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Organisational Traineeship Segment
1. Introduction
MYRADA is a Non Governmental Organisation managing rural development programmes in

3 States of South India and providing on-going support including deputations of staff to
programmes in 6 other States. It also promotes the Self Help Affinity strategy in Cambodia,
Myanmar and Bangladesh. MYRADA implements variety of developmental programmes like
drinking water, sanitation, housing, education, health and veterinary care and joint forest
management. Though it has a wide portfolio of activities, it is known for promoting self help
groups, watershed management in arid regions and providing trainings to various categories
of people.
Myrada has been contemplating on withdrawing from certain regions because of shift in the
priorities of donors with respect to the areas of operation. It is during this process that the
Community Managed Resource Centers (CMRC) has emerged as a part of withdrawal
strategy of Myrada. The CMRC is a supporting institution to the CBOs of that area in general
and SHGs in particular. It was started in 2000 with 2 CMRCs in Dhrmapuri. At present there
are 63 such CMRCs across 17 projects of 3 states. This huge increase in less time span shows
that there is quite demand for CMRCs. This study aims at understanding these CMRCs in
detail.
2. Objective and Methodology
2.1 Purpose of the study

In span of four years i.e. by the year 2005 the number of CMRCs has leaped from 2 to 64.
Myrada at present is monitoring the CMRCs through CIDORs (Center for Institutional
Development and Organisational Reform- which are actually training centers set up by
Myrada but now working autonomously). These CMRCs are free to explore in terms of
services they will provide, the members and also raising of local funds (details of CMRC are
dealt in next section). But each CMRC has to give its monthly, quarterly and annual reports
both in financial and non financial terms i.e. in terms of activities undertaken, current
membership, services provided to non members, service charges collected, income and
expenditure etc., to CIDORs/Project office. This information is aggregated in each project
and reported to head office every quarter. Each CMRC has to be audited and assessed both by
1 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

Myrada staff and external auditors. The quarterly reports have been introduced recently and
they helped in formalization of procedures to some extent. But, because the CMRCs are
independent in terms of activities which they can undertake and these are very specific to the
regions in which they are set up, monitoring has become a problem. Through all the above
reports only the quantitative picture of CMRC is accounted but not the real picture of its
functioning and well being.
Table 1: Details of CMRCs across 17 projects of MYRADA (cumulative information as on March

2005)
Total Income earned

Total Average Total No. of Total net
through services provided
Project number of age of member surplus (in
in the quarter Jan-Mar
CMRC CMRCs CBOs Rs)
2005 (in Rs)
Chincholi,
2 1.6 88 19829 74555
Karnataka
Western Ghats,
1 2 70 18880 58880
Karnataka
Gulbarga,
1 3 59 22231 65107
Karnataka
Kadiri, Andhra
5 2 482 1932130 1351633
Pradesh
Kolar,
4 3.3 289 470730 712274
Karnataka
Chitradurg,
7 2.8 568 938542 1195912
Karnataka a
Bellary,
0 0 0 0 0
Karnataka
Mysore,
17 2.3 1958 1313869 5998037
Karnataka
Germalem,
1 1 30 21234 31542
TamilNadu
Talavadi,
3 0.9 389 110988 156023
TamilNadu
Kolegal,
5 2 370 545459 952362
Karnataka
Kattery ,
1 1.6 79 113866 -38042
TamilNadu
Hosur,
18 2.3 2169 1596453 4944977
Tamilnadu
Total 65 6550 7104211 15503260
The above table gives an idea of spread of CMRCs across the 16 projects of three states. The
income from the services is that earned by providing the member CBOs services like
auditing, training, home appliances etc. The value of income from services is for the quarter
January-March 2005. The net surplus is a cumulative figure. It also includes the fixed
deposits of the CMRCs.

In order to monitor the CMRCs and understand where they are heading to, one needs to have
information about the present situation of CMRC, their functioning, their deviation from the
original concept, financial status, organisational management etc. In short an in depth study is
needed. Hence this project is undertaken to have a deeper understanding of the present
situation of a CMRC. Also we looked at the withdrawal strategy adopted by Myrada, its
appropriateness, things to be taken care of in future and finally how far these institutions are
in line to become independent (as termed by Myrada but we would put it as organisationally
sustainable).
2.2 Objective
The objectives of this project are
1. To understand the Community Managed Resource Centers and their evolution.
2. Evaluating these CMRCs by examining their management systems (functioning).
3. To look at sustainability of these CMRCs.
2.3 Scope
The study was conducted in three project areas i.e. Kadiri in Andhra Pradesh, Mysore in
Karnataka and Dharmapuri in Tamilnadu in five, five and four CMRCs respectively in those
areas. In total we have interacted with forty self help groups and the concerned management
committee of each CMRC.
2.4 Sources of Data
2.4.1 Primary Data

The primary data is gathered through
• Semi structured interviews

• Focused group discussions both with EC and self help groups
• Informal talks with CMRC manger
• Study of the books of accounts in the CMRC.
2.4.2 Secondary Data
The sources of secondary data are as follows.
• Financial and non financial statements of the CMRCs.

• Some documents in the CMRCs

• Internet
• Documents in various offices (head office, project offices)
2.5 Methodology
The study was conducted in 3 phases. The first phase (1 week) was used in understanding the
concept of CMRC by visiting some CMRCs in Kadiri and Dharmapuri project areas. Then
the area of study was decided as the aspect of well being of CMRCs, during the discussions
with the staff of head office.
During the second phase five CMRCs in Kadiri Project area were studied. This was used as
our pilot study for our further study. We studied about the CMRC in general, looking at the
understanding of CMRC concept from management point of view.
During the third phase five CMRCs of Mysore project and four CMRCs of Dharmapuri
project were studied. The selection of CMRCs was based on their diversity of activities,
donor agency which has been supporting Myrada programs in that area (donors in these areas
are one among the following three; Plan International, UK, Hope International Development
Agency, Canada and IFAD) and any other special characteristics of that particular CMRC.
(This may be either less number of members, huge earnings etc). In this phase we made an
in-depth study of the CMRC functions, its management and interacted with some of their
stake holders to know their understanding of RC concept.
The sampling was random sampling. In the table below sponsor means the donor who has
been funding the programmes undertaken by Myrada in that area. The programmes are
specific to donor; for example Plan supported child centered development etc.
Table 2: Sampling Plan

Date of No. of CBO No. of groups
Project CMRC Location Sponsor
inception members sampled
Mysore Akshya H.D. Kote PLAN 12.8.02 62 5
Kamadhenu Bechanhalli HIDA 8.7.02 125 5
Chetana T. Narsipura IFAD 18.5.02 160 3
Nisarga Kuderu PLAN 30.1.03 85 5
Jyothi Priyapatnam IFAD 5.6.03 73 4
Dhamapuri Nava Jyothi D. Kote PLAN 5.8.02 146 4

Suryaodaya
Pennagaram PLAN 21.6.02 193 4
m
Odasalapatti Odasallapatti IFAD 11.2.02 70 5
Paurpatti Paurpatti HIDA 1.7.01 151 5
During the third phase the following structure was followed (to study each CMRC).
a. The minimum age of each CMRC interacted is two years. This was made as
criteria as it is believed that a minimum of two years is required for stabilization
of functioning.
b. Interaction with four to five self help groups including a non member of CMRC.
The age of SHGs interacted was minimum of 4 years (exceptions like non-CMRC
member and SHGs in Kadiri). This was made as criteria because we thought that
the groups need some time to get hold of the self help group concept and then they
will be able to appreciate the CMRC concept. We attended regular meetings to
ensure the randomness in selection of the groups.
c. Interaction with the executive committee which consists of the selected/ elected
representatives of the members in CMRC.
d. Discussion with the CMRC manager.
e. Examining the books of accounts and also other books in the CMRC.
The interactions with self help groups and Management Committee were focused group
discussion with an aid of checklist and the discussion with CMRC managers was semi
structural interview. (The list of SHGs met in provided in the annexure). The interactions
with different stake holders were at different levels which are given below.
2.5.1 Various levels of interactions

Self Help Groups:
We interacted with SHGs of varied composition like women, men and mixed groups and also
of varied ages ranging from 1 year to 20 years. The SHGs promoted by various organisations
like MYRADA, Sthree Sakthi (Karnataka Govt.), Mahila Thitam (Tamilnadu Govt.), Swami
Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM), Velugu (Andhra Pradesh Govt.) and Rural
Development service (RDS) etc. were visited. Among the MYRADA groups we met were in
different donor sponsored areas like IFAD, HIDA, and PLAN. The details are provided in the
annexure.

