Self-Reliance

Senchudi, a tribal woman from Jamiguda village, once depended entirely on intermediaries to sell her forest produce. Despite her hard work in collecting hill brooms and tamarind, her income was very low, leaving her unable to meet her children’s basic education and healthcare needs.

Through the Holy Cross Livelihood Training Program, Senchudi acquired essential skills in hill broom processing and value addition to tamarind and other Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs). This training completely transformed her earning potential.

Today, Senchudi is Processing and selling hill brooms at higher market prices and preparing to begin tamarind cleaning, grading, and processing in the next season, and planning to trade additional NTFP products independently and confidently negotiating her own rates, without relying on middlemen.

She proudly shares:

“Before the training, we sold our products raw and earned very little. Now I know how to process them myself and earn a fair price. This gives me hope for my children’s future.”

With access to small loans for transportation and trading, she believes she can further increase her income and ensure her family’s long-term stability.