Navnirdhar Mahila Farmer Producer Company Limited

You can find us over at Vilas Daulatrao Arghode’s place in Belona. Navnirdhar Mahila Farmer Producer Company Limited is mostly just the local women trying to manage our crops better. Belona is a small place so news travels fast. We meet up at the house to talk about what we need to buy for the next season. It’s not like a real office you’d find in a city. There are usually sacks of grain leaning against the walls and people coming in and out all day. We don’t have a website or a big sign. We just work. Some of us have been farming since we were little girls. We know what the soil feels like when it’s too dry and we know how to fix things when the irrigation breaks. We don’t use fancy language because there’s no point. We just say what needs to be said. Sometimes we argue about which market to go to but we always figure it out together. It’s about survival and making sure our kids have what they need. We work hard and we don’t complain much. The sun is hot and the days are long but we have each other. If you come to Belona and ask for the women’s group someone will point you to the right house. We’re usually there working on something or other and the tea is always hot.