Hefty bonus for ultrapoor women

But seven of them, who lived in the periphery of the society, scorned and never before addressed, are now working as successful entrepreneurs and breadwinners for their families. Each of them got a profit of about Tk 30,000 by working as a contractor of the LCS.

The LCS is a 12-member group of substitutes of 'third class contractors', registered with the Local Government Engineering Depart-ment (LGED). A LCS comprising Maloti, Kohinoor, Angur, Shukni, Mafia, Piara and Anita and five men completed construction of Sabgram market in July.

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The pro-poor idea of LCS was conceived in 2002. CARE Bangla-desh and the LGED announced a programme to develop 146 markets across the country, where hardcore poor women would be rehabilitated with funds.

As per the plan, destitute women would be given six permanent shops and 20 percent of the rest space in a market for five years. The planners also gave them the construction work.

"We could not believe that women like us would get a place in a market in our society. They (officials of NGO and LGED) told us that we would be able to earn large amounts by doing the construction work," said Maloti.

She now runs a grocery in the market.

"In fact, membership of the LCS helped us get a shop in the market.

"We earned money in two ways -- wages as labourers and profit as contractors," once destitute Kohinoor, now a tailor in the market, said.

A contractor usually makes five per cent profit from a construction work. But the LGED fixed 10 per cent profit for LCS groups.

The total budget for constructing Sabgram market was Tk 35.71 lakh. The LCS contractors got a profit of Tk 3.57 and each member earned Tk 29,760 profit after paying VAT and income tax.

The LCS has a bank accountant from which money can be drawn with joint signature of the president and the treasurer. Individual members also have accounts in their names.

"The new idea of LCS has proved very successful in poverty alleviation and gave the members honour and dignity," Sabgram Union Parishad Chairman Israfil Hossain Dewan told The Daily Star.