Older Women in Self Help Groups (SHGs) of National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM): An Analysis of Life Narratives and Possible Interventions

The National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) is a significant livelihood generation program in India. It tries to promote self-employment through the formation of Self Help Groups (SHGs). These groups either function as rotational savings credit groups and/or small production units set up by individual members. It has been observed that there are many elderly women who are group members and are functioning actively. The authors have collected data from a Municipality in Burdwan district of West Bengal where there are significant active SHGs. The narratives have been taken from elderly women who are SHG members about their experiences as a group member, role and responsibilities as well as the effect of their association with the groups on their family and self. The analysis throws light on the experiences of the elderly women on aspects of their involvement in the groups and also on how they look into the future on coping with aging.