SST’s primary approach is to facilitate group of 10 to 20 poor women belonging to the same village and sharing a common socio-economic background to form a group. These groups, commonly known as SHG, enable its members to gain their identity as individuals, while realising and utilising the immense power of mutual aid. The SHG gives them strength as collectives and provide a platform where they can access government schemes, banks and negotiate with market.
SST has initiated livelihood finance to the SHG members so that, more people can be productively involved and programmes can be sustained independently. SST strives to develop specific models to address the need of the community like Islamic banking (in Muslim community interest rate is a big issue in the SHG) or community led Microfinance program.
As a result of SST’s efforts, an increasing number of rural families especially women are engaging in independent livelihood activities. These activities serve as opportunities for diversifying and enhancing their incomes. These SHG members are also taking up other activities like Vegetable cultivation, fruit plantation, and goat rearing. These groups also play key role in other village development activities like watershed development and NRM. As a member of watershed committees,
