Photo: A beneficiary of the tailoring programme supported by Ampyr.
Climate Investor One’s Ampyr Wind Project is supporting the local communities with a multi-pronged rural development programme which includes a core focus on empowering local women.
In the village of Ramajogihalli in Karnataka, India, a 19-year-old lady named Natasha has seen dramatic changes to her life and wellbeing thanks to the Community Development Programme initiated by the Project.
Natasha, like many other beneficiaries of this programme, had completed her studies until the pre-university level, but required vocational skills to improve her livelihood. The Ampyr project's intervention in her life came as a transformative opportunity.
For Natasha, the significance of this initiative is reinforced by the fact that the training programme took place in her own village, allowing her to acquire a new skill without having to embark on long travel. Today, Natasha can confidently tailor clothing, which she can then sell, using the equipment provided as part of the programme.
Natasha, who lives with her parents and brother, described in a letter how the programme has given her a sense of confidence about her future. In a letter to Ampyr she described how she can now envisage a life in which she has financial independence;
"I feel reassured that I would be able to lead an independent life with my tailoring skills and machine." she wrote.
Natasha's story illustrates how localized community development programmes, targeting the real challenges identified by local stakeholders, can have a personal, often unique, and therefore at times immeasurable impact on the lives of individuals.
