Scaling up Bihar Development Trust
Location
We wish to bring prosperity to millions of poor Bihari homes. This change will be brought by creation and improving the livelihood opportunities with the local resources and skills available with them. The institution building, value addition, linkage with banks for financial services like savings,credit etc and market linkage will facilitate the wealth creation at the bottom of pyramid communities with which we are working. We are working with farmers, weavers and bamboo processing women groups.
About You
About You
First Name
RAVI
Last Name
CHANDRA
Facebook Profile
http://www.facebook.com/rchandra1231#!/home.php
About Your Organization
Organization Name
BIHAR DEVELOPMENT TRUST
Organization Website
Organization Phone
0612 3268682
Organization Address
A 6, Professors Colony, Chitragupta Nagar, Patna-800020
Organization Country
India
Country where this project is creating social impact
India
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
1‐5 years
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Innovation
Entry Form title
Scaling up Bihar Development Trust
What change do you want to bring to the world?
We wish to bring prosperity to millions of poor Bihari homes. This change will be brought by creation and improving the livelihood opportunities with the local resources and skills available with them. The institution building, value addition, linkage with banks for financial services like savings,credit etc and market linkage will facilitate the wealth creation at the bottom of pyramid communities with which we are working. We are working with farmers, weavers and bamboo processing women groups.
What are the primary activities of your project?
Bihar Development Trust is operating in bamboo, weaving, farming and microfinance activities in Patna, Bhagalpur and Aurangabad Districts of Bihar. Microfinance programme provides credit and insurance services and promotes savings and financial literacy among women members. BDT has disbursed more than 5000 loans to women borrowers with more than Rs.500 lakhs till date with a repayment rate of 99.5% over last three year. It has an outstanding of over Rs. 150 Lakh with around 3000 active borrowers. Tasar Silk Livelihood Programme has organized 20 weavers in Lodipur in form of Mutual Benefit Trust. It has been working with an outreach of 100-200 weavers with sales around Rs. 50 Lakh. The Lodipur Bunkar Trust has been given share in the marketing company. It has provided drinking water facility, constructed drainage and cemented the work place of weavers and conducted design workshop with designers from NIFT, NID etc to develop contemporary designs .Farmer Livelihood Programme is providing services like Institution building, input supply at fair price, Agri Extension services, market linkages, Credit to farmers at the doorstep to improve their earnings. BDT has an outreach of 1500 farmers and more than 60 farmer clubs have been formed in Aurangabad District. Bamboo Based Livelihood Programme is providing micro credit and market linkage assistance to 50 farmers to promote bamboo cultivation & employment to 300 women. NABARD supported manufacturing center in Kahalgaon area of Bhagalpur District has been set up.
What is innovative about your initiative? How is it a new contribution to the field?
Bihar Development Trust has always adopted an inclusive and innovative approach towards implementation of development projects. It has started with microfinance and slowly made transition into livelihood organization with value chain approach first for silk, then agriculture and now Bamboo. 100% of BDT beneficiaries are economically poor while more than 50% of them belong to backward caste, schedule caste and minority communities. The most innovative approach has been the model which BDT has adopted for promote market linkages for its producer owned organization by promoting marketing companies in private limited form. The income proposed has sufficient income to spend for welfare purpose as well as provide bonus to the members. BDT has decided to provide 25% shareholding to producer owned organization in these private limited companies. BDT has 35% the profit reserved for welfare work for social infrastructure and community development in localities where members reside. It has 50% of profit reserved for bonus distribution which will result in economic development of members. The model will create 100s of grass root institutions with 1000s of community leaders which will be robust enough to withstand pressures of most of market and political forces. The model will result in significant wealth creation for the members as most of the gains of the value additions are passed back to them.
What stage is your project in?
Operating for 1‐5 years
Tell us about the community that you engage? eg. economic conditions, political structures, norms and values, demographic trends, history, and experience with engagement efforts.
Bihar Development Trust is working with farmers, weavers and women Self help groups in three districts of Bihar. These communities income will be average around $50-100 per month. The Male population constitute 51% of the population and female 49% in the project area. The project area has an average literacy rate of 45 %, lower than the national average of 59.5%. The male literacy rate is 50% while female literacy is 37% approximately in the project area. The 100% of beneficiaries lived in rural areas. More than 60% of population is unemployed in rural area and mostly migrate to bigger cities of India. Most of the population is engaged in casual agriculture labour. More than 90% women are involved in housework and unskilled work in rural areas. Income earned by the women often forms the difference between abject poverty and the means to feed the family, particularly in lean months when agriculture is not an option. The farmer’s community mostly belong to backward class poor families with land holding less than an acre. The weavers’ community are weaving tasar silk fabrics for generations. Due to middle man pocketing most of profits, the weaving activity has become unrenumerative and tradition has been slowly dying. Most of the looms are not owned by weavers. We are engaging with these communities by forming community institutions like self help groups of women, mutual benefits trust of weavers and farmer club of farmers.