Executive Committee:
The Executive members we met varied in the age of SHG they come from (1 year to 15
years), tenure of that Member (1 day to 3 years), the way they are elected (panchyat wise,
federation wise) or selected, occupations, educations levels (illiterate to degree holder), ages
and their exposure levels.
CMRC manager:
The CMRC managers we discussed with had worked at different levels in Myrada and hence
had varied experience. They were from different backgrounds and educational qualifications(
ranging from graduation to dual post graduation)
2.6 Framework
The following is the framework developed by Mr. Alosius Fernandez (2000) to assess the
Community Based Institutions.
Figure 1 Frame work for assessing community based institutions by Alosius Fernandez (2000).
The underlying assumption used in the framework is that people’s institutions at the base
contribute significantly to sustainability of impact of interventions as well as to the strength

of the civil society within the border of framework of promoting self help, self reliance and
democracy. The framework is more useful when the assessment is participatory.
We have adopted five components of the above framework for our study. The meaning of
each component are modified a little to suit the context of the CMRC.
a. Organisational Management
b. Financial Management
c. Vision and its realization
d. Linkages
e. Learning and evaluation
The meaning of the above components, the issues looked under each component and the
corresponding observations and findings under each component are dealt in the next chapter.
2.7 Background of the project areas studied

As said earlier we visited the CMRCs in three project areas Kadiri in Andhra Pradesh,
Dharmapuri in Tamilnadu and Mysore in Karnataka. Of these Kadiri project was studied at
general level so it is not described here.
The Mysore project: Myrada has first started its operations in this area and also the CMRCs
were started about 3 years ago. There are at present 18 CMRCs in this project area. Some of
them are emerged while most of them have been formed (emerged means on peoples demand
and formed means a sort of customized replication applicable to that area). One can see the
stark difference in terms of functioning of these CMRCs relative to those in Kadiri area. A
very diverse set of activities are taken up by the CMRC ranging from gas connection to links
with forest department; to sale of sanitary pads for rural women at lower rates etc. The
federations are functioning well in Mysore area. The executive committee members are
elected through these federations. 7 out of 18 CMRCs are paying the 50% of CMRC manager
salary from the earnings of the CMRC. Their corpuses and FDs of CMRCs are in the range of
Rs1.5 to 6 lakh.
Dharmapuri project is the origin for the emergence of CMRC concept. It started from a small
village called Pauparpatty. There are 17 CMRCs in this project. The maturity levels and the
working of CMRCs are more or less on similar lines with those of Mysore project. On the

surface they seem to earn less but they are more financially sustainable because they are not
dependent on the subsidized income from training by Myrada. The CMRCs in Mysore get
their trainings expenses subsidized by the project.
2.8 Limitations
 Time was a constraint and our findings are based on 2-3 days visit to CMRC.
 Language was a constraint in Tamilnadu and Karnataka.
 The CMRCs are very specific to the region where they are functioning and hence our
findings are relevant to CMRCs of these project areas.
3. The study and findings
3.1 Evolution of CMRCs

Mysore Resettlement and Development Agency (Myrada) was started as a project engaged
for resettlement of Tibetans in Mysore area in 1968. Seeing its success in establishing credit
cooperatives with Tibetans, other State Governments like that of Tamilnadu and Andhra
Pradesh entrusted Myrada with some similar projects. One such project was to help in the
resettlement of bonded laborers in Kadiri of Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh in 1980’s.
But Myrada could not replicate its success in this region (in credit Cooperatives). The reasons
were lack of trust by the members in their leaders and also poor management. These credit
cooperatives were dismantled but the members were interested in continuing their relation
with Myrada. It is during this time that the concept of self help affinity groups emerged. The
concept gained momentum and spread across the country.
During the year 2000, due to the financial crunch Myrada has been contemplating on
withdrawal from the areas where it has been working for many years. The management of
Myrada had long debates on the strategy of withdrawal; opinions ranged from complete
withdrawal of all staff and services at one end to a strategy which provided space for the
emergence of a new institution in which Myrada would continue to play some role, mainly to
provide a stable executive component during the transition or withdrawal period; this strategy
would require in the short term (for 3-4 years) that Myrada provides finances and an
experienced as well as competent staff. Such institutions were started as the “SHG
Development Resource Centre (SDRC)” and later called as “Community Managed Resource

Centre (CMRC)” The support would be provided financially till it becomes self-reliant and is
able to manage its own affairs. Thus emerged the CMRC in the year 2001, with of two
CMRCs in Papurapatti and Palakode regions under Dharmapuri project in Tamilnadu.
3.2 Overview of Community Managed Resource Center (CMRC)

As mentioned earlier the CMRCs are the community based institutions (CBI) promoted by
Myrada as a part of its withdrawal strategy. The purpose of these CMRC is to act as a
supporting institution to the CBOs (community based organisations) in that area.
3.2.1 Structure and Governance

The CMRC consists of Executive committee at the highest level, followed by the CMRC
manager (referred hereafter as manager). Next in the hierarchy are the Community volunteers
(CVs), Community Resource Persons (CRPS)/ Community level Trainers (CLTs) and the
secretary. Finally it is the members of the CMRC at the lowest level but they are the primary
stake holders. The advisory board is external to CMRC.
Structure of CMRC
Community Volunteers
Live Stock Activists Advisory
Agriculture Activists Committee
Community Health Activists
SHG Facilitators
Master Book Writers
Community Level Trainers Executive Committee
RC Manager
Community
CRPs Secretary
Volunteers
VO/Federations VO/Federations
Other
SAGs SAGs SAGs SAGs SAGs
CBOs
SAG: Self-help Affinity Group; V.O: Village Organisation;

CRP: Community Resource Person;
Figure 2: Structure of CMRC
The members of CMRC are the CBOs existing in the area where CMRC is set up; at present
these are typically the Self help groups. These SHGs are graded before enrolling them as
members so that they meet certain standard levels. The grading is done by the Executive

