Barli Institute, India
About Barli Development Institute for Rural Women
Mona Partner Since 2005
Barli Institute for the Development of Rural Women is a portal for social change, using forward-thinking curriculum to address complex, ingrained norms and help build a world where women and girls can thrive. Serving young women from the many villages around Indore, Barli offers a six-month residential training program in literacy, vocational skills, and community development to provide its students with the skills to start their own business and the confidence to lead the transformation of their villages. To-date, Barli has trained over 9,950 women from 969 villages, impacting and improving the lives of thousands more.
Barli is recognized by UNESCO as one of the top 100 education projects in developing countries.
The Challenge
India is home to 1.3 billion people or 20% of the world's population. A fifth of the country's people are impoverished, earning less than $1.90/day. They are also very young with 50% under 25 years old. The need for access to quality education is great and a significant challenge, especially for girls and young women.
In general, India's daughters are unwanted, unsafe, unequal, and unfree. They make up one third of the world's child brides (5 million girls) and 50% of married women report domestic violence. Every year, 1 million girls are killed in the womb through selective termination.
Providing access to education for girls is especially difficult in India's remote rural areas where girls traditionally don't go to school and are only considered suitable for marriage, having children, and caring for their families.
The Solution: Barli Institute Programs
Residential Training
When young women first come to Barli, they are very shy and won't respond to questions. But inside Barli's nurturing walls, they are safe to explore new walks of life. They find their voices as women, develop a thirst for learning, and gain self-confidence to pursue their dreams.
Barli's six-month residential program covers three areas:
- Literacy
- Most of the women are illiterate when they arrive. 100% pass the national literacy exam at the end of the six-month program.
- Vocational training - The trainees learn about tailoring so they can become financially independent. All graduates receive a sewing machine and a certificate that allows them to apply for small business loans to set up their own tailoring shops.
- Development - The trainees learn about organic farming, solar cooking, health and hygiene, women’s rights, conflict resolution, and community service.
A New Way of Life
94% of Barli graduates contribute to the income and well-being of their families. By learning a trade and bringing in an income, the women also earn the respect of their families and village, change the hearts and minds of their fathers and brothers about gender equality, and inspire other young women to walk in their footsteps.
All graduates also serve their communities by holding children's classes, organizing tree planting projects, and working at health care centers.
Meet Kali
Barli graduate, Alirajpur village, India
I was born in a tribal household in Alirajpur and contracted polio as a child. Born a girl, poor, and later disabled, I had three strikes against me before I was twelve.
But my life changed in 2013 when I was given a scholarship to Barli Institute. When I started my training, I was so shy that I could not say my own name. There I found my voice. During the six-month training I learned to read and write, to farm organically and cook with solar cookers, and became certified as a tailor.
When I graduated from Barli in 2013, I opened my own tailoring shop and earned enough money to support myself and paid for the education of 8 children in my family. I bought a red scooter to get around. Over time, I saved enough money to buy a piece of land (the first female landowner in her village) and with the help of a few Mona friends, built a home.
My achievements have also changed my father's view of the importance of girls' education.
"Thank you for supporting the education of my daughter. She is now a source of inspiration for all the girls in our village, and all the fathers and mothers want their daughters to be like Kali.” - Kali's Father
I am blessed to have been educated and trained at Barli but there are many other girls who do not have the opportunity I had.
With help from Barli, I started a micro-lending support group and taught 12 other women how to start their own businesses. They now manage their own shops, supporting themselves and their families.
My shop has grown too. As of March 2023, I employ five other young women and use my home to teach other differently-abled girls how to sew.
In the last several years, I have begun planting on my father's farm. We have an orchard of tropical fruits, peanuts and other native produce. We also have a chicken coop along with many cows and goats. The farm also has a grinding mill. My father recently built two classrooms where I have an after hours schools for the children in our village. I am also sending all the children of my family to best schools in Indore.
