Cherysh Secure

Social Enterprises for Women

CherYsh is committed to fostering entrepreneurial opportunities for rural women in Haliyal by identifying their skills and nurturing their potential in home-based industries. Through its initiatives, CherYsh has successfully created livelihood opportunities, empowering these women to become entrepreneurs and valuable financial contributors to their families.

The livelihood programs in Haliyal, mentored and guided by CherYsh, focus on promoting the economic empowerment of women in the region. By generating these opportunities, CherYsh aims to enhance the standard of living for women and their families while contributing to the growth of the local economy.

Livelihood and Entrepreneurship program for women

CherYsh, with its strong grassroots presence across 50 villages in Haliyal Taluk, is launching an Entrepreneurship Development Program to empower women entrepreneurs from rural and remote areas. The program aims to provide comprehensive support, including training in business development, financial literacy, project writing, and marketing strategies. This initiative is crucial as the region has faced significant economic challenges due to COVID-19 and floods, leaving many women eager to contribute financially to their households but lacking the necessary resources and guidance to start a business. Through partnerships with organizations like Selco and the Deshpande Foundation, CherYsh will guide these women in setting up and running sustainable enterprises, offering continuous mentoring and support for up to two years to ensure their success. The program also indirectly benefits 100 individuals through financial literacy training, orientation to available schemes, and market linkage support.

Project Belan

Meet Demakka, a 48-year-old woman from Havagi village in Haliyal Taluk, Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka. CherYsh NGO has been working with Demakka for over five years, during which she was part of a group enterprise supplying packaged flour to local supermarkets. When the enterprise struggled during the pandemic, Demakka sought help from CherYsh Trust to set up a roti-making machine business with her husband. At the time, CherYsh was mobilizing its Covid Rehabilitation program, aimed at creating livelihood opportunities for women in Haliyal Taluk. They recommended that Demakka conduct a feasibility assessment, and with her husband’s help, she collected data on competitors, market prices, and potential outlets. The data confirmed the business’s potential, and CherYsh helped her develop a business plan. Partnering with Selco Foundation, CherYsh approached Selco for support in starting the roti-making business in Havagi village. After visiting the village and confirming the idea’s viability, the parties involved made financial contributions to help Demakka set up the machine at home. Since installing the machine in January 2022, with the support of her husband and daughter, Demakka has sold over 50,000 rotis in one year. She now plans to establish a flour-making business with further assistance from CherYsh and Selco. CherYsh wishes Demakka and her family continued success in their endeavors.

Spoorthi Community Kitchen Enterprise

The Spoorthy Community Kitchen, led by Reshma Banu and her team, initially received financial assistance from CherYsh Trust to kickstart their venture. CherYsh also organized training sessions for Reshma and her team, focusing on the preparation, management, and marketing of food products such as pickles and spice powders. What began as a small-scale operation has now grown into a thriving enterprise with a regular customer base within the village and surrounding areas. Starting with pickle production, Spoorthy Community Kitchen has expanded its services to include catering for both government organizations and private institutions.

Sugarcane Bud Nursery

CherYsh’s agro-allied livelihood group, solely managed by women, marks a significant step towards empowering rural women in Haliyal, in partnership with EID Parry Ltd, a leading sugarcane industrial house in the region. CherYsh provided women with training, seed funding and expert advice to help them establish their own businesses. The pilot initiative, a sugarcane bud nursery in Mundwad, is already a very successful project, now in it’s fifth year. With Haliyal’s sugarcane cultivation belt offering a promising opportunity for regular income, CherYsh is exploring further opportunities to create sustainable livelihoods for rural women in the agro sector.

Mundwad Shawl Group

CherYsh is dedicated to empowering rural women through skill development and livelihood initiatives, and one of its success stories is the shawl-making business established by a group of women in Mundwad Village. Shahnaz Begum, a resident of the village, discovered her skill in ‘Khila Work,’ a tapestry technique, during a skills mapping exercise conducted by CherYsh. With the organization’s support, she launched a Khila Shawl Production Unit and trained 40 women to produce shawls and stoles to order. To date, they have sold over 500 shawls. The initiative was sparked by a tablecloth made by Shahnaz, which impressed CherYsh’s former CEO with its intricate crochet work. The women were motivated by the desire for financial independence, using their earnings to support their families’ education and healthcare needs, while their husbands supported by helping with production. CherYsh initially provided Rs10,000 to help the women experiment with their business, which required them to source raw materials like frames, nails, and wool. With each shawl taking about a day to produce, the business has grown, supported by loans from a bank. The cost of making a shawl is Rs1,500, with Rs1,000 covering materials, wages, and quality checks, leaving a Rs500 profit for the group. CherYsh also connected them with the Ministry of Textiles, which provided training, wages, and food for the women. Shahnaz’s husband, an ex-serviceman, assists with logistics and technical aspects of the business. CherYsh promotes the shawls through social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, and the group sells their products at exhibitions across India, where they set up stalls to showcase their work.CherYsh’s skill mapping initiative helped these women discover their hidden talents, which they are now using to earn an income and support their families. The women are thrilled to attend exhibitions and put up their stalls, something they were previously reluctant to do. The Mundwad shawls, which have become a trademark for the village, have put the village on the map, and people are now recognizing its cultural diversity.
The women are thankful to CherYsh for changing their lives from homemakers to business owners, with a new focus on their work and how to grow the business. The group has been fortunate enough to put up their stalls in various exhibitions across India, and they even hosted a group of students from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, who provided valuable input on how to improve their skills and business.

Vermicompost Project

Eight years ago, Fakkirappa, a seasoned farmer with a passion for innovation, began experimenting with vermicomposting, attempting to create organic compost using earthworms. However, without proper guidance and water resources, his initial efforts were unsuccessful, leaving him discouraged. Everything changed when CherYsh, a non-profit focused on sustainable development, recognized his proactive spirit and reignited his interest in vermicomposting by providing the support he needed. Alongside five other local farmers, Fakkirappa received comprehensive training near Karwar, equipping him with the skills for successful vermicomposting. CherYsh also supplied essential materials, such as composting bags and earthworms, to kick start the process. Within three months, Fakkirappa saw remarkable progress, and his compost was nearly ready. With CherYsh’s help, he even tested the compost for quality, ensuring its effectiveness. Inspired by this success, Fakkirappa began constructing a permanent vermicomposting shed, securing a long-term source of nutrient-rich compost. Vermicompost offers an organic alternative to chemical fertilizers, improving soil fertility, structure, water retention, and nutrient absorption, leading to healthier crops. This shift not only benefits the environment but also reduces Fakkirappa’s input costs and presents the potential for selling surplus compost to local farmers, creating both ecological and economic gains. What began as a failed attempt years ago has now evolved into a thriving model of sustainable agriculture, thanks to CherYsh’s guidance and Fakkirappa’s determination, showcasing how collaboration and resilience can drive meaningful change in farming practices and community livelihoods.