Committee (EC) every year to ensure that the CBOs maintain those standards. The
federation/VO (village organisation) is a group of such groups. This grouping is done
geographically (at cluster level) for easy monitoring and quick information dissemination by
the CMRC to its members. A CMRC has membership in the range of 60-120 groups. If more
groups are interested in joining the CMRC then the exiting CMRC is bifurcated into two and
start functioning as two separate CMRCs.
These members elect an executive committee (EC). EC members from the each federation or
VO level are elected, in proportion to members in the federation/VO to the total members in
the CMRC; generally the size of EC is between 10 to 17 members. The EC is rotated one
third in every year or one half in every year. It varies from CMRC to CMRC and Myrada
does not enforce any of its opinion regarding this on the CMRCs. The EC meets once in
month to discuss the activities taken in the last month and the activities to be done in future.
They are paid traveling allowances (TAs) for each meeting of CMRC attended. Each member
of the EC monitors certain number of groups (in turn accountable to these groups also). The
EC member does the work of resolving conflicts, helping defunct groups, information
dissemination, etc. Each CMRC has its own vision and this is developed by the EC members.
The CMRC has its own bank account. Two of the EC members are the signatories for the
checks to be drawn from the bank or for the payments to be made. The EC is accountable to
the all members (overall).
The manager is the link between CMRC and Myrada. He/she is an experienced employee of
Myrada. He/she facilitates EC in taking decisions. He/she also supervises the work being
done in the office and facilitates the meetings held in CMRC.
The community volunteers and Community Resource Persons (CRP) are recruited at the local
level with the consent of EC. Their primary work is to assist the people in different areas as
mentioned in the diagram of structure of CMRC. The CRPs also do the internal auditing of
the books of the self help groups once in every 6 months. The secretary does the office work
of writing the minute’s book during the meetings, managing account books etc. He/She is
also recruited from the local community.
The advisory board is external to CMRC, which consists of representatives from various line
departments like agriculture, horticulture etc. There may be some Panchayat members,

veterinary doctor, doctor, bank employee, school principal etc in the advisory board. One
member from this board is invited in the monthly meeting of EC to know the schemes or
facilities or information that the community can avail or make use of. Sometimes when the
bank is facing difficulty in collecting loans from some groups, they convey it in EC meeting
and then EC takes care of the situation. Such type of board basically helps CMRC in gaining
public acceptance.
3.2.2 Activity profile of CMRC1

All the CMRCs in general offer basic services like training to Self help groups, providing
bank linkages to avail loans for self help groups and auditing the books of groups. Apart from
the above a CMRC can provide facilities like Income Generating Programme trainings,
information on government schemes, undertake health camps with the help of local
government doctor, provide legal services or legal awareness through an advocate,
application filling for bank loans or any other government schemes, supplying home
appliances in installments etc.
Finally coming to infrastructure, the CMRCs operate from a building which is either owned
by them or taken for rent (rent is paid by CMRC). The CMRCs are provided with a computer
and telephone by Myrada. All the expenditure or income from these resources goes to the
account of CMRC.
3.3 Findings
In this section, the functional definition of each component of framework is explained,
followed by the observations and conclusions. These findings are restricted to Mysore and
Dharmapuri because the Kadiri project was a test case for this study.
3.3.1 Organisational Management

By organisational management we mean the effective utilization of the resources available to
the CMRC, the range of services offered, the management of non financial books, and
dynamism of the staff. Here organisation means CMRC and not Myrada and we are looking
at the management competencies of CMRC.
The CMRCs are different in terms of resources they have (for example computer, telephone),
the range of services they are offering and the dynamism of the staff. The computer and
1
Detailed list of activities is provided in annexure

telephone were provided by Myrada. At present some CMRCs do not have them but these
resources will be provided to these CMRCs in near future.
The resources in CMRC are the human resources in the form of skillful trainers (Community
Resource Persons) who train the self help groups on SHG concepts like book keeping,
common investment fund management etc, CMRC manager; physical resources like
television, computer, telephone etc; financial resources are not dealt in this section. The
observation reveals that the human resources are utilized to the possible extent in all the
CMRCs but the physical resources are not used optimally. Most of the cases it is the
computer which is underutilized. The reason is that the staff is not well versed with the
computer handling.
The services offered might differ due to two reasons; first is that there is no demand for some
services and second is that the financial status of CMRC financial might not allow it provide
those services. Also different CMRCs offer different set of services depending on local
conditions and the demand from the members. Most of the CMRCs are supplying home
appliances while there are a few CMRCs which are into income generating activities like
extracting oil from Pongemia seeds (used as bio fuel) and honey extraction. But this is purely
local. Myrada wants to withdraw from those areas in which it has been working for years. If
the CMRCs have to gain identity as community institution in these areas and not be viewed
as an extension unit of Myrada, then they need to cater to the needs of different section of
people and offer wide variety of services. Once CMRC is identified as community institution
then people will start making real use of CMRC.
The non financial books like, the minutes book used for all the meetings, the visitors’ book
which keeps track of the persons who visited the CMRC every day along with the purpose
and action taken for their request, service book which gives information of the services
provided by CMRC to each member group etc need regular updating. But in almost all the
CMRCs this is lacking. These books actually help in understanding the functioning of CMRC
clearly. Because of this irregularity one cannot get a clear picture of number of people a
CMRC is able to cater everyday, number of services taken by each member etc. So
monitoring becomes a problem.

The dynamism of the staff plays an important role in the well functioning of CMRC. It can be
either CMRC manager, EC or the support staff or a combination of these. In relatively well
functioning CMRCs which we have seen like Kamadhenu, Nisarga in Mysore project and
Pauparpatty in Dharmapuri project this dynamism was clearly observed.
From the observations we can conclude that most of the CMRCs are poor in regular updating
of books and utilization of computer. This gives an implication that some training is needed
to be provided by Myrada to the CMRC staff in the above said issues.
3.3.2 Financial Management

Through financial management we intended to understand the sources of income to CMRC,
the way the account books are managed, the understanding of financial statements by EC and
also the outcome i.e. the stakeholders view about the service charges being paid to CMRC for
the services it provides.
The sources of income to CMRC are the subscription fee of Rs.600 a year per group, the
service charges for each service provided by it to members and also non members of CMRC,
donations and the training income. Apart from these sometimes the CMRC manager also
brings in some amount of money through him giving training to the agriculture or any other
such departments. In Chetana CMRC of Mysore project area, the manager could mobilize as
high as three lakh by giving trainings.
Each CMRC needs to maintain certain minimum books of accounts like cash, general ledger,
receipts and payments file and these are expected to be updated regularly. The cash
remittance needs to be done once in a week atleast and receipts and payments need to be
approved by both the signatories. This is not followed in all the CMRCs. The cash and
general ledger are supposed to be updated every day. But there are some CMRCs where the
updating is once in month. These incidents reveal that though Myrada emphasizes on systems
and procedures, it is not effectively followed in CMRC and hence strict monitoring is needed
in this aspect.
The EC members are responsible to the member groups. This means that they are accountable
to the money of about 2500 people. Hence it is expected that the EC members at least have a
rough picture of the income and expenditure of CMRC. Actually all the financial statements

