Self-Help Group helps Harjinder Kaur become financially independent and start businesses for herself and her husband
From daily-wage earnings to multiple livelihood activities including bakery products, a grocery store, fast food and poultry farming
Barnala, August 9,2026 Fact Recorder
Punjab Desk: The Punjab State Rural Livelihood Mission (PSRLM) has brought a remarkable change in the life of Harjinder Kaur, a resident of Badbar village in Barnala district, enabling her family to move from a life dependent on daily wages to one built around multiple self-employment activities. Harjinder Kaur is not only financially independent now but has also helped her husband establish his own business.
Harjinder Kaur (36), wife of Gurjinder Singh, said that her husband used to work as a daily-wage labourer and the family often found it difficult to make ends meet. With a desire to improve the family’s financial condition, she, along with nine other women, formed the Baba Valmiki Ji Self-Help Group. The members began saving Rs 100 every month. After about three months, the group received a revolving fund of Rs 15,000 from the government. With the consent of the group members, Harjinder took a loan of Rs 5,000 and rented a shop in the village to start a grocery business.
The small initiative soon became the foundation for a much bigger transformation. As income started coming in from the grocery store, she began repaying the loan and gradually expanded into other livelihood activities.
In 2022, Harjinder ventured into poultry farming after receiving training from the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Handiaya. She was provided 50 chicks free of cost, which helped her take the first step towards starting the activity. She gradually expanded her poultry unit and also started selling eggs at her grocery shop. Today, she is rearing around 200 chickens.
She also received training in goat farming from the Krishi Vigyan Kendra in 2024. Starting with one goat, she has now built up a small unit of five goats.
Determined to ensure that her husband also had a stable source of income, Harjinder arranged for him to undergo fast-food preparation training in 2023. The same year, her Self-Help Group received Rs 50,000 under the Community Investment Fund (CIF). With the consent of the group members, the CIF amount along with their savings was utilised to establish a fast-food business for her husband at a cost of around Rs 80,000.
Harjinder said that before joining the Self-Help Group, the family’s only source of income was daily-wage labour, with earnings of around Rs 250–300 per day. Today, their combined livelihood activities generate around Rs 5,000 in daily income, with approximately Rs 1,000 as net profit after meeting all expenses.
Her entrepreneurial journey took another step forward when she underwent training in bakery products last year. NABARD provided bakery machinery and utensils free of cost to her Self-Help Group.
Her Self-Help Group now prepares and sells a variety of products including seviyan (vermicelli), biscuits, bread and pizza bread. The group participates in melas and other events, while its handmade seviyan and other products are also being supplied to neighbouring districts and even Chandigarh.
At the Sakhi Mela organised in Barnala in February this year, the group set up a stall offering fast food and bakery products. The stall received an encouraging response from visitors and generated sales of around Rs 40,000 in just three days.
Harjinder said that the income generated through her efforts has also enabled her to renovate her house. Her family lives on the ground floor, while the first floor is being used for poultry farming.
Her success has now taken her beyond her own family. Harjinder is currently working as a Community Resource Person under the Punjab State Rural Livelihood Mission, helping women in Badbar, Bhaini Mehraj, Dangarh and Dhoorkot villages connect with Self-Help Groups and encouraging them to take up income-generating activities.
Deputy Commissioner Harpreet Singh, IAS, appreciated Harjinder Kaur for her determination and hard work. He said that the Punjab State Rural Livelihood Mission is bringing economic prosperity into the lives of women while also strengthening them socially. Continuous efforts are being made in Barnala district under the mission to connect women with self-employment and sustainable livelihood opportunities
Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Dr. Harjinder Singh Bedi said that women associated with Self-Help Groups in the district are successfully preparing and selling a wide range of products, including traditional food items, traditional handicrafts, bakery products, pickles, chutneys, murabbas, seviyan etc. PSRLM is playing an important role in making rural women economically self-reliant, he added.
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