In the forested interiors of East Singhbhum’s Golmuri-cum-Jugsalai block, a quiet but powerful transformation is taking root. For generations, the Sabar community — one of India’s Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) — lived on the margins of society, barely touched by the promises of development.

Today, in villages like Beko, Daldali, Hurlung, Palashbani and Devghar, Sabar women are taking control of their lives, their futures, and their communities — one self-help group at a time.

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Seventy-one Sabar women have come together to form nine self-help groups (SHGs) under the dual umbrella of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) and the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Nyay Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN).

These collectives are not just vehicles for financial inclusion — they are platforms of personal transformation. Women who once depended entirely on forest produce or daily-wage labor are now cultivating vegetables, raising goats, managing credit, and running micro-enterprises that support their families and inspire their neighbors.

“Earlier, we only survived. Now we earn — and think about the future,” says Basanti Sabar from Palashbani, her voice steady with confidence. Her SHG sells vegetables in the local haat, and the income covers school fees and household expenses. In Daldali, the “Adivasi Pragati Samuh” — a group of eight women — has nearly doubled its earnings through goat-rearing. Inspired, they are now planning to venture into poultry farming.

What makes this shift possible is not just training or credit, but a convergence of schemes tailored to real grassroots needs. While NRLM provides entrepreneurship support and market linkages, PM-JANMAN addresses the broader vulnerabilities of PVTG communities — health, education, documentation, housing, and livelihood — in an integrated manner. Together, they have created a support ecosystem that allows women not only to work, but to lead.

The most striking outcome is not just economic empowerment — it’s social transformation. Women who once hesitated to speak in public now participate in village meetings, visit banks, and question decisions in panchayats. “We used to fear speaking up. Now we raise questions in gram sabhas,” says Rukmini Sabar from Devghar, a member of one such group.

This rise in confidence is slowly shifting gender dynamics in the region. Men, initially skeptical, are now supportive partners — helping with transport, accounts, and marketing.

Young girls growing up in these villages are watching closely. Many now speak of becoming entrepreneurs instead of just settling into marriage or migration. This change — gradual, rooted, and inclusive — has created ripples of aspiration across generations.

There are challenges, of course. Irregular connectivity, market access barriers, and seasonal income fluctuations continue to test these fledgling enterprises. Migration and deep-seated exclusion pose additional risks. But what has emerged is a replicable model of bottom-up development that places the most marginalized at the centre, not as beneficiaries, but as changemakers.

The district administration is now exploring long-term support mechanisms, including cooperative formation, digital inclusion, and broader market linkages. But perhaps the most meaningful evidence of success is intangible: a newfound belief among these women that they are no longer bound by the limits of the past.

In a country still grappling with how to make development truly inclusive, the Sabar women of East Singhbhum are quietly showing the way — by turning policy into progress and resilience into reform.