A retired schoolteacher who entrusted her life savings to the cooperative. A homemaker who found confidence and purpose beyond the boundaries of her home. A lady Home Guard who experienced the cooperative first as staff, then as member.
The Shri Bhagyalakshmi Mahila Credit & Consumers Cooperative Society Limited, established in 2013 under the leadership of Bhavnaben Gondalia, connects these lives and many more. As board member Anasuyaben Sheth put it, ‘Our credit and consumer products are designed with members at the centre.’
Attractive Financial Returns
Chhayaben Dave, a retired schoolteacher in her mid-sixties, has been a member of the cooperative since 2019. After 34 years of salaried employment, she chose to keep her savings with the credit and consumer cooperative, trusting it as a safe and reliable place for her money. She and her husband, a retired government employee, were drawn to the attractive returns offered by the cooperative. The financial returns from the cooperative have enabled her to independently manage additional family expenses through the interest earned on her savings. Smiling, she recalled taking her family on a trip to Goa entirely from the interest earned through the cooperative.
Banking on the Entrepreneurial Journey
Manishaben Phanderi was a shy homemaker, until she attended one of the exhibitions organized by the cooperative. She prepares ‘papad’ and other dry snacks at her home and sells them at the consumer store and exhibitions. Encouraged by her husband and supported by the Chairperson and fellow members, training opportunities, and a platform to sell her products, she started her journey as an entrepreneur. The opportunity to sell products in quantities as small as two kilos gave her the confidence to take her first step. Since 2024, she has participated in seven exhibitions and gained confidence in handling the entrepreneurial journey she had embarked upon. Today, she is a confident and aspiring entrepreneur. Reflecting on her journey, she shared,‘Seeing Bhavanaben speak and act so confidently inspired me. I felt, if she can go out and do all this, why am I staying within four walls’?
Social Capital as the Building Blocks
Gitaben Bavichi works as a Home Guard with the Gujarat Police Traffic Department. She has been a member of the cooperative since 2018. Before becoming a member, she had to deal with the general perception of the trustworthiness of the cooperative societies. However, she recounts the respectful manner in the way the members are treated equally, irrespective of their savings or fixed deposit amounts. She remembers the support of the cooperative in clearing her agricultural loan, “While no one is ready to give 10 rupees for an hour, the cooperative gave me 1.2 lakhs rupees without hesitation”. The chairperson is ready to help members during difficult times. That, to her, continues to be the main reason for members’ trust in the cooperative. “For many of us it is a ‘safety net’ and ‘place of prosperity’ for the illiterate and less educated women of Amreli”.
Another member, Umaben Bhatt, a young woman in her early twenties, reflects on how the cooperative has created livelihood opportunities for women. The cooperative offered free exhibition stalls and materials to women with limited financial resources. She narrates, the women with limited educational qualifications and skills earned a meagre amount of 50 to 100 rupees daily and at the end of the day, they would use that to buy daily essentials. The Chairperson was kind enough to allow such types of members to pay back when they can; “Pay us back whenever you have the money; there is no pressure” (Paisa aave etle aapi dejo, koi dabaan nathi). The members feel valued and their needs taken care of by the cooperative.
Growing With the Cooperative
Soniaben Patel (35), a BBA graduate and a beautician, runs a beauty parlour and imitation jewellery shop along with her ‘devrani’. The cooperative helped her create livelihood opportunities for herself. Beyond the handsome returns on savings and term deposits, she eagerly awaits the dividends and gifts. She encouraged her maternal family members to become members and helped around 35 to 40 members to enrol in the cooperative.
Before joining the cooperative, it was uncommon for women in Ishwariya Mahadev village to travel alone to meetings. Anjuben (45) and Sangitaben (47) changed that. Both were members of the Shri Khodiyar Sakhi Mandal, a self-help group in their village. Through the SHG’s connection with Bhagyalakshmi, they began attending meetings, training sessions, and exposure visits, including one outside Gujarat.
As the secretary of the group, Sangitaben informs members about meetings, ensures their participation, and represents the group by attending meetings. Together they collect the members’ savings and deposit the money with the cooperative on behalf of the group and have also attended training outside Gujarat. They inform the members about the meetings, exposure visits, training sessions and about the gifts they receive on the AGM. The members’ mutual trust, and collective aspiration to explore opportunities beyond the village has enabled them to support one another and grow together through the cooperative. Before joining the cooperative, travelling alone to meetings was uncommon for women in the village.
Founding Members and Reaping the Benefits
Labhuben (82) and her husband, Govardhanbhai Muljibhai (79) are among the founding members of the cooperative. They provided funding from their own resources, an amount of 9 lakh rupees to set up the credit cooperative, while receiving lower interest rate in the initial stage. Along with the financial support, Labhuben’s family played an active role in mobilising over a hundred members from the neighbouring villages and seventeen of their extended family members to become members of the cooperative. Since then, they have played multiple roles within the cooperative; as institution builders, active members, and beneficiaries.
A sense of belonging, financial benefits, and entrepreneurial aspirations keep the members closely connected to the cooperative. For them, Bhagyalakshmi is more than a credit and consumer cooperative. It is a space built on mutual trust where women save, trade, learn, and step out into public life, often for the first time. As we continue exploring women’s cooperatives across India, the story of Bhagyalakshmi leaves behind a pertinent question: can the cooperative model that created a space for rural women in Amreli also inspire women elsewhere to begin their entrepreneurial journeys?
This blog is originally written for Small Farm Incomes by Aparimita Pramanik, Neha Abraham and Bhargav Oza dated 6/16/2026 – as part of an ongoing series of publications by SEWA Cooperative Federation and Tribhuvan Sahkari University based on the experiences while undertaking a National Study on Women’s Cooperatives across India.
Aparimita Pramanik, Neha Rachel Abraham and Bhargav Oza are with the SEWA Cooperative Federation, Gujarat researching women cooperatives in India.