Discontent is a powerful tool for change and Brinda is riding on it. A 25-year-old woman with two children, who was hardly interested in her family’s hotel business – that was how Brinda was. Not anymore.
Brinda’s family, living in a remote village called Kadhalveni, has always been conservative about women going out and working. The women of the family kept their external interactions to the minimum. But Brinda’s sister-in-law, Kusuma, the daughter of the family, broke this norm. Kusuma took the Buzz training, became a Buzz Gelathi and has brought phenomenal changes to her life. This changed the perspective of the entire family. Seeing Kusuma’s life transform, Brinda also wanted to do something on her own. She took Kusuma’s advice and joined the Buzz Vyapar programme.
The Buzz Vyapar program has 5 modules, and Brinda is yet to complete the 5th module. Before the completion of the program itself, Brinda has begun her transformation. Her first big step was to bring change to the hotel business that her parents-in-law were running. The hotel was providing only lunch every day, but Brinda suggested they start serving evening snacks as well. She convinced the family that this will be a wonderful opportunity and executed it also. Within just a few weeks, the snacks business became popular among the villagers. The entire family is excited about this change and of course, the additional income that it brings.
Not content with this change, Brinda started a small fancy store in her house. This is not a big money earner, but she wanted to keep the learning coming and the money flowing. Alongside, she brushed up her tailoring skills and has started stitching clothes for the villagers. She and Kusuma are in a discussion to start a tailoring shop as well. One after the other, Brinda is claiming a new life. She makes a profit of Rs. 4000 every month, not including the income from the hotel business, just from her own efforts.
We should remember, Brinda was only involved with her household chores and passively helping the family’s hotel business earlier. Today, she expanded the income stream for the family and is earning on her own. This is not just a story of entrepreneurship or financial success, but one of personal transformation and importantly, of the shifting plates of patriarchy.