Madhulika Ramteke
Madhulika Ramteke is an Indian social entrepreneur from Chhattisgarh. She founded a microfinance bank run by women and works with survivors of domestic abuse. She has received the Nari Shakti Puraskar in recognition of her achievements.
Career[edit]
Ramteke is from Rajnandgaon district in the state of Chhattisgarh.[1] She grew up in an illiterate household and after studying at school taught her parents to write. Ramteke became an Indian social entrepreneur when she set up a self-help group for women in her village, which founded the Maa Bamleshwari Bank in 2001, in order to support local projects through microfinance.[2] Ramteke pooled her savings with other women and began to lend to other women who wanted to pay for things such as healthcare or buy a second-hand bicycle. The bank then began to lease land and by 2012, it had 5,372 branches and was still completely run by women.[3] It is composed of small self-help groups in which 80,000 women are involved.[3] Ramteke works with female survivors of domestic abuse and teaches villagers skills such as how to grow yam and how to manage vermicompost.[4] She believes that use of chemical fertilisers can lead to bad health and that compost created naturally by worms produces better tasting food.[2] Moreover she believes that these chemical fertilisers make you unwell.[2] In 2018 she organised better sanitation in 64 villages.[4]
Ramteke's self-help group set up three societies in 2016: one began to farm cow milk for sale, a second grew Hara Bahera (an ayurvedic herb) and the third cultivated Sitafal (sugar-apple) in order to produce ice cream.[1] In recognition of her achievements, Ramteke was awarded the 2021 Nari Shakti Puraskar by President Ram Nath Kovind on International Women's Day 2022.[1]
See also[edit]
- Smita Tandi – another Nari Shakti Puraskar awardee from Chhattisgarh
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Nari Shakti Award to Madhulika, who started Maa Bamleshwari Bank". Pipa News. 9 March 2022. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "A social worker who encouraged women to be financially independent". Progressive Farmers. 24 March 2022. Archived from the original on 8 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
- ^ a b Mishra, Neeraj Mishra (30 July 2012). "Thousands of rural women in Chhattisgarh come together and start a banking revolution". India Today. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Madhulika Ramteke Honored with 'Nari Shakti Puraskar'". Drishti IAS. 10 March 2022. Archived from the original on 8 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.