Bakdil facilitated Dondime Multipurpose Co-operative Society Ltd (Dondime MCS) celebrated its first-ever Exhibition cum Sales Day on 10th December 2021 in the presence of Chief Guest, Shri. Abdus Saleh, local MLA Rajabala Constituency, NPP Block President for Selsella, and Nokma Heads of the 6 villages under the Co-operative Society. Based in Balachanda village of Selsella Block, the Dondime Multipurpose Co-operative Society Ltd. has already raised 255 shares within a period of 3 months from the date of its first General Meeting on 9th September 2021. This is a commendable achievement for the people of Balachanda and will certainly pave the way for their economic as well as social development as they harness their collective strength and bargaining power. The Co-operative Society members are a mixture of the Garo, Hajong, and Koch tribes residing in the surrounding villages. The members have been part of Self-Help Groups active for several years and were formally collectivized further into a primary co-operative society by Bakdil as part of its strategy to promote entrepreneurship development and self-reliance among the rural farmers of Garo Hills.
The Exhibition cum Sales Day started with a vivid cultural programme including a skit, a dance by Garo tribe women, and a dance by the Hajong tribe women. Mr Eugene Sangma, the Selsella Block Project Manager for NRLM from Bakdil addressed the gathering about the importance of forming collectives such as the Village Organizations under the NRLM and the need to further collectivize them as Co-operative Societies to scale up the business activities in their respective villages. Miss. Shivani Sonawane, the Co-operative Development Officer from Bakdil also addressed the gathering on how a cooperative society is different from an SHG and why Bakdil is now focusing on strengthening the Co-operative movement in Garo Hills. She motivated the members to be a part of the Co-operative Society as it is a model for improving income and transforming lives through business generation.
The Chief Guest, Shri. Abdus Saleh while giving his speech mentioned that it was his first programme with the rural communities since being elected as local MLA last month. He expressed his happiness to be part of this event and assured to give Rs. 1,00,000 (Rupees One Lakh) to Dondime MCS for its development. Further, the members of the Dondime MCS presented a memorandum to the Chief Guest in which they requested financial assistance for the construction of an office building to carry out its day-to-day activities and a mustard oil processing machine for their proposed business plan. Shri. Abdus Saleh upon hearing the request of the members increased his financial assistance by Rs. 2,50,000 (Rupees Two Lakhs Fifty Thousand) for Dondime MCS. After the end of the cultural programme, the Chief Guest officially inaugurated the Exhibition cum Sales and visited each stall.
There were over 30 stalls owned by different SHGs as well as primary cooperative societies from Selsella Block with items ranging from handicrafts, flower pots, vegetables, clothing, food, etc. The programme was a huge success with more than 500 people attending the Exhibition cum Sales day in Balachanda village. The programme was wholly organized and managed by the members of Dondime MCS and was a testament to the power of an independent and self-reliant society.
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