Forgotten Caretakers of Our Cities

The Hindu, Sunday, January 29th 2006

THEY deftly distinguish between various types of plastic, glass and paper; they charter toxic, dangerous terrain with no protection other than the clothes they wear. Daily, they increase the value of their work material multi fold; their work saves taxpayers over Rs. 10 crores each year.

Yet they are not highly paid scientists or academics involved in cutting-edge research. They are the waste picker-women of urban India, identified by their unruly, matted hair, white gunny bags slung over their bent backs, and their torn, dirty saris. Across the socio-economic spectrum, their presence is usually met with disgust, and often, scorn.

Valuable services
This is unfortunate because waste pickers, despite the inhuman conditions in which they work, perform extremely valuable services for society. Their work aids in the reduction of handling and transport costs of waste; they save municipalities lakhs of rupees each year. They recover material from places where few dare to venture and supply raw material to recycling factories, thereby saving space at the dumping ground and also helping protect the environment. They collect biodegradable waste from households and produce rich compost. Their work directly impacts our lives in ways that many fail to notice: can we imagine how dirty our streets would get if waste pickers stopped collecting trash?

However, the contribution of waste pickers — most of whom are women — to our society is not well known or appreciated, and their plight has been all but ignored by the Government. "The State Government does not take cognisance of the benefits that these women bring to society," says Jyoti Mhapsekar, founder of Mumbai-based Stree Mukti Sanghatana (SMS), that has pioneered efforts to improve the lives of waste picker-women through its programme Parisar Vikas. "Waste pickers are the poorest of the poor in our country, yet there are few avenues available to help them improve their work and life conditions," she adds.

In a study of 1,000 waste pickers conducted by SMS in Mumbai, they found that 85 per cent of the waste pickers were women, 90per cent of whom were the primary breadwinners in their families. Many were widows or had been deserted by their husbands; the majority of those married had husbands who were alcoholic and unemployed. Nearly all were illiterate, with no alternative skills. The study also found that in addition to themselves, waste pickers often had to support children, parents and extended family members.

Exploitation by middlemen is a major challenge they face. After collecting and sorting the dry waste from the dumpsite, they sell the sorted waste to middlemen who offer them only a few rupees per kg. The dry waste is then passed to the hands of various other middlemen, its value increasing multi fold every step of the chain, until it finally reaches the recycling factories where, says Mhapsekar, "it is sold at the price of gold". Waste pickers are forced to accept the low prices offered by middlemen because they have no alternatives for generating money, and are unaware of the value of the sorted waste. In addition, they are dependent on these middlemen who often act as moneylenders, accountants and advisors. "Though recycling factories operate on the hard work of these women, the women get peanuts, while the middlemen quite literally become millionaires," says Mhapsekar.

Combat exploitation
To combat the exploitation faced by waste picker-women, SMS has established various programmes to increase their bargaining power and social organisation. Microsaving schemes encourage women to build the habit of saving; micro credit schemes allow them the financial security to make business decisions to improve their situations. The provision of autorickshaws to the women enables them to cut out the `transportation middlemen' from the chain, thereby sizably increasing the women's profits. Additionally, SMS has lobbied to secure direct waste-collection contracts with residential establishments and with the Mumbai municipality, thus allowing women to have access to more valuable and less-dangerous household waste.

Though household waste is the most desirable option among different types of waste, organized networks of men usually dominate residential contracts, with most waste picker-women being relegated to the dumpsite. "At the dumpsite, every kind of waste is mixed together: medical, industrial, chemical and household waste. As a result, sorting the valuable waste is not only difficult, it is extremely dangerous," explains Mhapsekar. Injuries from glass and metal pieces, acid bottles, needles and animal bites are common. Certain kinds of chemical waste, when exposed to sunlight, give off dangerous gases, which are highly flammable and cause respiratory diseases. "Sometimes men light their bidis atop the mounds, setting miles of waste on fire," she adds.

Quality of life
Recognising the importance of health, training and education in improving the quality of life of the waste pickers, SMS regularly holds health camps for women and children along with workshops on topics such as disease, sexuality and women's special health needs. Trainings on biocomposting, vermiculture and gardening have enabled nearly 250 former waste pickers to gain alternative employment. SMS also organises awareness-raising sessions for children of waste pickers on issues such as adolescence, drug de-addiction and value-education.
They have initiated various education programmes for girl-children of the waste pickers to enable them access to employment options other than waste picking.

Despite the enormous challenges in its path — threats from middlemen, apathy of the government, extreme poverty and ignorance of women, to name a few — SMS has succeeded in building an innovative, successful model for waste treatment. "We are happy that numerous organisations from around the country have replicated our model in their localities," says Mhapsekar. Perhaps a major reason for Parisar Vikas' success has been its dogged pursuit of collaboration with the government, private sector and ordinary citizens, as a result of which they have been able to land key contracts with municipalities and waste treatment plants. Their efforts have greatly expanded the horizon of employment and learning opportunities for waste picker-women. "The work of Parisar Vikas," concludes Mhapsekar, "highlights the reality that women from marginalised groups need not be passive victims of poverty and human rights violations; they can successfully participate in the struggle to survive, to gain control over economic, social and political resources, and lead a life of dignity."
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Read the article at: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2006/01/29/stories/2006012900150400.htm

Micro No More

Women's Feature Service, January 16th 2006

For most people, an earthquake merely connotes disaster. Yet for many women of Maharashtra's Sonvati village, it was the Latur earthquake of 1993 that heralded positive transformation in their lives. Indeed, that was when Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) began its microfinance initiatives in their village and in villages across disaster-affected areas of Maharashtra.