are to be discussed in EC meeting and payments are to be approved in the same meeting itself
and recorded in minute’s book. In most of the CMRCs only expenditure is discussed. So EC
does not have a clear picture of the income and expenditures. Because EC members are
usually of low education level the manager need to make conscious effort and discuss these
issues in every meeting.
The primary stake holders of CMRC are CBOs. However at present only SHGs have joined
as members of CMRC. It was expected that the stakeholders know why they are paying
subscription fee of Rs.600 annually. The understanding was examined at two levels i.e. at the
EC level and the SHGs level. There is a fair bit of understanding of why the Rs.600 is paid to
the CMRC at the EC level but at the SHG level it is not clear. Similar is the case with that of
service charges. We tried to find out whether the member groups are really satisfied with the
services they are getting for the subscription fee they are paying. In most of the cases the
members expressed their satisfaction. However there are exceptions. 10 groups of the 40
groups interviewed expressed that the services of CMRC which they get for the subscription
are not worth. The reason is that the services being provided were not useful to them. For
instance in one group most of them had male children. They wanted some services which
would be useful to men like driving, fitting etc.
The binding point for a group to become member of CMRC is its linkage with a credible
institution which increases its credibility to get bank loan. Every CMRC is able to provide
this service to its members. Some services like monitoring, auditing, grading, information
dissemination and SHG trainings have become minimum services that a CMRC is expected
to provide. All the above services are provided by the CMRC except grading which is done
only at the time of bank linkage.
There are various other requests to CMRC from its member groups. For example they wabt
more trainings, facilitating subsidy loans, housing loans, income generating activity trainings,
education support, other home appliances, employment opportunities to their children and
also other trainings like facilitating nurse training, teacher training, motor driving, NTFC etc.
Most of the CMRCs were not able to cater to all the above mentioned requests.
The rising needs or requests imply two things. First that the purchasing power of people is
improving (because they want more home appliances) and second is that the members have

accepted CMRC and community institution and has belief that their request put up at CMRC
would be fulfilled. Here the unsatisfied requests need to be documented so that they can be
fulfilled when CMRC has sufficient financial resources. At present CMRC has no problem
for funds. So when we look at this issue, the immediate concern is in the area of management
of the financial books and to know what the needs of the members are.
3.3.3 Vision and its realization

In this context the vision refers to the individual vision of each CMRC. It is usually
developed by the EC with the help of facilitation by manager or any other training faculty
from Myrada. Here we looked at the existence of the statement of vision, its regular follow
up, drawing of yearly plans, the coherence of yearly plans with vision and quantifiability of
the yearly plan. Also we tried to find out the perception of the people regarding the ownership
of the institution.
The individual vision was stated and also shared in all the CMRC but the detail to which the
vision was stated is different in different CMRCs. For example in some CMRCs it is a broad
one lined statement while in some other it is a detailed point by point description. It was
observed that in the CMRCs where the vision was listed in detail, the level of clarity and
understanding of vision is higher among the members of EC.
The follow up of vision is not done on a regular basis. It is usually done when some activity
in concern with the vision is taken up. There is no as such any formal review of vision but it
was discussed in some of the monthly meetings of EC.
The yearly plans are the tools to realize the vision. They are actually the action plans which
are prepared for a year, listing the activities to be accomplished in that year (they are usually
listed in quantifiable terms). But in most of the CMRCs there are no yearly plans drawn.
Except in 2 CMRCs no where else the yearly plan was drawn. Here it was in relevant to the
vision. For instance the vision was to increase the membership in CMRC and in the yearly
plan they want to increase the membership that year by 10 groups.
The purpose of setting up of CMRC is to have a community institution which would support
the CBOs. Myrada promoted it to be a community institution and that this institution should
work for social cause. This means that CMRC cannot undertake activities like lending money

(functioning as bank). It may be the belief system of Myrada that financial activities need
professionalism which has put this constraint on CMRC. We tried to find out that to what
extent this feeling is ingrained among the people. All the EC members know that the CMRC
belongs to the community and also 95% of the groups we interacted with expressed the same
feeling. But regarding the CMRC functioning as bank, most of the groups, as high as 28 out
of 40 groups wanted CMRC to work as bank in future.
The CMRC is expected to service other non-members though charging more. This is done in
all the CMRCs. As of now the services are more women oriented but as per the CMRC
concept CMRC need to be a community institution and not only for women. At present only
women non-members are getting services like training, auditing etc. The non-members are
not given any other services like providing home appliances etc. When the issue of providing
services to men came up, the EC members of CMRCs expressed their unwillingness to
provide services to men.
By the above observation we could draw the following inferences. It was good to observe that
the vision of each CMRC was shared among its EC members. This sharing of vision
promotes a feeling of family and helps them work together. Myrada need to put some effort
in order make the EC of each CMRC aware of the importance of yearly plan and its
achievement. Myrada also now needs to take steps to make people understand that CMRC
cannot function as bank in future (keeping in view the problems of intergroup conflicts,
professionalism in managing money etc) and also that CMRCs should be gender friendly and
not gender blind.
3.3.4 Linkages
By linkages we tried to understand the external environment of CMRC. Here we looked at
the parameters like the presence of an advisory board, the frequency of interactions with line
departments and others, the presence of committees among the EC members and any other
additional linkages.
For a CMRC to be recognised as Community Based Institution it should gain recognition and
image. The presence of an advisory board in RC, which usually consists of representatives
from bank, agriculture department, veterinarian, Panchayat etc. will help in CMRC being
known to people as Community Based Institution. But there are no advisory boards in

CMRCs of Mysore area. In some areas though there are no advisory boards the concerned
persons from the departments are invited for the EC meeting. (For example in Pauaparpatty
CMRC)
To strengthen the linkages of CMRC, the EC members usually form the committees among
themselves and visit the assigned departments. This ensures that those departments are visited
regularly and also thus makes the EC members more accountable.
Additional linkages like that with the forest, fishery or sericulture etc depending on the
availability and suitability need to be used to the fullest extent possible.
 Some linkages like linkage with forest department, fisheries, sericulture etc are
area specific. But they need to be used fully. For example the forest department is
promoting the supply of gas connections at subsidy in order to reduce the use of
wood as fuel (free gas stove for a gas connection at Rs.1300 and one full cylinder
is free. In Nisarga one gas connection along with stove costs Rs.2300 and 2400 in
Chetana CMRC. Here there is no free cylinder.). This opportunity is being well
used by the Kamadhenu CMRC. Similarly sericulture linkage by Nisarga CMRC.
So it can be inferred that the more frequently one interacts with the outside agencies the
relations strengthens and we can make better use of it. The concept of EC members forming
committees across the line departments is not present in all CMRCs. This need to be shared
among the CMRCs.
3.3.5 Learning and evaluation

Myrada is known to build the capacity of its staff through training. It tried to benefit the
community by conducting some exposures (visits) to other successful CMRCs. Here under
“learning and evaluation” we studied the frequency of such trainings and exposures given to
staff of CMRC, the learnings from these and the process of sharing of information across the
Management committee.
The exposures are given with the intention that the new things observed in other CMRCs can
be incorporated in that particular CMRC. But this is not done in practice. Exposures are
conducted and there is little follow up. The sharing of experiences is present at the level of
ECs only but not at the SHGs.

The trainings to new Community Level Trainers (some times called Community Resource
Persons-CRPs ) and to the new EC members are conducted by CIDOR (regarding CMRC
concept). But after training this information is not shared with the next newly joined
members. We feel that if the information is shared then CIDOR need not give same training
again and again.
So we can observe that the problem of not having a formal platform to share experiences with
the other members of EC committee exists in a CMRC. This is resulting in non-sharing of
information and the purpose for which visits are organised, trainings are given- is not being
fulfilled. It would be better to make the sharing of experiences mandatory in the immediate
meeting and also the documentation of experiences.
3.4 Organisational Sustainability

