by Father Dinesh Vasava
GUJARAT, NOV 15, 2016: In a bid to provide sustainable livelihood to the poor women, the Kapadvanj Don Bosco Society (KDBS) in partnership with the Kapadvanj Kelavani Mandal set up a canteen, 
at the Arts and Commerce College in September 2016, run by poor women from the locality.
The canteen project seeks to empower a group of women by enabling them to manage an enterprise; eventually enabling them to attain financial, social and emotional independence.
It is an opportunity for them to use their cooking skills, to create a platform to market their items and earn a living in the process.
This initiative helps the women discover their potential, overcoming their inhibitions. These women are members of the 127 Self Help Groups (SHGs) from 50 villages in the Kapadvanj Block of the Kheda District in Gujarat.
"The Canteen Project with the objective to provide alternative income generation is intended to develop the Kapadvanj Rural Women Cluster as a collective of women-in-need, to manage a canteen cooperatively and solve individual issues related to their daily lives as part of the long-term strategy adopted by the KDBS for the development of people's capabilities in these communities," Father Mayank Parmar, Director of KDBS-DRISTI, said.
The outcomes proposed for this project include, the establishment of a Women's Federation in the project area. Further nearly 90 women will find financial support by directly benefiting from the profits earned. Ten women will be employed for sale in the schools and fifteen women will be engaged in cooking. 
The Federation also plans to avail various interest subsidies for group enhancement. It intends to start an educational scheme for the girls of the project area.
Anand Shah, Trustee of the Kapadvanj Kelavani Mandal and Gopal Sharma, Principal of the Arts and Commerce College both stated that their prayers had been answered as the institution required a canteen.