Maya is a homemaker. She lives in village Dhalanwas, in the Jhajjar district of Haryana, in a joint family. She lives with her auto driver husband Jagdish, her children and parent-in-laws. Her elder son is married and a father of a young child. He works as a building contractor.

The household responsibility never let Maya imagine taking up any task which could help her earn money. The family never had enough financial resources, but she somehow used to manage the family expenses with small earnings of her husband. The pandemic, COVID-19, made the situation even worst.

While sharing how it has affected her, Maya says, “three of my children were still in school. The country-wide lockdown disrupted our source of earning. Around the same time Humana People to People India started the Udyogini project in our village in partnership with the Jhajjar Power Limited. The project team from HPPI started strengthening the Self-Help Groups in the villages. I was previously associated with one of the Self-Help Groups, which was not active any more. The Udyogini team started training people about better functioning of SHGs, entrepreneurship and life skills, etc. They also encouraged people to grow fresh vegetables at home, set-up Nutri-gardens and eat healthy food.”

She shared, “When this team saw a small courtyard attached to my house, they suggested me growing vegetables for household requirements. I had never thought about growing vegetables in this compound. In my family, we did not have experience in sowing seeds or planting trees. We have always bought vegetables from the market. This team not only gave us seeds and saplings, but they also taught us how to sow. They educated us about the appropriate time to water the plants and to use natural manure.”

With a smile, she says, “now I get enough vegetables for my family needs. I do not buy vegetables from the market, except Potato and Onion. The vegetables grown in our nutri-garden taste far better than what I used to buy from the market. It saves money and keeps my family healthy. I can also distribute vegetables in the neighbourhood. I have planted a few fruit trees such as Pomegranate, Lemon,  Papaya, Cheekoo and Grapes.”