Share the story of the founder and what inspired the founder to start this project
Bihar Development Trust has been founded by Dr. Ravi Chandra and Mr. Dev Kumar Dubey on March 26, 2007. They have studied together in Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) during 2004-2006. Prior to this Ravi Chandra has graduated as dental surgeon from Manipal University in 2003 while Dev has been working as government employee with Employee Provident Fund, Govt of India. Both were very much disturbed by the negative image and hatred surrounding the people of Bihar when they worked or studied outisde Bihar. There was feeling of insidious regional discrimination for poeple belonging to Bihar due to its poverty and heavy migration to other states. Both have felt the stigma of from poor state while studing and working outside. To restore the pride of Bihar through their livelihood programme, both of us teamed together to register Bihar Development Trust. Dev did not joined SKS Microfinance from where he got an offer during campus placement while Ravi left his corporate job in TATA AIG LIFE to start Bihar Development Trust. While Dev manages day to day operations of the organisation as well as provides strategic inputs from ground, Ravi designs the the development programmes and raise funds for the programmes. Over last four years, BDT has become a reputed non profit organisation in development sector of India. It has provided livelihood support services to 6000 families till date. We wish to achieve our dreams to provide or create livelihood opportunities to one million families of Bihar through our livelihood programmes.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
Please describe how your project has been successful and how that success is measured
Bihar Development Trust is currently having an outreach of 2000 family in its three livelihood focused programmes namely Tasar silk weavers livelihood programme, bamboo growers and SHG livelihood programme and Farmers livelihood programme. Through these three livelihood programmes, BDT is promoting a sustainable model in which founder entrepreneurs, producers, employees, investors have win-win relationship. All the stakeholders will be given proportionate shareholding in private limited company which will be formed to provide market linkages to products produced by weavers, farmers and women SHG members. BDT has taken a value chain approach for implementation of livelihood programme. It is providing services in all primary activities like inbound logistics (aggregating raw material, improvement in bamboo breed, improvement in seeds quality etc ), operations (production and processing), outbound logistics (aggregating produce and products, transporting products like grains, fabrics sticks etc), marketing and sales (linking to buyers ), and services etc in all the three programmes. It is provided support services like institution building, design development, technical knowledge, knowledge transfer, agri extension, procurement etc. BDT is promoting the institutions owned by weavers, SHG members, Bamboo growers , Farmers in form of Mutual Benefit Trust, SHG federations, Bamboo growers club federations, Farmer Club federation and integrating them at block and district level.
How many people have been impacted by your project?
1,001- 10,000
How many people could be impacted by your project in the next three years?
More than 10,000
How will your project evolve over the next three years?
Bihar Development Trust plans to promote 384 farmer clubs, 4 federation of farmer club, 7 Weavers Mutual Benefit Trust, one federation of weavers mutual benefit trust, 80 SHG and 4 SHG federation, 4 Bamboo grower Club over three years. These institutions will be used as channel to implement the benefits of the livelihood programme and provided services with a value chain approach. The number for farmer , weavers, SHG members, Bamboo growers benefitted over three years is 8580, 350, 800, 180 respectively. The programmes increase the income of beneficiaries by 15-20% on year to year basis. Besides, the farmer programme will promote usage of Vermicompost and neem biocides over 8580 hectares resulting in reduced usage of chemicals in farm land, improving the productivity & yield of crop.
Sustainability
What barriers might hinder the success of your project and how do you plan to overcome them?
There are three risk associated with these programme. Inadequate availability of capital and revolving fund will hamper the growth and make the projection unrealistic. The raw material cost for farming, weaving, stick making may increase rendering the final price of these products uncompetitive in the market. Sudden reduction in demand due to high cost may happen for all these products. The unfair competition from powerloom products posing as handloom products is another risk for silk programme. The bamboo programme may have accident risk from fire etc for which adequate safeguards has been put in place. To manage the upside risk, adequate stock of raw material will be kept. To manage the downside risk, minimum inventory of readymade goods will be kept.
Tell us about your partnerships
Bihar Development Trust has been well partnered over last four years with national and international organisations. Its livelihood and microfinance programmes have been supported by organisations like Friend of Women World Banking Ahmedabad, NABARD, SIDBI, Ford Foundation, Sir Dorab Ji Tata Trust, All India Artisans & Craftworkkers welfare Organisation, American India Foundation, State Bank of India, CARE TODAY, World of Good Development Organisation, Indian Gramin Services, etc. The bamboo livelihood programme has been supported by NABARD whose fund has come from KFW/GIZ under indo german bilateral agreement.
