Women’s Self-Help Group (SHG) Meet & Fest
On December 12th, up to 647 all-women self-help groups (SHG’s) from the East Khasi Hills and Ri-Bhoi districts participated in the 10th annual “Meet & Fest” at the Khasi Heritage Village in Mawphlang. It is one of many social and cultural events facilitated by the Khasi Hills Community REDD+ Project.
As we’ve mentioned before, the Khasi Hills Community REDD+ Project advises and channels carbon offset revenues to 260 SHG’s through its Community Development Fund. These all-women groups pool their resources to make micro loans to one another and invest in local and small-scale income generating businesses.
The event was also covered by the Shillong Times, which has apparently seen better days. Their article’s byline was “By Our Reporter,” and the article also incorrectly stated:
“The programme highlighted how women, through collective efforts in SHGs, have successfully engaged in income-generating activities such as oil extraction, water-related enterprises, weaving, and other livelihood initiatives.”
We checked in with project leader Bah Tambor Lyngdoh about this, and he assured us that it was a translation error, that no petroleum was involved, and that the article should have stated “fruit processing.” That jives much more closely with the types of income-generating activities we witnessed when we visited the project.
Bam Niang Phlang (Caterpillar) Eating Festival
On November 20th, the village of Umsawmat drew in regional tourists for the 5th annual Bam Niang Phlang (Caterpillar) Eating Festival, which celebrates a traditional Khasi delicacy while increasing awareness about the importance of protecting the caterpillar’s habitat.
It’s worth re-posting the festival’s promotional video in the Khasi language and aimed at tourists from Meghalaya, Assam, and beyond:
