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Pultibai's
is from the fisher community and is originally from Gudpally
village. Her husband and two sons cast nets and catch fish
while Putlibai, her daughter and mother-in-law clean and
process the fish. Putlibai then sells the fish in various
bazaars (markets) each day. Unable to earn a livelihood
in Gudpally, Putlibai and her family migrated to Raipally,
which is on the banks of the Manjira river. Her family was
able to somewhat improve its situation, but survival was still
a struggle. Then SKS started a sangam in Raipally, and things
improved dramatically for Putlibai and her family.
Putlibai took a loan of
Rs. 1,500 (US$35) to buy more nets. Her husband and two sons,
who had previously had only eight nets and were able to
average approximately 6 kilos of fish per day, now tripled
their daily catch and increased their weekly income.
Encouraged by the success, Pultibai took a second year loan of
Rs. 6,000 (US$142) for even more nets. Today, the daily catch
is about 50 kilos per day and Putlibai uses a nearby cold
storage plant to store unsold fish for the next day. Her
weekly net income averages around Rs. 800 (US$19) per week.
Putlibai's success has inspired others-even non-fisher
families-to take up fishing as a profession.
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