A visit to an SMS grocery store owner

After leaving Tanmaya's village we would slowly make our way back to Jharasuguda passing through many more small villages and stopping to visit with one of the successful SMS entrepreneurs who runs a small grocery store out of the front of her home. Along with her husband they open the store at 7am and remain open until 9pm. During the 10 minutes we were there, there was a constant stream of shoppers stopping by for a purchase. The store offers a little bit of everything from fresh vegetables, spices, to popcorn and cigarettes. She was proud to share her success; including a look at her daily savings document. Not only does she make her monthly loan payments, she contributes to the compulsory savings account and another 200 rupees per day to the daily savings account. Let me explain a little how this works. Members of the cooperative are required to deposit fifty rupees per month into a compulsory savings account that is locked in until the member leaves the cooperative. Then they can also deposit a minimum of 50 rupees a month to a voluntarily savings that can be withdrawn any time and lastly they have a daily savings option with a minimum deposit amount of 20 rupees per day, that is locked in for a one year period. That means 20 rupees each and everyday of the year, including weekends and holidays. An employee of SMS makes the rounds each day to collect the deposits. After a vigorous loan application the client also has access to a loan funds to help purchase supplies or equipment to operate the business. The first loan a client can get is for 7000 rupees and must be paid back with interest in 10 months. Once the first loan is paid off they can apply for additional loans with instrumental increases in amounts. It was obvious due to the program many women and their families have moved out of extreme hardship and poverty to a comfortable life. Back in the car we came upon two young men who were catching tiny little fish with their hands to be sold as fish bait. Another entrepreneur at work. In the fields men and women are herding cows and goats watching to ensure no animal strays away. As we past through the villages it was hard not to notice that most of the residents appeared to be little more than skin and bones. The men wore a skirt like wrap called a lungi that covered them from the waist to somewhere above the knee and often little more, while the women were dressed in their colorful saris. Then occasionally you would see men dressed in normal (to us) shirt, and pants or knee length shorts. Back in town the men were dressed in shirts and pants just like at home. Upon entering most stores and every home you are required to remove your shoes. So on day one it was time to purchase a pair of sandals I could slip on without bending down or requiring effort to do up. A comfortable little flipflop with green and gold beading is now the footware of choice. During the trip Tanmaya pointed out an area that is frequented by elephants. In the evenings they will search out healthy rice crops looking for a good meal. Apparently this is a major problem and concern for the villages. Heading back into town we had two more stops to make. The first being another wholesaler on Main street. As we approached the owner encouraged us to sit down and with the help of a translator we were able to ask him questions about his business and his opinions on what SMS should consider if they plan to enter the spice processing business. While speaking with us he continued to take orders, accept cash payments, tally the bills (no cash registers here) and yell at the staff. I am not sure whether it was organized chaos or just overall chaotic. I certainly didn't know what happening but I am sure the shop keeper did! The last stop was a visit to a city retail grocery store. The owner was nice enough to share his insight on what sells and what we would need to consider from the final shopping clients perspective if trying to break into the market. A reoccurring message was classy packaging and a range of products. Everyone has an opinion, it is just our job to write the plan on how it can work. Lol no small task. One last picture and we were done for the day. The shop keeper was honored we wanted to take a picture with him and gave us a big wide smile for the camera. It had been a long day and we were ready for a rest....