SKDRDP's Successful Experiment with Group Entrepreneurship

Sri Kshetra Dhrmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP) launched in the year 1982 by Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala, a small temple town in South India aims towards the upliftment of rural poor. SKDRDP is active at present in the State of Karnataka in South India where it is engaged in intensive fight against poverty, ignorance, illiteracy, alcoholic abuse, gender discrimination, division of villages on the lines of caste, creed and money power. SKDRDP has promoted various income generation activities in production and service sector. Self help groups are motivated, trained and assisted in setting up group ventures to help rural poor women with their own income escape poverty permanently through self employment or entrepreneurship.SIRI Gramodyoga Yojane of SKDRDP is the focus of this research paper due to its central role in group entrepreneurship promotion among rural poor women. It is under this programme many women earn their livelihood from group ventures. Many women support themselves and their families through the income they earn from their entrepreneurial activities. In this research paper the authors have made an attempt to understand the key support structure and identify the success factors for creating, developing and sustaining group enterprises.