The 200-odd households of Dhamnod earned their living by selling farm produces to traders who would visit the village every week. The villagers got very little profit because they had no alternative other than selling their produce to middlemen who would pocket most of the profits.

The absence of a local market caused a double money drain for the community of this remote village in the Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh. “We had to spend our savings on travelling to market and for purchasing commodities, particularly food materials from the markets”, said Sairam Ahirwar a farmer. The two nearest markets for the Dhamnod community were in Gyaraspur which is eight kilometers away and in Haidergarh which is still farther at 20 kilometres.

“In one of our meetings, we discussed the possibility of starting a local weekly market. The Saksham project team encouraged us to start a local market where we can sell our products. After all, what is the need of travelling eight kilometres to buy things that we could buy from the village itself?” said Suresh Kushwah, a member of the Caritas India youth group formed under the Saksham project. Manav Vikas Seva Sangh (MVSS) started the Misereor-supported Saksham project in 15 villages of Vidisha district in April 2022 to help farmers gain more control over agriculture. As part of the program, the Saksham team raised and strengthened farmer’s groups, youth groups, and women’s groups.

“We consulted with the elders of the village and discussed with the Panchayat members. We also mobilized the farmers and informed them about the benefits of Haat Baazar (weekly market). After six months of consultations, a consensus was generated in the village to start a Haat Baazar”, said Premchand Ahirwar the president of the Bajrangbali youth group. Once the consensus was reached, the farmer group and the women’s group of the village also joined the campaign. The group members requested the Sarpanch to obtain the necessary legal and administrative clearances for starting the local market. “We had made a representation before the Sub Divisional Magistrate for starting the market on Saturdays on the community land in the village. After completing the formalities, we were given the administrative clearance for the Haat Baazar”, said Mahesh Rona, the Dhamnod Sarpanch.

Mr. Mahesh further said that the village community constituted a 6-member committee comprising community leaders, youth leaders, farmers, and panchayat members to the management of the Haat Baazar. The committee was also tasked with the responsibility to address the grievances of sellers and address any dispute on space sharing arising at the marketplace.

After all the preparations, which included extensive mobilization of farmers, the first weekly market started on 24 September 2022 with 12 farmers opening their stalls. “It was a new experience of opening a shop and selling something. I didn’t even know how to weigh things. But I sold bottle guard, tomato, potato and chilly pepper that I grew on my farm”, said Dheeraj a young farmer with a gleeful smile. Gradually the number of farmers’ stalls increased. The Haat Baazar which started with 12 stalls zoomed to 80 stalls in just two months.

“The haat bazaar is a big relief for the unemployed youth as well of the village, as many of them started some shops/stalls like Paani-puri, Chai, Grocery and Mobile accessories etc. in the market”, said Mr. Anil Lodhi a youth who recently started a Paani-Puri stall in the weekly market.

“When the market starts at 12 noon, the entire village becomes full of life with the hustle and bustle. Now people from the nearby villages also come to our village for purchasing things. I normally earn around Rs. 2000 profit by selling vegetables”, said Ratan Kushwah a farmer. The weekly market operates from 12 noon to 9 pm on Saturdays.

“Initially we were hesitant to start a stall because we have never sold anything in the market. Our women farmers’ group members had decided that we would try our luck at selling our goods. Fortunately, our decision to start our stalls succeeded”, said Mrs. Lata Kumar one of the first four women farmers who opened stalls in the weekly market.