If someone had told Raimat Bai a few years back that she could make decent money by selling vegetables, then she should have laughed. Today at 43, she is not just an entrepreneur but a role model for others.

She narrates her journey from a shy housewife to a successful vegetable seller making her way to an owner of a grocery shop.

“I was completely depended on her husband’s income for her needs and necessaries”, says Raimat Bai, a tribal farmer woman from Devargaon Village of Chhattisgarh.

“My transformation began in 2016 when XISA was implementing Caritas India supported ‘PESA Hamara Haq’ program in my village. I was capacitated through various trainings, right based workshops which helped me start speaking for woman rights and raising various issues centered around women empowerment”, she says.

She even led some of the campaigns at the village and block level like Nasha Mukti, open defecation etc. Since then she has been an active woman leader in the village fighting for justice for women and marginalized in the village.

Though Raimat Bai was taking initiative and working for social change in the village she was still enslaved in term of her financial dependency of her husband for her day to day needs.

Her husband Surajbhan is a farmer who gathers crops once in a year from the field and during off-season used to engage in daily wage work. Sometimes, Raimat Bai used to involves in labour work with community women.

Recognising the energy and leadership quality of Raimat Bai, Gram Nirman team suggested her to start up some business in order to be empowered and self-reliant. The initial challenge for her was to gather finance to initiate her business.

The Gram Nirman team decided to support her with the Income Generation Program (IGP) fund under the program. She shared this news with her husband, but it was not accepted due to the social stigma in the village and lack of confidence in women becoming an entrepreneur.

Raimat Bai was confident and committed to take this step and she decided to go ahead with her plans. She was supported with INR 5000/ under Gram Nirman program funded by Caritas Australia along with guidance and training on being an entrepreneur.

Recollecting the past she says, “I had to face a lot of rejection from my husband and community. I struggled to secure a proper place in the market to set up her vegetable shop and often chased by other shop keepers.”

She was alone to carry vegetables to market every day. Sometimes even she had to face great loss in her business because vegetables would rot for not being sold for a long time, but all this could not shake her confidence. Moreover, she was always visited and motivated by Gram Niram team.

As time passed, gradually her hard work started paying off and giving results. She secured a parament place in the market and began earning income on an average amount Rs. 500 to Rs. 600 every day. Eventually, her business expanded.

“During COVID 19, the savings sustained the family and my husband also started supporting me. During the lockdown, the markets were closed, I used to travel from village to village to sell vegetables which was a tiring task for me”, exclaimed Raimat Bai.

She purchased a bike for her husband with a payment INR 30000/ to the bank and rest on EMI, which she is paying regularly. Now the couple moves village to village on the bike and sells vegetables. She has also put up a new Grocery shop in the village which is looked after by her son.

Raimat Bai has become a role model for all women in the village. She is a tribal entrepreneur who never gave up. As a result, she is self-reliant in term of money and decision making.

“Indeed, I was active in social activities at village level but there was a lack of confidence in me because I was dependent on my husband for my needs, but now I feel confident and contented. I request all women in the village that if I can do this, then others can also do it, being self-reliant gives inner peace and joy”, says Raimat Bai.