Mahila Umang Producers Company, the network of hill women from Kumaon region of Uttarakhand with brands like Himkhadya, Kumaoni and Handknits has received Dr Andreas Schild Memorial MOUNTAIN Prize, 2021.
UMANG was awarded the prize on 11 December on ‘International Mountain Day’ by ICIMOD. ICIMOD creates awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development, and to build alliances that will bring positive change to mountain peoples and environments around the world. The theme for this year was– “sustainable mountain tourism” –Mountain tourism provides great incentives for communities to preserve heritage and culture and to promote landscape and biodiversity conservation.
This year the mountain regions have experienced unprecedented challenges like Covid and Climate change realities. This Award is for the innovative work supporting women’s self-help groups in Ranikhet during the Covid 19-pandemic. This award is for the agility and responsiveness of the organization that helped them to present solutions to tackle the Covid crisis along with sustainable mountain development.
The degradation of fragile ecosystems in the Himalaya and the negative impact that it had on sustainable mountain farming systems are always considered to be threats. Traditional food insecurity, economic insecurity, out-migration and increasing numbers of women headed households are a regular feature in the Pan Himalayan region. To help find a balance in the quality of lives among the marginalized farming communities UMANG was set up the Pan Himalayan Grassroots Development Foundation since 1992. Their focus was on issues like safe drinking water, sanitation, renewable energy and rainwater harvesting.
Grassroots has also been involved with creating a platform for establishment of on farm and off farm pro poor business ventures, with farming families as the primary stakeholder, with Self Help Groups playing a pivotal role in the planning, implementation and management of these initiatives.
Efforts over the past few years with Grass roots also led to the creation of a network of women who are involved with various viable business activities, which provide small yet significant incomes on a sustainable basis. After a decade of work the women team members of Grassroots hived out to establish a collective of several self help groups as a non profit called Mahila Umang Samiti in the year 2001. Accumulated funds are then available to members in need of micro credit, usually for healthcare, livestock improvement, housing and education. This arrangement provided members with financial independence.
SHGs provide the institutional framework for many of the community development programs, such as ecological restoration, sanitation, renewable energy, agriculture and livelihoods improvement. SHGs, build confidence and helps in gaining financial independence through engagement in sustainable income generating activities. SHGs also play the critical role of providing emotional sustenance to each other when the odds are stacked against them.
Within a span of few years, Umang’s business started including pickles, preserves, grains and hand knits. Some of them women became team leaders who assisted village women to establish businesses. Umang has provided them opportunities to step out of their homes, travel, see and experience the world and become entrepreneurs also. Each one of them have self-help groups in all the villages, and they work along with other women farmers in groups.
