Neem Empowers Women

The neem tree is one of the amazing feats of nature that has been and will be changing the world for generations to come. For thousands of years, neem leaves, the bark, neem oil, and the flowers have been used in hundreds of different applications from preventing infection in a wound to acting as a pesticide, protecting essential crops. This marvelous gift of nature is even improving the livelihood of thousands of women.

In India, fertilizer for farming is subsidized by the government. However, farmers were over-utilizing the common fertilizer, urea. Urea is a nitrogen-based fertilizer in the shape of a small, white pellet. This was draining the government’s funds for the fertilizer, making it scarce, and creating an overabundance of nitrogen in the ground. What the government has done is coat these white pellets in neem oil. The neem slows the release of the nitrogen, making the fertilizer more effective and requiring fewer quantities.

With so much neem in demand, there has been a gap in the collection of the neem fruit and seeds, which is used to make the oil. The Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals have created a project to empower women through neem. The project has been awarded the Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Social Responsibility and the SKOCH Blue Economy Platinum Sustainability that’s clean maids Award for its work and support of these rural women. In the first year, 2015-2016, the project supported 100,000 women and is now spread out in 1,200 groups across 4,000 villages and supports 125,000 women! The United Nations deemed the project as a viable Rural Income Generating Activity, and with the demand of neem oil and neem cake high in India and surrounding areas, this program will continue to give women financial independence, allowing women to pursue their dreams!