Empowering Spirits: Jyoti Gadhave’s Entrepreneurial Odyssey
Jyoti Gadhave is transforming the lives of women in her community by harnessing their entrepreneurial potential. Despite facing physical challenges, Jyoti initially found employment as a farm labourer in Waruda, a village in the Osmanabad District of Maharashtra. However, in 2019, her encounter with SSP opened new doors. Inspired by her new knowledge, Jyoti defied her family’s objections and established her own dal (pulse) mill. Today, she markets a diverse range of processed pulses both in the weekly Osmanabad market and local grocery stores in nearby villages.
Having triumphed in her entrepreneurial venture, Jyoti scaled-up her impact by training and mentoring other women in Warud and neighbouring villages to start their own small-scale enterprises, fostering financial independence and empowerment. Over the years, she has trained and supported 150+ women from 15 villages, facilitating access to loans, farming inputs, subsidies, and government schemes for small and marginal farmers.
In 2022, after receiving entrepreneurship training, Jyoti became a founding member of the Nari Shakti Utpadak Sangh – a women-led farmers group dedicated to developing a pulses value chain in Osmanabad District. Currently, the group operates in 15 villages, collaborating with over 450 farmers for raw material procurement. Jyoti actively contributes to the group’s success by assisting in packaging, branding, and marketing initiatives. Building on her achievements, Jyoti spearheaded the creation of a collective dairy business in her village in 2023, run entirely by her SHG. This women-managed enterprise handles tasks such as milk collection, cattle feed sales, and provision of cattle loans to farmers.
Beyond entrepreneurship, Jyoti plays a vital role in community development. Actively participating in meetings, she advocates for the needs of women farmers to local authorities, including the Panchayat, Gram Sevak, and Krushi Sahayak. In 2020, amidst a water-borne disease epidemic caused by unclean water, Jyoti mobilized fellow women to demand the installation of a water-purification plant. Through fundraising efforts and collaboration with the Gram Panchayat, she successfully installed an RO filter in the village and currently serves on the village-level committee overseeing its operations.
Building on her achievements, Jyoti spearheaded the creation of a collective dairy business in her village in 2023, run entirely by her SHG. This women-managed enterprise handles tasks such as milk collection, cattle feed sales, and provision of cattle loans to farmers.
Swayam Shikshan Prayog
January 18, 2024