Each woman assembled at the self-help group (SHG) meeting in Sonvati eagerly awaits her turn to describe the remarkable change that microcredit has brought into her life. Before SSP began in her village, Serekha Mude says, "I could never leave my home. Not only could I not talk to other men, I was even forbidden from speaking to other women." She began secretly
attending SHG meetings when her in-laws and husband were working in the fields. She initially applied for a loan of Rs 1000 to buy an ice-cream maker, and began a modest enterprise. Today, with a small clothing store, and more pieces of machinery - including an oil-press, mirchi grinder and atta chakki - she has a flourishing business and even employs several people. "Attitudes have changed dramatically. My husband has stopped drinking and beating me, and is proud of the work that I do," she says.

Mude is, in fact, part of a growing tribe of small-scale entrepreneurs from around the world benefiting from the growth of microfinance, a form of banking that provides financial services to those who traditionally have not had access to these services due to social, economic and geographical barriers. From Bolivia to Haiti and Congo to the Philippines, poverty-stricken people - many of whom are women - have been able to improve the quality of their lives due to improved access to financial services through socially-driven microfinance initiatives.

In India, microfinance initiatives have largely been initiated by NGOs that offer financial services - small loans and savings services are the most common - to groups of poor women. (Group models and sizes differ around the world, but in India the most common operating model is the SHG model, in which 15-20 women form a group.) The microfinance initiatives are usually packaged with a diverse array of support services aimed at improving the lives of the women. SSP, for instance, regularly holds awareness-raising workshops on issues as diverse as health, technology and water conservation for its SHG members.

Development institutions have been quick to recognise the importance of microfinance as a weapon against poverty; the United Nations had named 2005 as 'The Year of Microcredit'. Research has found that poor people not only benefit from access to affordable credit, but they also benefit from and value a diverse package of financial services. Through unique offerings -
such as savings schemes and cattle, crop and life insurance - microfinance initiatives in tandem with appropriate social interventions can help cushion the impact of a disaster that would otherwise have the effect of pushing poor people further into poverty.

Microfinance Institutions also differ from mainstream banks in that most specifically target women clientele. Grameen Bank of Bangladesh - the success of which inspired thousands of others across the world to replicate the experiment - has nearly 3.7 million borrowers, 96 per cent of whom are women.

But in a world where men constitute the majority of the labour force, why target women? In his autobiography titled 'Banker to the Poor', Grameen Bank founder Mohommed Yunus writes, "Not only do women constitute a majority of the poor, the underemployed, and the economically and socially disadvantaged, but they more readily and successfully improve the welfare of both children and men."

Indeed, not only are women more successful than men in improving their own lives and those of people around them, they also make for more creditworthy clients. Research indicates that along with being more likely to repay their loans on time, women also build social networks that encourage others to repay their loans.

Leading Indian microfinance institutions Spandana and SKS mandate that all their clients be women. The banks' low default rates and high returns on assets indicate that this is not a bad
strategy. According to Mix Market, a web-based microfinance information platform, in 2005, Spandana reported a return on asset of over 8 per cent - a rate better than that of even some of the most successful global banks.

The prospect of realising profits while providing financial services to the poor is creating a ripple among mainstream financial sectors. Though some decry what they consider to be "profiteering from the poor", more and more mainstream institutions across the world are beginning to dip their toes in the sector as they realise that the poor can be creditworthy and valuable clients who, like the wealthy, also are in need of financial services. ICICI, India's largest bank, has seen its microfinance portfolio outstanding grow from US$ 4.5 million to US$ 227 million over the last four years, and plans to increase these figures significantly over the decade. (United Nations Capital Development Fund, October 2005) Other banks, such as HSBC, Citigroup, and ABN Amro are showing interest. Private equity is also starting to trickle in; last month, private equity investor and Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla made an equity investment of US$ .25 million in a Hyderabad-based microfinance institution called Cashpor.

A consensus is emerging that commercial interest in the sector is not only welcome, it is vital if microfinance institutions are to be sustainable, and if microfinance is to truly make a dent in global poverty. Studies indicate that the global demand for microfinance is tremendous; the
Economist magazine (November 2005) estimates there are thousands of crores worth of unmet demand in India alone. It is widely acknowledged that traditional sources of funding - from donors, development and charitable institutions - are insufficient to meet the demand.

More credit availability would certainly be welcome to women like Premila Jadhav, who would like to expand her business. She wants to open a bakery, and has approached her SHG for funds. While adjusting her pallu, she looks thoughtfully at the piece of paper in front of her and completes a profit calculation. One woman explains how she is happy because microfinance has
given her knowledge of the world around her (gyan), while another adds, "I'm grateful to microcredit; it has given me experience and courage."

Though it may not be a cure-all, the twin bottomlines offered by microfinance can only be a good thing for Mude and her sisters.

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Published by the Deccan Herald: http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/Jan202006/she1344202006120.asp