it a
synergized effort. A similar programme is being implemented in 4 towns of
another district with the support of the Karnataka State AIDS Prevention
Society.
Ú With UNDP support, a programme to specifically reduce HIV -AIDS and
STIs vulnerability in young women is being implemented in 4 rural talukas of
one district (Bellary).
Ú MYRADA has been designated µPrime Partner¶ of the Centre for Disease
Control (CDC) Global AIDS Programme to provide HIV -AIDS awareness,
technical support, capacity building and community care in 2 districts through
public-private collaborations. On this programme it is working with 5 sub -
 grantees. As a part of this programme it has been able to initiate rural outreach
through training programmes for 2,400 SHGs. It is also providing inputs to
100 provincial colleges and 20 factories. The Red Ribbon Clubs formed in the
colleges are attracting a lot of favourable attention, and CDC¶s overall
satisfaction with MYRADA¶s efforts has resulted in its taking the assistance of
MYRADA to (i) Provide technical assistance to USAID grantees in
Maharashtra to improve their quality of work (USAID had requested CDC for
this help, and CDC has requested MYRADA for it), and (ii) Take up a
programme of Panchayath Training to raise awareness among Panchayath
Members and get their co-operation to address HIV-AIDS issues in their
constituencies. (These 2 initiatives have not y et been started but will soon be.)
Ú As a result of the above programmes, MYRADA has developed strong
links with the Karnataka Positive People¶s Network (KNP+) and its district
chapters. Consequent to this engagement, KNP+ has been involving
MYRADA to facilitate vision building exercises for its district chapters and
also to strengthen its own accounting and management systems.
Ú MYRADA has also been taking up HIV-AIDS awareness as a µcredit-
plus¶ training activity for self help group members on almost all its project
locations.
Ú In addition to HIV-AIDS and STIs, MYRADA is also addressing
problems like tuberculosis, leprosy, diabetes, diarrhoea, etc. in needed
locations through public and private collaborations.
Ú Since disease manifestations are closely linked with the status of water
and sanitation, MYRADA is also engaged in drinking water and sanitation
programmes on a large scale, both on its own and in collaboration with the
Government. Its initiative to promote the construction of home toilets through
the creation of loan funds (mobilised from UNICEF and managed by SHG
Federations) is regarded by UNICEF as the first initiative of its kind, about
which UNICEF has made a video document; it has also ushered in policy
change through which funds are being created a t the level of each Block for
the Government to advance as loans for toilet construction.

Πl+EEi li%ili

MYRADA¶s commitment to work on environmental sustainability issues is

most obviously manifested in its efforts to promote watershed development in
rainfed drylands. As early as in 1983-84, it was the first NGO to be formally
invited into a partnership with the Karnataka State Government and a bi -lateral
agency (Swiss Development Cooperation) to work on participatory i ntegrated
development of watersheds in a drought prone area. The experiences and
lessons from there have fed into the refinement of the watershed development
approach in India.

Currently, MYRADA is the State Partner to the Watershed Development

Department in Karnataka on the World Bank assisted Sujala Watershed
Programme. It is also the Lead NGO for this programme in 2 districts, besides
being directly involved in implementing the works on 35,000 hectares (under
the Sujala Programme).

Until last year, MYRADA had both supervisory and implementation roles on a
large watershed programme supported by DFID and managed by the Karnataka
Watershed Development Society. It was also involved in a forestry programmes
in partnership with the India-Canada Environment Facility (in Andhra Pradesh,
where it formed a network of 8 other NGOs to collaborate on this programme),
and with DFID (in Karnataka, mainly to orient the Forest Department Staff on
how to be more people -friendly and engage in participatory forestry
development). With regard to regeneration of arid lands and forest management,
MYRADA¶s major contributions have been in two areas : (i) Direct
involvement in the regeneration of arid lands and promotion of forestry on
watershed principles, with appropriate tech nical and management inputs and
through appropriate local level institutions, mainly undertaken in Anantapur
district (Kadiri), Chitradurga district (Challakere), and Gulbarga district
(Kamlapur and Chincholi). (ii) Promoting the adoption of participatory
approaches by the Forest Department through training of all cadres of their
staff, mainly operationalised in the Western Ghats Project (Karwar district).

