Marketing expert Remke Vet and Women on Wings Director-Social Enterprises Supriya Kapoor recently worked with the management and board of directors of Udhyami Mahila Producer Company in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on the branding strategy for their food products. Supriya shared this story about a woman who she got to know during the workshop.
We met Babul Nisha (pictured in the middle), fondly called Babul didi by everyone! Babul Nisha is the President, Board of Directors of Udhyami Mahila Producer Company and was a sparkling presence in the workshop, with her humorous comments, insights and cheery smile. Her story is a fantastic example of the change that a sustainable income can bring to the life of a woman and her family.
From dependency to proud agri-entrepreneur
About ten years back she was dependent on the generosity of the village to make her ends meet, with no source of income, an ailing husband and no real future for her children. Trust Community Livelihoods took her under their fold, and slowly and steadily her fortunes changed as she became a community resource person, an agri-entrepreneur and then a board member of the all-women Udhyami Mahila Producer Company.
Today, she is the proud owner of her own house, her children hold well paying jobs, and she is the very active President of the BoD. With economic empowerment, she has turned her life around.
What stayed with me after the workshop was her confident statement, “Koi samasya hai, to sab hamare paas aate hai. Hum adhyaksh hai.” Which means, whenever there is a problem, they come to me. I am the President of the BoD.
Women on Wings and Udhayami’s partnership
Women on Wings has consulted with the Udhayami Mahila team since 2023 so that they may scale and unleash the potential of more women in rural India. We have facilitated workshops with them on business strategy and branding.
