World Ark Magazine - March/April 2009 - (Page 12) what money doesn’t Buy microfinance and women’s empowerment in south asia. By Barbara Kingsolver I 12 Photography by Steven L. Hopp n the rural countryside of orissa, northeastern india, coconut palms punctuate a flat terrain of rice fields and low-slung villages of mud and thatch. women in bright-colored saris cut cane between marigold hedges and lagoons filled with lotus flowers. The scene is fantastically picturesque, but scenery feeds the soul, not the stomach. Stop and ask any of these villagers what they hope for their children, and they’ll likely say the same thing: to move away to the city someday. orissa is india’s poorest state. cyclones from the Bay of Bengal pummel its coastline; monsoons flood the ganges delta. mining and industry displace vulnerable agrarian and refugee populations. many here live so far outside the cash economy, development agencies measure poverty by daily caloric intake rather than income. electricity and clean water are scarce. caste and gender discrimination are everywhere. > Members of the Akandalamuni Village Women’s Club meet outdoors on rugs spread on the ground. m a rch / ap r i l 2 00 9 | world ark www.he i f e r .o r g http://www.heifer.org
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