MYRADA, in almost all its project locations, is also supporting watershed

development work with the support of NGO partners like Novib, German Agro
Action, etc. and in collaboration with district governments under State and
Central programmes. Through such government and private partnerships,
treatment works have been/are being carried out on approximatel y 150,000 ha.
of land in various locations.

As already mentioned, MYRADA is partnered with UNICEF and the district

governments on school and household level water and sanitation programmes in
Tamilnadu and Karnataka. (It was earlier involved in the World Bank ±
Government collaborative Integrated Rural Water Supply and Sanitation
Project). Very recently, it is collaborating with a Bangalore -based NGO ±
Arghyam Foundation ± on water resources augmentation and management in
two locations.

Environmental protection and promotion are also encouraged through an

increasing focus on LEISA technologies and a fuller utilisation of agricultural
and domestic µwastes¶ (through biogas, vermicomposting, eco-san toilets,
indigenous growth promoters and pest repellents, ra in water harvesting, tree
planting on field bunds, etc.), all of which are being promoted on a large and
significant scale and are also being visited by other organisations (e.g. one
location in Erode District had no fewer than 1,500 visitors in 2005-2006, from
farmers, other MYRADA projects, State Governments, Central Government,
overseas NGOs, Agricultural Universities, etc.)
 Œ l,Œl %li
'l 

MYRADA¶s NGO partnerships contribute in no small measure to enabling

wider global links. Besides, it is a part of networks like Banking with the Poor
and the Asian NGO Coalition that not only create platforms for dialogue but
also undertake joint activities for wider sharing and learning. Of late, it is also
engaged with e-groups on subjects like poverty reduction, HIV -AIDS,
livelihoods promotion, micro-finance, etc.

l
#l  i-"ii ./ 0"/1 Perhaps this does not fit
in under µGlobal Partnerships¶ but to MYRADA it is an important effort.
Initiated in one district (Chitradurga) and subsequently replicated in four other
locations (Kadiri, Mysore, Gulbarga and Chamarajanagar), this is a network
promoted by MYRADA and focussed on devel oping common data base,
sharing of information and experiences, capacity building, and commitment to
the maintenance of mutually accepted quality standards in field work,
particularly in the promotion of SHGs. It is a formal platform for NGOs,
Government, Banks, and other support organisations to interact with one
another on a regular basis. It has been playing a very useful role in the sector.

The Executive Director of MYRADA is on several national and international

bodies as an Advisor/Consultant to deliberate on development policy and
practice (e.g. Consultant to IFAD, Member of Reserve Bank¶s Committee on
Financial Inclusion, Member of the National Committee to reformulate
Watershed Guidelines, etc.)

A.WORK:-
Sharing and Learning:
MYRADA believes that one
of the major sources of
learning is to share. In support
of this belief, it annually
responds to over 300 requests
from bankers, governments,
NGOs, teaching and research
institutions, international
agencies,etc.with training
programmes in the areas of
micro finance management
through self-help affinity groups, watershed management systems and NGO
organizational and financial systems. These experiences in sharing have been
both adhoc and in the context of a long -term programme where MYRADA
offers support over a period of to 5 years. Examples of this long-term support
have been in Cambodia, in three states in the North East in collaboration with
IFAD, in Haryana with the Mewat Development Agency and IFAD and in
Myanmar through UNDP MYRADA has learned a great deal through these
joint ventures. The benefit of sharing is also experienced when MYRADA's
own staff visit other institutions to learn from them.

