Project Beneficiaries: Members of Women’s Self Help Groups (SHG) located in 29 villages, 2000 women

Site Selection: Palmyra owns a thickly forested piece of land in Aurobrindavan, Tamil Nadu. The grounds are centrally located for the 29 villages and group meetings are currently held here. Water lines and electricity are available. The facility will be managed by Palmyra’s SHG coordinator and it will be maintained by the organization.

Project Outcome: Many women in Tamil Nadu spend their entire lives working in fields from 6am to 10pm and are also responsible for caring for the home and family. This house will be a retreat for the overworked women of the Self Help Groups. The house will have cooking and sleeping accommodations providing a place to rest for 3-5 days, as well as a medical examination room. The women will be taught meditation techniques and yoga, focusing on relaxation, health, and spirituality.

Progress: Also, some of the site work was in progress. Exterior and interior paint work is completed. The doors are in the process of being finished. The quality of the construction is very good. The spaces feel cool, and pleasant. The verandah has well detailed concrete benches, with black and red oxide finishing, as well some beautifully carved granite columns.

The Self-Help-Group Coordinator said, “These women are typically regarded as animals: given the hardest jobs in the fields and expected to work bent over in the rice paddies all day, only to return home to cook and clean. They do not know what a holiday is.”

Location