Having looked at the above findings we wanted to study CMRCs from the Organizational
sustainability point of view. This part of the report starts with some conceptual understanding
of the term Organizational Sustainability and how is it manifested in CMRCs at present.
Autonomous sustainability of People’s Organisation is the desired outcome of the any

organizational model that we have been working, living and experiencing with over the years.
Ultimately any NGO or any other intervening agency would desire that the institution set up/
promoted by it is sustainable.
According to Anderson
“Organisational Sustainability” may be described as the ability of an organisation to
maintain the quality of its services indefinitely. Thus, for example, it must be able to replace
its technology and introduce new activities that meet the needs of its users. Sustainability is
not static, it is dynamic, and as users’ needs change so the system must also be able to
adapt.” Hence here comes the issue of effective management. The ability or adroitness of the
management of CMRC to respond to the needs of its members within the given constraints
(like financial, CMRC functions at local level, illiteracy of the people etc) is one of the key
aspects of organizational sustainability. For instance in Pauparpatty CMRC of Dharmapuri
project area, the rice was procured at a lower cost during drought with an extended credit

period. The credit period is usually 20 days while they could manage to get it extended to 45
days. This incident shows the ability of the management to respond to the needs of its
members. The above incident emphasizes the view that the management need to undertake
relevant activities to continue functioning.
Further organizational sustainability can also be understood as according to Anil (1994) “The
most fundamental aspect of organisational sustainability lies in the firm grounding of its
vision/mission among the membership.” Whether it was initiated by NGO as an organisation
or by a few individuals becomes irrelevant beyond a point in the history of organisation
building. Shared vision and mission among the membership on one hand binds people and
helps in moving from collective to cohesive; on the other hand it works as a guard against
any kind of deviation due to influences of a few personalities. As discussed earlier under
findings, each CMRC has its own vision. This vision is very much shared among the EC
members and the CMRC manager. However the vision still did not percolate down to the
member level. But the level of understanding of the vision by the EC is quite high in all the
CMRCs.
According to Anil(1994) another crucial factor is resources and their sustainability. They
include financial, material and non-material resources like linkages, credibility, acceptability,
social relevance, etc. There are some more factors which are critical in terms of
organisational sustainability, even though these are subservient to the ones outlined above.
One such is the evolution of appropriate systems and procedures to take care of issues like
division of work, integration and coordination, accounting and reporting requirements, and
decision making mechanism.
When we look at the material resources only 3 out of 9 CMRCs could efficiently use their
resources (leaving out 5 CMRCs from Kadiri because it was pilot study there). By resources
we restrict to telephone, computer (there is a software package called “RC Admin” in order to
manage the CMRC, developed by one of the projects of Myrada. But it is rarely used in the
CMRCs; most of the times due to lack of training of how to use it) and human resources.
Some of the CMRCs have good trainers, but they are unable to capture the opportunities and
use their training skills to generate additional income to CMRC, this is due to lack of
information. The information network with the line departments in that area and other NGOs
need to be built so that such training opportunities can be captured.

The stronger the linkages the better the CMRCs are. In Kamadhenu CMRC of Mysore project
the CMRC manager with his strong network was able to solve the marketing problem of
Agarbathi. None of the other CMRCs could do it. This not only solved the marketing
problem in that particular CMRC but across all CMRCs which have taken up this activity. In
absence of such a network,k the purpose of giving training in agarbathi making to the women
so that they can earn money, might not have been served.
The above incidents reinforce that efficient utilisation of resources along with a good
management can always be an added advantage for the well functioning of CMRCs. However
it always comes with the cost. But the extent to which the members CBOs are ready to bear
this cost after Myrada withdraws is a question of concern. This is still under debate by the
organisation and till now no stance is taken. The good management is an asset to the CMRC.
This was ascertained in the following cases which seemed to function better organisationally.
Table 3 Organisational strengths of some CMRCs

S.No Name of the CMRC Strength
1 Akshya in Mysore Staff
2 Kamadhenu in Mysore, Pauparpatty in Dharmapui RC manager
3 Nisarga in Mysore, Pauparpatty in Dharmapuri, EC
In Akshaya CMRC the staffs is efficient and cooperative. They do not wait for the orders
from CMRC manager. The CMRC manager is life of the CMRC in Kamadhenu and
Pauparpatty CMRCs. His creativity, dynamism and interest have made these CMRCs to
march well ahead of the remaining CMRCs. The Nisarga CMRC is blessed with a good
Executive Committee. Though, the manager is a bit passive, the EC is very active and
dynamic and they do know their responsibilities well. This is one of the CMRCs where the
vision of that CMRC and the yearly plan were well documented and shared among the EC
members.
By financial sustainability we mean to study the dependency of these CMRCs on Myrada for
funds. This is examined with the help of their income and expenditure statements and
comparing them with the income and expenditure statements after deducting the subsidised
income by Myrada. We could get only last year Income and Expenditure Statement.
Table 4 Income and expenditure of CMRCs in Mysore Project area

2004-05

Total income Percentage

Percentage of Total expenditure
Name of the Annual Annual less of Income
Income and less Sponsored
CMRC Income Expenditure Sponsored to
Expenditure expenditure
income expenditure
Akshaya 812732 605815 134.16% 409082 456713 89.57%
Kamadhenu 657223 325029 202.20% 269678 448842 60.08%
Chetana 1064590 586397 181.55% 485126 882913 54.95%
Nisarga 465173 285175 163.12% 161314 290206 55.59%
Jyothi 205751 150034 137.14% 140016 170862 81.95%
Table 5 Income and expenditure of CMRCs in Dharmapuri Project area

2004-05
Total Percentage
Percentage of Total expenditure
Name of the Annual Annual income less of Income
Income and less Sponsored
CMRC Income Expenditure Sponsored to
Expenditure expenditure
income expenditure
Suroydayam 375084 215332 174.19% 204713 107546 190.35%

Navjyothi 176598 136924 128.98% 74448 117040 63.61%
Pauparpatty 442464 168324 262.86% 357669 140419 254.72%
Odsalpatty 161628 49200 328.51% 84061 45058 186.56%
A look at the above tables tells that the CMRCs in Dharmapuri project are financially more
sustainable than that of Mysore. Although judgment cannot be made solely on the above
basis, we can infer that Mysore CMRCs are more dependent on the subsidized income by
their project. This subsidized income is mainly for the trainings provided by the CMRCs to
the self help groups. Hence we can say that the CMRCs need to look at some continual
source of income like honey making, extracting oil from Pongameia etc for their financial
sustainability.
Finally we can say that the CMRCs are at the following levels of organizational sustainability
(from our understanding)
Table 6 Sustainability levels of different CMRCs

Name of the CMRC Organisational Sustainability
Akshaya Medium
Kamadhenu Very High
Chetana Very low
Nisarga High

Jyothi Medium
NavJyothi Very Low
Odsalpatty High
Pauparpatty Very High
Suryodayam Medium
4. Withdrawal strategy of MYRADA

The CMRC are promoted by Myrada as a part of its withdrawal strategy. This strategy is
examined in this section. It with some concepts of withdrawal and trying to figure out which
of those withdrawal concepts fit it the one followed by Myrada.
4.1 Withdrawal
Withdrawal of an NGO occurs because of three reasons. The reason one is because of change
in the donor policies or financial restriction. The second one can be due to change in
Government polices or imposing any restrictions. These external threats may sometimes be of
the local threats like naxalites, terrorists etc. The other reason of NGO withdrawal can be that
it withdraws when it feels that the institutions set up by it are self reliant and sustainable.
Some activities can be phased out easily while some need more time. The issues of
sustainability, continuity, autonomy and independence go along with the concept of
withdrawal. Broadly NGO withdrawals fall under three categories.
• NGO- Peoples organisation: In this case the NGO village level groups are formed and
integrated at different levels. Initially the NGO provides support like infrastructural,
training, human resource, financial etc. and there is a gradual withdraw of these
resources. The capacity building to raise their own financial resources is the most
difficult part. Even after withdrawal some support is extended mostly informational.
In the trade union model the people form into unions and the NGO trains them to
mange their everyday affairs. Slowly NGO decreases its presence and repeats the
same in another area. It is usually for political purposes.
In credit group model the people are mobilized under economic programs. Before
withdrawing NGO links these groups with some banking institutions.