Capacity Building in MYRADA

MYRADA has been conducting capacity building programmes for various
categories of participants in the past decade. Over 7000 training programmes
are conducted on our projects annually, of which 90% are for community -based
organisations from our own project areas and from elsewhere. MYRADA has
ten rural training centres in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra
Pradesh.

1.KARNATAKA

Ú HD Kote ± Mysore
Ú Holalkere ± Chitradurga
Ú Huthur ± Chamarajnagar
Ú Kamalapur ± Gulbarga
Ú Kamasamudram ± Kolar

2. ANDHRA PRADESH
 ~ Kadiri - Anantapur
~ Madakasira (Agali, Gudibanda and Gayatri Colony) ± Anantapur

3.TAMIL NADU

w Achettipalli - Hosur ± Dharmapuri

w Arepalayam ± Erode
w Talamalai ± Erode

These centres are located within MYRADA¶s Project areas so that all the
training/exposure programmes conducted will be based on field experiences and
interactions.

ili-2'.i 
ii- 

MYRADA has so far only

responded to requests for
training from interested
institutions and therefore
does not have a published
training calendar.
MYRADA arranges
training on its various
projects based on the needs
of the client after
considering the following aspects: Training needs of the participants Profile of
the participants: Job responsibilities, language preferences, distances from
MYRADA training centres Development strategies envisaged in the client
organisation Follow-up support required MYRADA also provides long -term
training partnership/ mentoring support to other institutions either on
MYRADA¶s Projects or in the location of the client institution¶s own work
areas.


  i%ili- 

Broadly the areas that MYRADA trains/mentors in or exposes to are:

~Concept of Self Help (Affinity) Groups ± for credit management and

empowerment, facilitating SHG development, monitoring in SHGs (including
Participatory Impact Monitoring), capacity building for SHGs, federations of
SHGs, building linkages between SHGs and other institutions etc .
~Watershed management through people¶s institutions: Concept of participatory
watershed management, building people¶s institutions for watershed
 management, planning of watershed management programmes, monitoring
and evaluation (including Participatory Impact Monitoring), resource
mobilisation for watershed management, building visions for sustainable
resource management, etc.
~Participatory Community Development Approaches: Participatory Planning,
Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation of development i nterventions.
Building ownership in community development, building appropriate people¶s
institutions for resource management, PRA, Project Management for NGOs.
~Appreciative Inquiry: MYRADA has been involved in a recent experiment in
applying Appreciative Inquiry for community development. We will be happy
to share our experiences with other development agencies.

× iz

Keeping in view effectiveness of training ± MYRADA prefers batch sizes of not

more that 20-25 persons
per programme.

3--

MYRADA offers
training in Kannada,
Tamil, Telugu and
English (and in some
cases Hindi). In case the
participants are
unfamiliar with all these
languages, we prefer to
have at least two-three persons in each batch who are proficient in any of the
above-mentioned languages to facilitate translations.

4 ilii

MYRADA's training centres offer simple shared accommodation and a variety

of South Indian menu for food. The training halls are themselves fully equipped
for training. MYRADA arranges for travel within the Project from a pick-up
point, which will be specified in our communication. The participants
themselves must pay for all transit costs at Bangalore/other cities« though
MYRADA will arrange for accommodation and other services if required.

)ii- ! 

The training schedule is prepared based on the requirements of each batch.
There is a great amount of flexibility in the training content. Participatory
training methodologies are used and the trainers are drawn from the Projects
themselves and sometimes from other institutions. All the training programmes
will involve at least 40% of the time on the field with assignments.

×-

The budgets and mode of payment for the programmes depend on the duration
of the training, category of participants and the programme requirements and
will be communicated on formal request.

å.MYRADA's Common Fund

The common fund (CF) receives cash receipts from membership fees,
savings, donations, fines, and loan recoveries, while cheque receipts include
institutional contributions from MYRADA, CAPART, NBARD and
commercial banks. A major part of the CF is held in a bank account opened in
the groups name. All withdrawals by cheque is based on meeting resolutions. A
small part of the CF is held in cash to advance emergency loans, besides loan
recoveries that are to be deposited in the bank. Cash advances are based on
meeting resolutions or ratified in case of small emergency loans. Cheques
payments are made for refund of loans to institutions, loans to beneficiaries,
payments for assets of members that were purchased in bulk etc. while cash
payments are made for loans to beneficiaries and to meet incide ntal expenses.