Current annual budget of project, in US dollars
$100,000‐250,000
Explain your selections
Bihar Development Trust has been founded by funds contributed by 60 persons in 2007 when it was only an idea and no institution was willing to support it. It was friends , wellwishers and many individuals who believed the idea of development of Bihar who supported. Later, it has been supported by national NGOs and foundations like fiend of women world banking , sir dorab ji tata trust, american india foundation etc. Most important supporters are the customers who are paying for the cost of services that BDT has been provided to poor community.
How do you plan to strengthen your project in the next three years?
he crux is democratic institutions and transparent pricing to farmers and artisans. The institutionalization of federation of farmers clubs, weavers mutual benefit trust, SHG members and bamboo growers provide a cost advantage in long term which will be difficult for any organized corporate players to beat. The programs will be strenthened will institutionalising market linkages and quality production systems. It has potential to benefit 10 million families with these interventions.All can be scaled with market linkage and quality products. The proposed programs need to raise Rs. 64.00 million as debt while will raise Rs.10.5 million as grant from other development agencies. The besides, the project has sufficient accrual to manage the cash flow required to generate a revenue of more than Rs. 1000 million in five years
Challenges
Which barriers to employment does your innovation address?
Please select up to three in order of relevancy to your project.
PRIMARY
Restricted access to new markets
SECONDARY
Lack of skills/training
TERTIARY
Lack of access to information and networks
Please describe how your innovation specifically tackles the barriers listed above.
We are trying to find as many buyers as possible. The buyers are interested in the model through which we are able to produce their goods. This ensures good quality and reliability of supply to the buyers. Besides, we are providing training for stick making, better quality designs for weaving and improvement in yield of crops. After that we are linking the producers to various information networks through which they can improve their knowledge and leverage better buying. Also , there will be creation of three tier organisation of producers from village level to districts level to state level which will provide seamless information dissemination to its members while conduction training programmes to improve quality and scale of production.
Are you trying to scale your organization or initiative?
If yes, please check up to three potential pathways in order of relevancy to you.
PRIMARY
Enhanced existing impact through addition of complementary services
SECONDARY
Leveraged technology
TERTIARY
Grown geographic reach: Within host country
Please describe which of your growth activities are current or planned for the immediate future.
The growth is planned within Bihar over next three to five years. The farmer livelihood programme will be scaled to 15,000 farmers with agri extension technology and technology transfer for increasing crop yield. The handlooms will be improved with various addons like dorby, jacquarts with 2000 weavers. The bamboo sticks are being made with simpler technology which will be scaled up with 5000 families. There is plan of registering three private company in next three years for bamboo, weaving and agri business. The producers organisations (30%), social entreprenuers (30%), strategic investors (30%) as well as employees (10%) of the programme will be shareholder of these private limited companies. This is a win win model which ensure adequate equity and working capital for sustainable growth
Do you collaborate with any of the following: (Check all that apply)
Government, Technology providers, NGOs/Nonprofits, For profit companies, Academia/universities.
If yes, how have these collaborations helped your innovation to succeed?
The most critical collaborations are with NGO/Non profits who have provided funds and technical support as well as market linkage. We have collaborated with academia (local agri university)to improve the bamboo plantation. The for profit companies are buyers for silk (Fab India, CFM Market linkages etc) and bamboo sticks (cycle, husk power, ITC ). Technology providers have simplified the production processes, provided software for MIS and improvement of crop yield. These companies checks the production processes and provide continuous input for improvement of quality of products. BDT was able to provide user friendly machines with support of National Innovation Foundation. The private players are helping us to assist in bamboo plantation as well as vermicompost production.
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 | 33 weeks agoAnshuman Bhar said: Sir, You are doing a great Job. Bihar has always been a land of great personailties ..however to unleash the full potential within ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 33 weeks agoGarima Srivastava said: BDT's work is really appreciable.It is an honest effort being done in the right direction for the upliftment of economically backward ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 35 weeks agoRAVI CHANDRA updated this Competition Entry. |
| 35 weeks agoRAVI CHANDRA updated this Competition Entry. |
| 42 weeks agoRachna Pandey Donthi said: Dear Ravi, BDT's work is quite significant especially in a region that is considered very economically backward. Projects like these ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 42 weeks agoRAVI CHANDRA updated this Competition Entry. |
| 42 weeks agoRAVI CHANDRA submitted this idea. |
