Asset transfer & daily income
50 milch animals on loan to 50 women enabled regular income through dairy farming and built a productive asset base.
Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) micro-credit & livelihood project
The National Credit Fund for Women, Ministry of Women & Child Development — micro-credit and livelihood support delivered by Coodu Trust exclusively for poor women in Kadavur Block, Karur District.
50
Milch animals on loan to 50 women
3
Petty shop loans
10
Educational loans
67
SHGs bank-linked for cow rearing
The project
Credit built exclusively for poor women
Project mission
Providing micro-credit and livelihood support exclusively to poor women through the National Credit Fund for Women (Rashtriya Mahila Kosh), enabling them to build sustainable income through milch animal rearing, petty trade enterprises, and educational advancement — transforming the economic status of the most disadvantaged women in rural Kadavur Block.
The Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) is the National Credit Fund for Women — a Central Government institution under the Ministry of Women & Child Development that works exclusively for poor women. Coodu Trust was selected by RMK as an Intermediary Micro-finance Organisation (IMO) and delivered the project in Kadavur Block, Karur District, Tamil Nadu, from 2009 to 2015. In 2009–2010 the core credit activities placed 50 milch animals on loan with 50 women beneficiaries, financed 3 petty shops and extended 10 educational loans for children's schooling.
The RMK grant did not work alone. It operated alongside Mahalir Thittam (started 26.01.2006 across the Kadavur, Thogamalai, Aravakurichi and Paramathi blocks), NABARD agricultural credit linkage and SGSY/TAHDCO economic assistance schemes — a linked ecosystem that secured a ₹1.33 crore bank loan for 67 SHGs for cow rearing, established 120 commercial sheep farms and 10 goat farms with UVTRC Karur support, and trained women in dairy, tailoring, nursery, vermicomposting and mushroom production.
- Milch animal rearing
- Petty trade enterprises
- Educational advancement
- Micro-credit for women
Why this work matters
The challenge on the ground — and our answer
The challenge
No assets, no route to daily income
Without a productive asset or start-up credit, the poorest rural women have no way to earn a regular daily income of their own.
Our response
Asset transfer that pays every day
50 milch animals on loan to 50 women brought daily income through milk sales, while 3 petty shop loans let women become self-employed traders in their own communities.
The challenge
Children's schooling cut short by poverty
When family income is precarious, children's education is often the first expense to be dropped — carrying the cycle of poverty into the next generation.
Our response
Educational loans that keep children in school
10 educational loans helped women beneficiaries keep their children in school and access higher education opportunities — investing credit directly in the next generation.
At a glance
The essentials
- Funder
- Rashtriya Mahila KoshNational Credit Fund for Women, Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India
- Period
- 2009–2015Core credit activities delivered in 2009–2010
- Location
- Kadavur BlockKarur District, Tamil Nadu
- Beneficiaries
- Poor women, exclusively50 milch animal loans, 3 petty shop loans & 10 educational loans
- Linked programmes
- Mahalir Thittam, NABARD & SGSY/TAHDCOSHG formation & financial inclusion, agricultural credit linkage & economic assistance schemes
- Status
- CompletedCoodu Trust served as an Intermediary Micro-finance Organisation (IMO) for RMK
Outcomes
What the project changed
Enterprise & education
3 petty shop loans let women become self-employed traders, while 10 educational loans helped break the cycle of poverty by investing in children's education.
Holistic support ecosystem
Working in conjunction with Mahalir Thittam, NABARD and other schemes — a comprehensive ecosystem from micro-credit and asset transfer to skill training and market linkages.
Get involved
Support women's livelihoods
Join us in extending micro-credit, productive assets and enterprise skills to the most disadvantaged women of rural Tamil Nadu — income that families build on for generations.