• NGO-Donor model: In this model the withdrawal of NGO is because of funds crunch
or financial restrictions put by the donor. It takes place when the programs are purely
donor driven
• NGO-Branch model: Here the NGO trains the branch and when the empowerment is
under way then the NGO encourages the branch to get registered itself. This is done
so that the Branch can raise its funds.
4.2 Where does withdrawal strategy of Myrada fall in case of CMRC

The above models suggest that the withdrawal strategy followed by Myrada for CMRCs is
largely NGO-Peoples Organisation model (credit groups) though NGO-Donor model is
applicable in few areas. However withdrawal was started in those areas where the funding
was a problem.
The reasons are that Myrada has formed the SHGs around the economic concept. It provided
all the support needed in the form of bank linkages (banks as well as Sangamitra), trainings
etc. Now before withdrawing it want to set up a community based institution called CMRC
which would not only support its groups but community in large. After the CMRC has been
formed, Myrada has helped some of them with infrastructure, almost all the CMRCs with the
training and deputed one of its experienced staff over there. So Myrada has formed the
groups around economic concept and is linking them to the other community institutions
through CMRC. Hence it is NGO-Peoples Organisation model.
In Tamilnadu, some of the CMRCs have been formed mainly due to financial crunch.
Moreover the major donor of Myrada, Plan International is planning to phase out by 2007-
2008. So it can be said that here Ngo-Donor model is observed.
4.3 Stages of dependency

After studying the withdrawal we could map the CMRCs on the parameter “level of
dependency on Myrada “as follows.
• Dependency
– Jyothi CMRC in Periyapttanam in Mysore project
– NavJyothi CMRC of Denkanikota in Dharmapuri project
• Interdependency
– 3 CMRCs of Mysore project

• Akshaya CMRC in HDKote

• Nisraga CMRC in Kuderu
• Chetana CMRCin TNarsipura
– 2 CMRCs of Dharmapuri project
• Odsalpatty CMRC in Odsalpatty
• Syryodayam CMRC in Pennagram
• Independency
– Kamadhenu CMRC in Beechanhalli in Mysore Project
– Puaparpatty CMRC in Pauparpatty in Dharmapuri Project
4.4 Looking Back – the issues emerged in the discussions

During the interviews and discussions with the CMRC managers some interesting points
about issues to be taken care of, while setting up an institution like CMRC have come up.
• An NGO which would like to set up an institution like CMRC should concentrate on
building up quality CBOs right from its intervention. This helps in effective
functioning of CMRC right from its initial stage. At present the problem is being
faced in cases of Government supported SHGs which want to be enrolled as members
but they do not meet the necessary standards. (These standards are used as base while
providing the bank linkages to those groups).
• The CBOs need to be assessed before enrolling them. While setting up the CMRC all
the CBOs of that area who wanted to be the member were enrolled. This might have
been done for two reasons. One is to spread the concept of CMRC while the second
one is to ensure the viability of CMRC. But this strategy later on proved to be
problematic because now the CMRCs need to spend more time in strengthening these
CMRCs. More over after becoming the member of CMRC the interest of becoming a
good grade CBO will be less when compared to that of before being enrolled as
member (receptive nature).
• A community based institution is sustainable only when the activities undertaken by it
are need based and relevant. The activities should be able to utilize the local resources
to the possible extent and should also be useful to the local people in maximum.
• The location of CMRC is also important. It should not only be easily accessible to the
members but also should be able to provide the minimal facilities like telephone,
internet etc.

• The foremost thing a CMRC should do is to get near to the people. So in the initial
stage the RC should concentrate on gaining recognition in the local area and also in
making the people understand the concept of CMRC that it is a their own community
institution. Here the role of CMRC manager becomes critical. If CMRC gains
confidence of the people that it is a people’s institution then its purpose will be
achieved with maximum participation of the people.
• A CMRC needs at least three years to stabilize it. During this time the direct support
of NGO is needed in terms of financial, technical and human skills. It needs the
technical support of NGO at least for 5 years. Even though the NGO has withdrawn
occasional support is needed in the form of consultancy (for which the CMRC should
be able to pay).
• The set up of CMRC needs to be planned carefully and strategically, so that it is not
viewed as a competitor or against any other NGOs or government, but as a supporting
agency.
5. SWOT Analysis of CMRC

After the overall understanding of the CMRCs in 3 different project areas an attempt has been
made to understand the strengths, weaknesses etc of an institution like CMRC.
Strengths
• The CMRC manager is a very experienced employee of Myrada
• Good Rapport of CMRC manager with the community and also local government
• Grading of the CBOs while enrolling them as members to ensure only well
functioning CBOs are members
• Committed Executive Committee
• Easy access to CMRC
• Facilities like telephone, internet etc.
• Need based services like information on government schemes, supplying home
appliances (where the payment is in installments) etc
Weaknesses
• Less conceptual clarity of CMRC among the members

• Not all the members or the community knows CMRC as Community Insitution. it is
still viewed as Myrada office in some cases.
• No proper documentation and financial management system.
• Less clarity on services to member groups
• Very few services available to non members
• Lack of proper information dissemination system.
Opportunities
• Formation of groups on their own. The CMRCs are able to mobilize the community to
form groups on their own without depending on Myrada.
• Other NGO/ Government supported SHGs can also become members of CMRC
• Demand for training by the above said groups
• Rising expectations of people always help in serving better
• Community is willing to pay for the services. Earlier the services like training,
auditing etc were free of cost but now they are provided by CMRC and service charge
is collected. Even then the community is ready to pay for those services
• Image of CMRC as a credible institution.
Threats
• The subsidies for government supported groups and no strict monitoring in terms of
purpose of loan and documentation is attracting the members to join those groups.
• With the surplus fund and Fixed Deposit rising every year (now in the order of 1 lakh
to 7 lakh), it may attract political interventions.
• Acceptance of CMRC manager service costs when Myrada completely withdraws.
6. Suggestions
The following are the suggestion in general to all the CMRCs of the different project areas.
 Rotation tenure of EC members
o We feel that rotation of one third members of EC annually is better than half of the
EC members being rotated every year. This ensures that each EC member
effectively works for atleast more than 2 years. (Leaving out nine months to
understand the concept of RC). If the EC members are rotated one half every year

then the productive time of each member is little over one year and to train the
members frequently is also unproductive to CMRC.
 Sharing of trainings given by CIDOR (Center for Institutional development and
Organisational Reform)
o When the Community Resource Persons (CRPs) are trained by CIDOR this
training is not properly passed on to the new CRPs because of which every time
the new trainers are recruited they are given training by the CIDOR. This is
ineffective use of the available resources. The same problem is arising in case of
newly elected EC members. This can be addressed if CMRC manager takes steps
to ensure sharing of information and trainings.
 EC members should know the amount of money brought in by the CMRC manager
thorough the trainings he facilitate and linkages which he gets to the CMRC. They
also should be made aware that the administration expense of CMRC (Rs.7500) is
nothing but part of RC manager salary. (At present though Rs.7500 is paid to CMRC
manager from the account of CMRC it is transferred to Myrada as administration
expense and from there it goes to CMRC manager as his salary. This is because there
is no consensus in Myrada about how to make the community know that they need to
pay about Rs.15000 to CMRC manager as his salary). This will ensure smooth
transition from present stage to CMRC contributing the whole salary of CMRC
manager.
 Request Format
o It would be better if credit requests come to CMRC through federation and for
credit plus activities, the concerned person directly launches the request in
CMRC. The reason is; Federation or Village Panchayat meetings (monthly
meeting) being close to the groups than the CMRC, will have more clear idea
about the credibility of the group and also it can put social pressure so that the
group will repay the loan in time. The credit plus activities should be given to
CMRC directly because; if the request is through federation it actually consumes
time for the request to be known by the EC and it is EC which finally takes the
decision. (Usually the federation meetings are in first week of every month and
EC meeting on 10th. So the request, which was put forward in federation meeting,
will be discussed in EC meeting on 10th and the information would be forwarded

