A Purulia Microfinance Initiative Success Story: Profiling Shakuntala Hansda

Shakuntala Hansda, a tribal woman from Juri, Purulia, is leading one of Juri's microfinance projects, in which she and other women make biodegrable plates from teak leaves, which they have successfully sold in local markets.


Women gather to make teak leaf plates, a new self-employment project in Juri that promises to increase the women's monthly incomes and improve their living conditions.

Shakuntala Hansda lost her parents and stayed with a distant kin. She struggled to meet even her basic needs and had severe food insecurity. One day, a member of Village Earth-Purulia found her alone under a tree. Through talking with Shakuntala, she found that she had been abandoned. After dialoging with her, the women recognized Shakuntala’s great potential and introduced her to a village women's Self-Help group. Shakuntala has great technical knowledge, particularly in the indigenous technologies of tribal people. With a small loan obtained through the Microfinance Initiative, she instigated a plate making project, using teak leaves collected from Ayodhya Hill, and began selling the plates in local markets. Inspired by the self-employment venture of Shakuntala, the other women in the Self-Help group decided to make a collective venture of leaf plate making. Now Shakuntala is the leader of that group in which she provides technical and marketing support. The group is now making 2000 leaf plates per day and earning 200 rupees per day. Now, Shakuntala has found a place to live in a dignified way in the tribal community of Purulia.


A woman makes plates from teak leaves which she obtains from the surrounding forests of Ayodhya Hill.