Gambling with the Monsoon
India is an agrarian country with 52% of its people employed in the agricultural industry. As I rode the train between some of India’s southern states during my last trip there, there was no shortage of evidence of this. Outside of the major cities in rural areas, you are surrounded for miles by farm crops […]
Sharing in Success – Microfinance in Gujarat
Sony Ben lives in Nadapa village near Bhuj in the state of Gujarat. She was abandoned by her husband and left to care for three children with her meagre income. Sony Ben has a wonderful talent for creating elaborate designs with needlework, which is a local form of traditional art in some rural parts of […]
Helping the Poorest
Micro-credit is hailed by many as a “magic bullet” with the potential to eradicate poverty and empower women, and providing the poor with access to affordable credit has become a central plank in development strategies. Important research is emerging, however, which suggests that the “poorest of the poor” are under-represented in micro-credit programs. For example, […]