As experience mounted, ideal characteristics of a workable group formation

strategy emerged: small size, voluntary participation, high initial intervention by
NGO, economic and social homogeneity, effective, decentralized and
democratic participation, basic knowledge in literacy and numeracy, etc. This
was later concretized by forming of Credit Management Groups (CMGs) Such
groups helped not only in the usual 'backward and forward' linkages, but in
sideways linkages as well - that is, support from a group to a family to become
economically viable and self -reliant. Asset management was also better
administered by groups rather than the individual family or household. Savings
from the group was a critical starting point for all activity, creat ing self-
confidence among other things, among the members. More than 4,000 such
homogeneous small groups have been formed by MYRADA in South Asia.

These autonomous and voluntary groups fostered the emergence of innovative,

appropriate and replicable ideas on a continuing basis by providing the people
opportunities to come together and to share and learn from each other's
experience. Latent values of group support, traditional to most societies, came
to the fore with such groups.

A key feature of the savings and credit programmes of MYRADA is the

Group's Common Fund (CF).
Membership fees, regular savings,
fines imposed for not having
satisfied limits in savings or loan
repayment, interest payments and
other sources are used to build up
the fund. The CF also demonstrates
the Group's seriousness in credit
management. This is used to
convince Banks, and other financial institutions to lend to the group who will
then onlend, in small amounts, to its members. Loan disbursal/recovery, terms
and conditions etc. are decided by the group itself, with advice in training,
suggestions from NGOs and Banks etc. Figure 5.3 explains the growth and
utilization of the CF within a group.

The significance of MYRADA's programmes can be seen in the involvement of

all three primary actors of the Triangle for group loans, deposit mobilization,
formation of small groups (in three stages: 'formation', 'stabilization', and
'empowerment'), sensitization and training of bankers etc. Roles are also
provided for the international NGO and research and training institutions for
monitoring and evaluation, grants and loans, information sharing etc.

Some of the defining characteristics that ensured successful management of the

group included:

 Participation: Effective participation in meetings , credit management etc

was possible if the groups are small, with 20-30 members.
 Regular savings, size of loans, schedules of payments and recoveries,
interest on loans etc. were decided by the group itself.
 Sanctions/fines was found to be an effective measure to avoid 'deviant
behaviour'. Most were monetary fines, but serious cases were expelled
from the group. All fines were credited to the group's common fund.
 Economic status of members - Loans and savings were offered only to the
very poor. Well-off farmers or those who had progressed as a result of the
group's assistance, were allowed to be part of the group in an advisory
capacity, but were not eligible for loans.
  Office bearers were usually
elected for one year only, to
avoid consolidation of
power. They were elected well
in advance so that training
could be provided to them
by MYRADA staff.
 Meetings were critical and
attention was paid to its
frequency, schedule and attendence (weekly meetings, fixed day and
time, attendence register etc.)
 Rules governing conduct, behaviour, management of finance and
activities etc were framed by the group itself.
 Common funds that revolved briskly was an indicator of a "good" group -
thus it was not the amount saved in a fund, but its circulation that was a
good indicator.
 Records maintained by the group indicate the degree of transparency
adopted by its members: attendence register, meeting minutes register,
savings ledger, members pass book, receipt and payment vouchers, cash
book, loan ledgers etc. were some of the records kept by the group.

Address:

MYRADA Head Office

No. 2 Service Road

Dumlur Layout

Bangalore 560 071

INDIA

telephone: 091-80-5543166, 5564457, 5572028, 5578279

fax: 091-80-5569982

e-mail: [email protected]