ReNew Women India Initiative (ReWIN)
Women are particularly vulnerable to climate change because they are more prone to the adverse impacts from climate change. Their limited adaptive capacities arise from prevailing social inequalities and ascribed social and economic roles that manifest itself in differences in property rights, access to information, lack of employment and in-equal access to resources. Efforts towards ensuring access for women to productive resources, climate-smart and labour-saving technologies and practices is crucial to enhance achieve food security and nutrition, eradicate poverty and build resilience among rural households and communities.
There is a strong focus on women’s empowerment in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in the form of a dedicated Goal on Gender Equality (SDG5). One of the flagship programmes of ReNew is ReNew Women India Initiative (ReWIN), which is aimed at fostering economic independence for women by grooming them as entrepreneurs and enabling them to become ‘change-agents’ through capacity building programs and financial support. The programme also looks to instil in them requisite resilience for meeting the challenges of climate change and also gain access to the resources needed for survival.
Besides mentoring the beneficiaries to establish their business, ReNew along with its NGO partner also engaged with family members of the beneficiaries. Series of meetings were conducted with individual family members to share with them the details of the programme and their role in the journey. These women are also being recognized as “role models” in their own communities, acting as a source of inspiration for several other ladies of a similar profile who now believe they can emulate these trailblazers.
In phase 1 of REWIN, 6 model women entrepreneurs were identified from Jath village (Sangli district) in Maharashtra. As part of phase 2 of the programme, ReNew worked closely with these women to mentor and handhold them to establish their entrepreneurial ventures. Key components of phase 2 included activities like
- market survey
- undertaking risk analysis
- financial planning
- finalization of business plans
In 2019-20, ReWIN programme was expanded to Mandsaur (Madhya Pradesh) and Paniyara (Uttar Pradesh) as part of phase 1 of the programme, while the intervention was scaled up in Jath (Maharashtra) under phase 2.
In Mandsaur, the programme was rolled out in 5 villages. Local women were encouraged to form Common Interest Groups (CIG) on the basis of their area of business. 5 CIGs with a membership of 50 beneficiaries were formed in these villages. Since these women had no previous business experience, series of workshops on entrepreneurship development and financial management were organized. Mentoring sessions were held by local bank officials, who briefed them about the benefits of working as a group and how to avail benefits of various Government schemes.
Phase 1 of the programme was also rolled out in Paniyara in Uttar Pradesh in an effort to strengthen the economic & social condition of women. ReNew in partnership with district team of Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (UPSRLM), facilitated the formation and strengthening of 52 Women Self Help Groups with a membership of 634 beneficiaries in 7 villages in and around Paniyara.
Series of capacity building programmes were organized for the SHG members in partnership with India Vegetable Research Institute (part of ICAR), local bank officials and UPSRLM to enhance income generating activities for members and help them work in groups.