to federation the next month. This means for a new service to be in way it takes
about 40 days).
o Moreover all the requests should be in written form and documented. The CMRC
may now not have the capacity to fulfill that request but later on when it attains
that capacity, these requests will not be known to anyone. If the requests are
documented one can not only try for unfulfilled requests but always can know the
nerve of the people, i.e. their demands and needs.
 Orientation to the groups about the CMRC concept especially that the CMRC cannot
take up financial activity like lending need to be given.
 Calendar can be used as an aid to get recognition of the CMRC and also to share the
information about the activities being taken by various CMRCs. Some interesting
incidents and stories can be added to it. Because an internal market (in the form of
SHGs) already exists marketing would not be a problem and if any advertisement can
be mobilized the cost would also come down.
 To share the information across the CMRCs a news letter can be introduced. This will
be a forum to discuss the activities taken up by each CMRC so that the feasible ideas
can be taken up by other CMRCs. The information about linkages can also be shared.
 Activity wise income and expenditure
o If the CMRC maintains separately activity wise income and expenditure then it
will be easy to explain the people the expenditure on each activity. For example
for a tailoring training the total cost include the cost of the trainer, the
correspondence cost, cost of needles, buttons, cloth etc, and any other cost and
income is from the charge collected from the members. If this is separately
documented then it can, not only be clearly told to people but one can assess
whether that activity is incurring any loss. If at all there is any then the reasons
can be found out and action can be taken.
 In the daybook there is no indication whether a person who comes for request is
member or non-member of CMRC. Just adding a column would solve this problem.
Here date of the fulfillment (and also action taken) of request can be added which
gives an idea about the lead-time taken by CMRC to fulfill the request. Through this
one can get the idea about the unfulfilled request (it can be followed up later) and also
the purpose of visit by the non-members.
 Sharing of information of linkages among RC managers

o The information about linkages which can be better used by other CMRCs also
need to be shared across all CMRCs. This will ensure a better utilization of
resources and linkages like Agarbathi business in Mysore, sericulture trainings in
Kuderu.
 Bringing suppliers and buyers on one platform i.e. first satisfy the internal market
which is market of the SHGs then look for the external markets.
 The basic information of every member of the SHGs (who are members of CMRC)
can be collected and documented (computerized) so that this can be used by CMRCs
at the time of government schemes (selecting beneficiaries). This eases the process of
asking data every time.
 Since many CMRCs are focusing on health aspect, the blood groups of the willing
local donors can be collected at the CMRC level. This can be used at the emergency.
 The software package “RC admin” is not being used in the CMRCs. It is installed
only in few CMRCs in Mysore area. But in Chetana though it is installed and they
have a computer operator, the computer is not used effectively.
7. Issues
After our study some questions were still unanswered. They have been listed in this section.
1. Legal structure: The CMRC caters to the needs of unregistered bodies like SHGS who
are its members. At present there is no law under which a body which has
unregistered entities as its members can be registered. So if CMRC wants to get
registered then there is no suitable provision in the law, at present.
2. Compensation for EC members: The EC functions like a board. But the members of
EC who are from community are dependent on work for daily bread. These members
are called for the regular meetings once in a month, but they actually come more than
once whenever there is some work or some visitors come to CMRC. In some CMRCs
they are being paid travel allowances. But how far it is justified to their opportunity
costs. However the decision regarding this need to be taken by the community.
3. Final stage of withdrawal strategy

o Relation of CMRC with Myrada: When Myrada withdraws entirely what would be
the status of the CMRC manager. Would he be still an employee of Myrada
deputed to CMRC or would he be inducted back to Myrada or would he then
become an employee of CMRC reporting to the community. In the first and third
cases the question that would the community be willing to bear the service costs
of CMRC manager. There are very many chances that the community may feel it
to be expensive to have such an experienced person and then they may decide to
hire some local person. In such case what would be the status of a person who has
put in his 15-20 years of life to Myrada.
4. Managing other interferences

o Political: As mentioned in threats that the growing surplus fund may attract
political interferences like those from Panchayat, local unelected leaders etc. This
would result in dismantling of the CMRC structure. How can this be avoided?
o Men: In some areas men groups are very active and are undertaking many
community development programs like blood donation, shramdaan etc. At present
it is mostly the women SHGs which are members of CMRCs. Can such well
functioning groups be rejected only on the basis that they are men SHGs? The
issue here is at two levels. (1)Can the men groups be enrolled in the CMRC. (2). If
at all they are enrolled in CMRC, can they be allowed to become EC members and
if they are allowed to become EC members how the male domination would be
tackled in future.
8. References
1.Rural Management Series Papers by Myrada for understanding concept of CMRC and
also to evaluate them (Paper 31,33 and 38 )

2.Narayanan, NC and Haribandhu Panda (2003), SICDO Course Pack FPRM-2004,

IRMA – for understanding withdrawal issues
3.Internet sources
• Chaudhary, Anil K (1994) Third Opinion. Given to the BCS. Retrieved August 7,
2005 from http://www.adats.com/studies/download/07.pdf
• Kevin Bradley (2005), APSR Sustainability Issues Discussion Paper. Retrieved
August 7, 2005, Website:
http://www.apsr.edu.au/documents/APSR_Sustainability_Issues_Paper.pdf
• Organisational Sustainability and Capacity Building Retrived August 7, 2005,
from
http://www.ros.gov.uk/businesscustomers/wplaarchive/docs/bandersson_corpplan
notes.doc
• Sustainability, Governance and Organizational Change, Retrieved August 7,
2005, Website: http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/pdfs/lcch5.pdf
• Singh, Dr. Naresh, Building Social Capital Through Micro-Finance: A
Perspective on the Growth of Micro-Finance Sector with Special Reference to
India. Retrived August 7, 2005, from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management
Studies, Mumbai, India Website:
http://www.sasnet.lu.se/EASASpapers/20NareshSingh.pdf
Annexure
Annexure 1

