Proving that the power of determination can overcome any odds, including the barriers of ageing, 70-year-old Tara Devi, from Kataiya village in the Supaul district of Bihar has become a local icon. 

Until a few years ago, Tara Devi’s entire family were working as farm labourers and were struggling to make ends meet. Today, she is earning so well that she is able to provide employment to other women, helping empower them financially. She is able to ensure at least 100 days of employment every year to her workforce.  

Despite no formal education, this senior citizen is now making headlines thanks to her flourishing agricultural business. Her fortune changed when she joined Akshyavat Bujurg Mahasangh, one of HelpAge India’s Elder-Self-Help-Groups under its ‘Project Astitva’. With some seed money from the group, she started planting cauliflower, radish, and other vegetables. This year she has cultivated one acre of cauliflower. 

She started the cultivation with an initial amount of Rs 50000, with a part of it coming from her own savings and the rest through a loan from the ESHG, where members create a corpus through monthly savings. She is expecting to earn between 1-1.25 lakhs from the cultivation. 

The best part is she is also a ‘green warrior’ as she practices organic farming, with fertiliser and manure that is being made by her and other members of the Akshyavat Bujurg Mahasangh.  

She has become an inspiration for not just elders like herself but also for other youngsters, who are motivated by her entrepreneurial skills and drive. She is a role model of ‘Atmanirbharta’, self-reliance, and proving that age is no barrier to contribute to nation-building.