Aalamba Internship Program
In India, 3 out of every 4 women DO NOT take part in any recognised economic activity. Only a third of women work and for only a third of a man’s pay. For rural women, this decreased access to sustainable livelihoods is compounded by poor infrastructural networks and limited mobility. The Aalamba Internship Program seeks to empower rural women to redefine their reality so that they can create or access sustainable livelihoods for themselves.
A Brief History
Livelihood facilitation has been a core work area of Headstreams since inception.
From 2009-2014, Headstreams set up 50 SHGs in Bengaluru through its Aalamba Livelihood Program. Over 1000 women participated and 96 livelihood units (food and other eateries, tailoring, trade, sari and garment sales, services, product manufacturing and other value-added services, etc) were set up.
Aalamba Internship Program
Today, Headstreams works with groups of rural women in the villages of Kolar District, Karnataka. Across our work areas, women have begun forming Aalamba SHG groups. Through the Aalamba Internship Program, the members of these groups will be able to access
- Employment experience and stipend (short-term financial asset strengthening) as well as bank linkages and knowledge of various available schemes
- Social support through the SHGs and subsequent increased status in community
- Safe working space of Skill Development Centre close to their homes
- New employable skills and other lifeskills
- Techniques of processing local natural resources into saleable eco-friendly products
The internship will offer training to the members to emerge as independent production units over a span of 3 years.