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A Journey of Transformation – India’s Only Fellowship for Grassroots Women Leaders

A grassroot leader reflecting on her day at the fellowship

Empowering the Grassroots Leaders for Change – A SEWA COOperative Federation Fellowship

8 collectives. 16 women leaders. 27000 dreams.

For many of these women, this fellowship marked their first time stepping out of their homes or traveling to Ahmedabad. Some journeyed by bus from as far as Navsari, Mehsana, Banaskantha and Surendranagar (in Gujarat) to begin their fellowship experience. Niralben from Ujas Mahila Khedut Sangathan reflected, “Before I left Navsari for the fellowship, my family asked sarcastically how much more training I need at this age.” 

Orientation of Empowering the Grassroots Leaders for Change Fellowship

The 16 women who had embarked on this journey toward leadership displayed a range of emotions. Some were quiet and observant, taking in the new surroundings. Others light heartedly mentioned about being relieved from household chores for two days, while a few anxiously kept in touch with their families. Yet, there were those who were visibly excited, eager to dive into the fellowship and actively participate.

On 18th September 2024, we proudly launched the “Empowering the Grassroots Leaders for Change” Fellowship—a transformative initiative aimed at up-skilling the leaders of informal women collectives across Gujarat. This one-of-a-kind program brings together 16 women from diverse sectors such as handicrafts, homemade snacks, dairy, and agriculture. United by a shared vision, these women are set to transform not only themselves but also their collectives.

A unique fellowship for grassroot women workers

What sets this fellowship apart is its unique combination of personal development and leadership training, designed specifically for grassroots women leaders. The contributions of informal women workers often go unnoticed, leaving them unrecognized in the broader economic landscape of the country. They manage both households and collectives, shouldering a dual burden that frequently remains invisible. When women decide to take the step forward – their home, village, state and country progresses.

The idea is to provide a support system to the ecosystem of informal women workers through a year long training and leadership programs via this fellowship. 

While these women have received training in their specific trades (like  handicrafts, homemade snacks, dairy, and agriculture) this program goes a step further. It focuses on equipping them with the skills to manage and scale their collectives, present them at high-level forums, and address real-world challenges. The training is carefully tailored to their language and lived experiences, ensuring it meets their unique contextual needs.

The induction day began with an inspiring session on “Dream to Reality Mapping,” where the fellows mapped out their personal and collective journeys toward meaningful change. Jayshreeben from Ekal Nari Manch shared, “People always say what they want to do, but today I realized how much hard work it actually takes.”

The team of the Fellowship at the orientation session

Building Leaders, Not Just Entrepreneurs

A key goal of the fellowship is to fill a gap in education and training for informal women workers. From our experience as a Women Enterprise Support System for 32+ years we observed:

There aren’t any universities or schools where informal women workers can enrol for these skills. So why not create a structured program tailored to them?

This program responds to that need by offering continuous, structured training that focuses on both leadership and business skills.

A grassroot leader reflecting on her day at the fellowshipThe induction program also focused on defining vision and mission, both on personal and organizational levels. Through interactive games and discussions, we helped the fellows conduct a SOAR study (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results), and we guided them in refining their often vague dreams into SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals. For example – Sushilaben from Ujas Mahila Khedut Sangathan started with “I want to take my organization ahead and I want to be a leader” and turned it to “I want to start a Farmer Producer Company (FPC) that sells pickles and snacks with 2000 of my sisters in 3 years and I want to be a manager of that company” at the end of the session.

“I had always envisioned my dreams differently, but I didn’t realize that dreams could be seen in this way… You’ve completely changed my thinking”, shared Kinaben from the Ashirvad Swasahay Juth.

A Fellowship Rooted in Care and Trust

We recognize that these women, many of whom are shy and hesitant at first, need an environment of trust and support. From the moment they arrived, we were there every step of the way, ensuring they felt comfortable and heard.

The grassroot leaders at the orientation session of the fellowship

Looking Ahead

This 12-month residential fellowship emphasizes leadership, governance, and sustainable business practices while fostering a strong network of empowered women ready to drive systemic change. It is part of SEWA Cooperative Federation’s broader commitment (As WESS – A Women Enterprise Support System) to nurturing women in the informal economy, building their capacity so that they can own, run and manage their collectives.

We are starting with a cohort from Gujarat, but the lessons learned from this experience will pave the way for future expansion, allowing more grassroot women from across India to benefit from this transformative program.

As Senior Trainers at SEWA Cooperative Federation put it, “This fellowship is more than training—it’s about creating the next generation of women leaders who will not just lead, but inspire others to lead as well.

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