How we help
Mona Foundation has partnered with Barli Development Institute since 2005 and fully funds its operations. Barli has grown in capacity over the years and now trains 150 new young women every year while also continuing to support its graduates at home.
Since its inception, Barli has trained more than 9,950 women from over 969 villages. The Institute has witnessed significant positive change among its students and their communities. With its focus on service and community development,
educating one woman at Barli improves the lives of 10-20 others immediately and 100 more over time.
2023 Achievements
- 150 young women from 79 villages (19 new) trained and then educated 4,500 others
- 22 teachers trained
- 450 family members engaged
- 90 days of travel by Executive Director to villages, following up with alumni and recruiting new students
2024 Needs, $98,367
- Anticipate empowering 150 women
- Train 25 teachers
- Infrastructure and general maintenance, $19,846
Updates
An Example of Resilience
January 2024 - Selmi graduated from Barli in 2022 and returned to her village feeling inspired to continue her education. Although she faced many obstacles at home, including being shunned by the entire village because of two imprisoned family members, Selmi persevered to complete her high school degree. Her plans to go to college were challenged when the two family members were released from prison and demanded she contribute to the family’s income. The Barli team visited Selmi's family and persuaded her parents to support her education. Selmi is now back at Barli where she teaches new trainees and attends university. Her resilience in overcoming personal challenges serves as an inspiring example. She lives her favorite classroom quote everyday: "Every challenge conquered is a victory inscribed in the book of your unstoppable journey."
Quote from a Barli alumni
December 2022 - “To be without education and skills is like being a bird without wings. You can see the sky and the endless opportunities, but you are not able to reach them. It makes you feel helpless. But education gives the power and the strength to transform our life and that of others. It makes us confident and self-reliant. It is like opening windows in a closed room and flooding it with light and fresh air. Our attitude changes and we become open to receiving confirmations and changing the course of our lives. Moreover, it feels like we receive in our hands a magic wand, whereby we can share this light with others and help in their transformation too. I am immensely grateful to the funding agencies who made my stay and learning in Barli Institute possible. I feel so happy, like a child who has finally learnt to walk and now I will move on the path of life more assured and more aware.” - Jhamku, 17 years old
Barli's 2021 Highlights to date
August 2021 - Barli has safely trained 44 women and 21 teachers this year. 200 visitors/family members came to see their daughter’s advancements.
Lockdown was imposed in the state of Madhya Pradesh from mid April to the mid of June 2021. Training had to be halted and the students were sent back to their homes safely by April 19th, 2021. Barli welcomed back students in July. During lockdown, food packets consisting of grains and rice were distributed to the poor.
The latest cohort of trainees are being called in small groups of 10 so that they can be quarantined before being assimilated in the main group. Barli is following all health and safety procedures.
Response to COVID19
April 22, 2020 - While India's nationwide lockdown has been extended to May 3rd, all Barli students and faculty remain safe and healthy, have sufficient food to last until May, and are in the process of procuring more. The Director and teachers are in constant communication with the parents of the 51 remaining residential students and are also in touch with the trainees who safely returned home before lockdown.
On the Barli campus, which is fairly isolated by design, the students continue with their usual training. They are also engaged in additional activities to boost morale and stay busy: preparing short skits on socially important issues, training in public speaking, learning motivational and inspirational songs, and attending regular briefing sessions and awareness programs on the current world situation and ways to tackle COVID-19 in their home villages.
Building capacity to train others
From among each new group of students, those with sufficient communication skills are selected as group facilitators and trained as "Grassroots Trainers." They initially follow the same curriculum as other students but also serve as peer-tutors and help with classes for community volunteers to build facilitation skills. They eventually develop the necessary skills to conduct classes using the Institute’s curriculum and to establish education and health programs in their own communities after their return. Some of these trainees also sit for the Cutting & Tailoring examination offered by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), an institution under the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
The training program is offered at no cost to the students. The Institute provides room and board, and all educational facilities, as well as complete health checkups and medications. The Institute also provides healthcare and hospitalization if a trainee falls ill during the program.
Stories of Transformation
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