These ‘Soil Sakhis’ in Maharashtra’s drought prone region are bringing about a quiet revolution

26-year-old Devaki Aivale is a 10th-failed, mother of three, from Lingerwadi in Maharashtra’s drought-prone taluka of Atpadi. Till a few years ago, she did not know how to ride a bike, or deal with strangers. When she decided to start earning, she realised there were very few opportunities around her. Initially, her husband travelled with her for a month, to boost her confidence. He taught her how to ride a two wheeler. Today, Devaki deals confidently with almost 30 farmers from the surrounding villages on a daily basis. Coming from an agrarian family, her knowledge about farming helped her when she was trained as a ‘soil-sakhi’ or soil tester by a local organisation working for women’s economic empowerment.

Sheetal Kale’s story is different. Two years ago, she was struggling to find her identity and means of livelihood. Widowed at a young age of 30, she had the responsibility of two small children in a joint agricultural family in Maharashtra’s drought-prone region of Man-Khatav in Satara district. Today, she is a soil-sakhi, a woman trained to collect soil samples to help farmers get better yield. Her purple uniform has become a symbol of empowerment. Till she lost her husband in 2020, she had barely stepped out of the house. The inferiority complex had only increased due to the lack of higher education. She has studied till Grade 12th. Today, the job has not just given her financial independence, but the confidence to deal with the world and to guide others.