Palghar: A former IBM project engineer, who quit his job two decades ago at the peak of his youth to pursue organic farming in Peth (Dahanu), is now taking another leap by helping women in the area learn English to grow their business of home products.
Disheartened by his stressful life as a techie, Venkat Iyer, now 57 years old, moved with his wife Meena to Peth in 2003 to be close to nature and promote sustenance farming. He later wrote a book ‘Moong over Microchips’, which was later translated into Marathi (‘Corporatela Ramram Shetila Salam’) and became widely popular.
In December 2022, he encouraged 12 local women to form a self-help group, Nari Shakti Utpadak Gat, that makes and sells homemade staples like papad, pickle, tilgul and karanji. Iyer also bought an Android mobile for them and set up a WhatsApp account to help them market their products.
Need to learn English and desire to expand business
The quality of the products and the fair price concept helped the group reach far and wide and get repeat orders. However, the village women felt the need to learn English to develop their business further. While most of them have studied up to Class 7 or 8 in Marathi schools, none of them knew English.
Iyer tried reaching out to English teachers from Palghar and the vicinity, but tutors were reluctant to come to the village which is 25-30 km from Boisar and Dahanu. He then found Lalit Chawla, who stepped up to the occasion and sourced basic English books from an NGO Step Up India for group participants. These books have QR codes linked to audio clips.
Thanks to Iyer and Chopra, the self-help group is now training in part 1 of the course that comprises 25-week extended learning of 500 words. Iyer conducts this course free of cost every day at 3pm at a gram panchayat school after village women finish their work. He not only helps them complete the exercises but also takes up revision sessions that involve memorising alphabets and numbers.
“We all are excited and do not mind learning a new language in middle age. This will surely help us in our business and personal lives,” said Babita Desai, an exuberant member of the self-help group.