Table7: Details of Groups Interacted in Mysore and Dhamrapuri project areas

Age of Members
Total
CMRC Name of the Group the present in NGO, Membership
members
Group discussion
Akshya Chintana M/S 11 15 14 Myrada, CMRC
Vanitha M/S 5 14 10 Myrada, CMRC
Fathima M/S 4 10 9 Myrada, CMRC
Tulasi M/S 13 16 13 Myrada, CMRC
Indira M/S 15 13 8 Myrada, Non- CMRC
Kapileshwara
Kamadhenu 19 20 12 Myrada, CMRC
(Mixed group)
Sri Vinayanka men
5 13 8 Myrada, CMRC
group
Jai Maruthi men
4 15 9 Myrada, CMRC
group
Kalankatta
Ammanavara
15 17 10 Myrada, CMRC
Meenugaru Sangha
(men group)
Maramma M/S 11 12 9 SVYM, CMRC
Chetana Annapurna M/S 4 20 12 Stree Sakthi, CMRC
Jeeva M/S 4 14 10 Myrada, CMRC
Durga M/S 5 16 14 Myrada, CMRC
Nanjundeshwara
Nisarga 4 17 14 Myrada, CMRC
M/S
Parvathi M/S 8 18 14 Myrada, CMRC
Nanjundehwara M/S
(diff. village)
Mahadeshwara M/S 8 18 15 Myrada, CMRC
Chamundeshwari Stree Sakthi, Non-
4 20 9
M/S CMRC
Sri Kalikambika
Jyothi 4 20 18 Myrada, CMRC
M/S
Sneha Sourabha M/S 7 16 16 Myrada, CMRC
Basaweshwara M/S 4 17 15 Myrada, CMRC
Snehanidhi M/S 7 16 13 Myrada, CMRC
Nava Jyothi Mahalakshmi M/S 15 10 10 Myrada, CMRC
Shanti M/S 15 14 12 Myrada, CMRC
Stree Sakthi, Non-
Adilakshmi M/s 1 12 8
CMRC
Gandhi M/S 11 15 14 Myrada, CMRC
Suryodaya
Ellamarah M/S 8 16 14 Myrada, CMRC
m
Mariyammam M/S 8 16 9 Myrada, CMRC
Madhina M/S 8 20 12 Myrada, CMRC
Nila M/S 4 19 10 Myrada, CMRC
Odasalapatti Indira M/S 14 19 15 Myrada, CMRC
Tamil annai M/S 4 16 14 Myrada, CMRC
Annai M/S 14 19 17 Myrada, CMRC
Annai Indra M/S

Annexure 2
List of activities of a CMRC
Revenue generating activities (Additional service charge is collected): On these activities
some percentage of the benefit is retained as service charge to the CMRC. The service charge
varies according to the activity and also according to CMRC.
 Insurance
 Silt applications
 Bathroom construction
 Home appliances like gas connections, cookers etc.
 Deepening of open wells
 Procurement fodder seeds
 Tailoring
 Health camps
 Bank linkages
 Audit
Non revenue Generating: For these activities there is no additional charge. They are part of
the Rs.600 a year contribution package and some are for non-members also.
 Govt. scheme information dissemination

 Trainings: Internal ( for SAGs)

 Seed banks
 Agricultural camps like Vermi compost, pest controls
 Animal Husbandary
 Medical kits
 Aids awareness programs
 SAG meeting facilitation
 Health / legal awareness camps
 Proper Book-keeping
Annexure 3
Linkages of a CMRC

Legal
Sangamithra
services
Bank
Insurance
linkages
PRIs Other
NGOs
CMRC
Industries Govt.
Departmen
ts
Training
Institutions Health
camps
Rotary Private
clubs etc agencies
Figure 3: Linkages of CMRC
Annexure 4
Books in Kamadhenu CMRC, Mysore
The objective of putting the list of books in annexure is to give an overview of the picture of
CMRC, the level of transparency it can go up to.
1.Correspondence book
• Contains both financial and non financial correspondence information like the
date on which letter was sent, reference number etc
• We suggested writing the receipt date also in case of financial transaction (for
example request to project for funds, its reply date etc).
2.DD record book

• It is divided into two parts

• The first part contains information like DD number, date received, commission of
bank, DD charges etc
• The second part contains details of FD like the bond number, amount, maturity
date etc.
3.Cash remittance book
It contains information about the date and amount of cash remitted in the bank on that
particular date.
4.Forms book
Contains details about sale of forms and the cost of forms. It tells clearly the demand for the
forms and also the amount of money RC is earning though sale of different forms.
5.Addresses of RC directors along with their contact numbers.
6.Blood Group list
Names of volunteers, along with their blood groups and sangha name
7.Membership contribution list
• It is arranged federation wise details of groups who have made their contribution.
One school is also a member. 23 WDA groups are members
• The second part contains the donors’ list. Donors contributing more than Rs.500
will have their names written on the wall of training room of this CMRC.
8.Trainers Observation Book
• Details are date, number of transactions, group name for which training was
conducted; place, observations signed by the trainer.
• The trainer after giving the training comes to the CMRC and writes his/her
observation about the group along with what he/she felt that the group needs
training in other aspects. Suppose the trainer went for book writing training but
he/she felt they need training on management of common fund, he/she will write
the same in the book.
• This book is also used to find out if the trainer is paid for that particular training.
9.General Ledger
10.Cash book
11.Quotation book (decision book)
12.Resolution book / minutes book
13.Visitors book
14.Day book (We asked to add a column which indicates whether a person is a member or
non member)

15.Rules and Regulations book

The members signed beneath the rules and whenever there is a modification, it is clearly
mentioned.
16.Attendance book
17.Stock book
18.Day book
19.Computer Usage book
20.Telephone book
Public to make local calls uses this telephone and those details are recorded.
21.Other Trainings book
The details about trainings given to Sthree Shakti groups and other departments are recorded
here.
22.SHG monitoring book (Services book)
Each SHG is devoted 2-3 pages. On the left side are the details of their contribution i.e. till
which month they paid the subscription fee and on what dates. On the right side is the list of
services availed by that group.
23.Pranic healing
This RC promotes the concept of pranic healing. There are many trainers/ curers in this area.
The date when the programme was conducted, the patient’s problem, his feelings after
treatment etc. are recorded.
24.Resource mobilization book
1-2 pages are devoted to each linkage, and the resources mobilised from each linkage are
recorded. This not only gives an idea of number of linkages a particular RC has but also the
details of resources mobilised though that linkage.

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Organisational Traineeship Segment

MYRADA is a Non Governmental Organisation managing rural development programmes in

2. Objective and Methodology

2.1 Purpose of the study

1 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

Table 1: Details of CMRCs across 17 projects of MYRADA (cumulative information as on March

Total Income earned

2 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

2.4 Sources of Data

2.4.1 Primary Data

• Semi structured interviews

• Financial and non financial statements of the CMRCs.

3 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

• Some documents in the CMRCs

Table 2: Sampling Plan

4 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

2.5.1 Various levels of interactions

5 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

6 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

2.7 Background of the project areas studied

7 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

3. The study and findings

3.1 Evolution of CMRCs

8 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

3.2 Overview of Community Managed Resource Center (CMRC)

3.2.1 Structure and Governance

SAG: Self-help Affinity Group; V.O: Village Organisation;

Figure 2: Structure of CMRC

9 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

10 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

3.2.2 Activity profile of CMRC1

3.3.1 Organisational Management

11 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

12 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

3.3.2 Financial Management

13 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

14 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

3.3.3 Vision and its realization

15 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

16 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

3.3.5 Learning and evaluation

17 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

3.4 Organisational Sustainability

Autonomous sustainability of People’s Organisation is the desired outcome of the any

18 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

19 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

Table 3 Organisational strengths of some CMRCs

Table 4 Income and expenditure of CMRCs in Mysore Project area

20 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

Total income Percentage

Table 5 Income and expenditure of CMRCs in Dharmapuri Project area

Suroydayam 375084 215332 174.19% 204713 107546 190.35%

Table 6 Sustainability levels of different CMRCs

21 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

4. Withdrawal strategy of MYRADA

22 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

4.2 Where does withdrawal strategy of Myrada fall in case of CMRC

4.3 Stages of dependency

23 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)

• Akshaya CMRC in HDKote

4.4 Looking Back – the issues emerged in the discussions

24 Vishwasree, Bhanu (June July 2005)