Background
Hanumanth Bhujang Korbar stays in Balligere village of Athani Taluq in Belagavi district, with his family. His father is a marginal farmer and his mother used to work as a daily wage labor. In 2003, he met with an accident, which led to a severe spinal cord injury. Post that, he was bedridden for 10 years. In 2012, he attended a rehabilitation/cure program organized by an NGO ‘Association for People with Disabilities’. During the program, he was trained on handling wheelchairs and daily chores. Post that, he started helping his father in agriculture and his mother in household chores. The income made by the family through all the sources was not sufficient. The family was earning less than INR 1,00,000 per year. Hanumanth also gets INR 1400 per month as disability pension from the State govt. The family was finding it very difficult to survive with this meagre income. The pension was also not sufficient for his survival. Due to limited mobility, Hanumanth was not able to get access to any kind of employment/livelihood opportunity.
Technology Solution
A solar powered roti rolling machine was installed in his house with the machine design being modified to make it disabled friendly. A traditional roti rolling machine can be operated only with legs. Since the end user is wheelchair bound, the machine handle was installed in a way, so that it can be operated with hands. Hanumanth was trained by a technician from the vendor's side for operating roti rolling machines.
Financial Solution
The total machine cost is INR 64,000 Out of which INR 10,000 was paid by the end user’s family, from their personal savings. The remaining cost was contributed as a capital grant support.
Testimonial
“The intervention has proved to be a boon for me and my family. Now, my mother doesn’t need to go for a strenuous job of daily wage labor. My confidence level has also increased. In future I am planning to open a Lok Seva Kendra, near the highway. In that Kendra, I will provide the service of filling forms for the government schemes.”
Hanumantha Korbar
Impact
The intervention has helped the entrepreneur in getting access to a sustainable source of income and also helping his family in meeting ends.
His house is quite close to the highway and there are 2-3 dhabas/eateries near the highway.
The dhaba owners are regular buyers of the rotis that he prepares and act as a steady market linkage.
Apart from that, he also gets orders during local functions.
Before the lockdown he used to supply 300 rotis per day and would earn INR 900 per day.
His mother has stopped going for daily wage work and supports him in the business. She makes dough and roasts rotis. His father delivers rotis to the customers/eateries, as per the order.