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Since its inception,
Micro Finance activities of Shalom have grown
dramatically in terms of branches , groups, loan
disbursement, number of loans, loans collected,
savings clients etc. Its activity is
spread across two districts of Kerala and one
in Tamilnadu. In Kerala, the Shalom Micro Finance
has penetrated into the rural areas of Palakkad,
Pathanamthitta, Kottayam asdnd Thiruvanthapuram,
and Coimbatore & Pollachi
in Tamilnadu.
PalakkadPalakkad is situated in the central
part of the state. There are two revenue divisions
in the district – Palakkad and Ottapalam ; five
taluks, Palakkad, Chittur, Althur, Ottapalam,
and Mannarkkad and 167 villages. There are four
municipalities and 13 community development blocks
covering 90 panchayats. The economy of the district
is dominated by agriculture and naturally it
got an agricultural economy. The rural masses
derive their income basically from agro-based
activities. In fact, 70% of the population lives
on agricultural based activity, 2% are employed
in government or private firms and 28% of the
population are labourers or agricultural workers.
The district has a population of 26.17 lakhs
with a density of 596 per sq. km. The sex ratio
of the district is 1067 females to 1000 males.
Out of a total of 8,45,181 workers 3,48,299 ie.
41 % are agricultural labourers as against the
state average of 25%.
Palakkad is mainly an agrarian district blessed
with a good number of irrigation schemes. By
increasing the yield from the land, the potential
for locating units based on paddy, cotton, fruits,
etc. can be rated good. The district is well
known even outside the state for the skill of
blacksmiths who make quality cutleries. These
activities are considered under Area Development
Schemes. As far as the aspects of development
are concerned Palakkad district has been showing
healthy signs of development in the recent pasty.
The district economy has to grow @ 6.5 % so as
to meet the Tenth Plan target. The growth rates
expected from the state for the Tenth Plan under
different sectors are 3.05 % for agriculture,
5.89 % for industries and 8.17 % for the services
sector.
PathanamthittaPathanamthitta
is a landlocked district situated in the southern
part of the state and is predominantly agricultural
district. The total area of the district is 2642
sq.km, of this 1390.73 sq.km is forest area.
The district has a total population of 1231577,
as per 2001 census. The female population is
643542 and the rest is male population. The district
has one district panchayat, nine block panchayats
and 54 grama panchayats. Pathanamthitta is characterized
by true tropical diversity adorned with fertile
agricultural land, plantations and forest. Paddy,
tapioca, varieties of vegetables and spices like
cardamom, pepper etc. are extensively cultivated.
The district also abounds in extensive rubber
plantations. The district offers immense potential
for the growth of micro finance.
KottayamKottayam
district, located at the southern part of Kerala,
has a total area of 2208 sq.km. The district
is naturally divided into high land, midland
and low land, the bulk being constituted by the
midland regions. The district has 5 taluks, 95
revenue villages, 4 municipalities, 11 development
blocks and 74 panchayats. Total population of
the district is 19,52,901, according to the 2001
census. Out of this, 9,64,433 are males and 9,88,468
are females. Agriculture forms the livelihood
of the majority people in the district. It is
also the main factor influencing the economy.
Food crops as well as cash crops are cultivated
in the district. Paddy and tapioca are the main
food crops while rubber, coconut and pepper are
the main cash crops. Annual crops like plantation
and pineapple, seasonal crops like ginger, tubers,
vegetables and a wide range of perennial crops
like jack fruit, mango etc are also grown in
Kottayam district.
CoimbatoreNeedless to say, Coimbatore is an industrialized
city in Tamilnadu. In fact, it is fast emerging
one of the leading financial city in the state.
At Coimbatore, 88% of the target group is involved
in income generation activity/micro enterprises
development and are self-employed. The rest is
employed with industries. Since the city has
a vast industrial base, employment opportunities
are high and people find it easy to get employed
somewhere. Besides, there exists good scope to
set up small-scale industries in the city. In
short, Coimbatore population is depending on
the industry for their bread and butter.
Considering the industrialized structure of
the city combined with the ever growing population,
the city is rated high for all round growth.
The fact is that 28% of the population in this
region is below the poverty line and they have
no access to mainstream financial institutions.
However, financial policy changes have made far-reaching
impacts in the region. Unemployment and under
employment are major issues faced by the local
people and the labour class including coolies
and maidservants are grossly underpaid. Traditional
craftsmen and the skilled workers are struggling
to improve their income level and enhance their
productivity. Against this background, for micro
finance institutions it is the right time to
step up their activities in Coimbatore with adequate
funds.
These poor segments of the society urgently
need credit support to invest in development
programs, to expand their existing activities,
which in turn, will generate more surplus income.
Unable to get required money from the institutionalised
banks, the poor people cultivated the habit of
borrowing money from money lenders with exorbitant
interest rate.
Apart from this, they also need credit
to pay off their debt to the private money lenders
who eat away their hard-earned daily income. This
section of the society is in search of credit worthy
micro finance institutions who will offer funds
to them with nominal interest rate. |
