Thejozo Kezo
27-year-old Thejozo Kezo dropped out of high school and soon began farming and working as a carpenter in Khulazu Basa under Phek district, his native village. Thejozo is part of the Trees for Wealth movement and shares his excitement about the movement. Soon after being introduced to the mission of the project, Thejozo has been actively mobilizing farmers from his village.
As an experienced farmer with 150 kiwi trees and 2000 persimmon trees, Thejozo has high hopes in fruit trees being a source of livelihood and generating income in the coming years. His interest in the movement has also been fueled by the Buy Back Policy as well as the trainings and mentorship provided.
His future plans through the movement include upscaling his tamarillo plantation to 1000 fruit trees by the next growing season
Vakrano
Vakrano, a 36-year-old mother of three from Viswema village was amongst the first beneficiaries of Micro-ATM in Nagaland. An owner of a variety shop in her village, Vakrano shares her excitement for the project as there are no ATMs in the village and residents have to travel to nearby Kigwema village for basic banking facilities, which has been a hassle.
After the installation of the Micro ATM, Vakrano expresses that it has helped her village and its residents as well as helped generate income for her and boosted her business.
Videseno Luho
31-year-old Videseno Luho, is the eldest of five siblings and is part of the Micro-ATM project. Hailing from Khuzama village, Videseno holds a Bachelor’s degree and as the eldest, she shares about her responsibilities to find a source of income to support her family. She further shares how helpful the installation of the Micro-ATM has been for her village especially for students withdrawing scholarships and pensioners who cannot travel long distance simply to make transactions. It has been helpful even for parents paying school fees.
The micro-ATM has been able to help her earn as well as help her community
Sane Demo
Thrift store owner
A single mother of four, Sane Demo spends much of her time away from home running her thrift store. The store is her only source of livelihood.
Sane Demo took a loan of ₹1,00,000 lakh which was utilized to order goods on time and thereby provide financial security for her family.
With growing trends around thrifting, Sane Demo recognizes the potential to grow the business and hopes to start a wholesale distribution in her vicinity.
Zareni Kikon
Owner Perfection Hair & Beauty Unisex Salon
With over seven years of experience in the beauty industry, Zareni Kikon is constantly learning and developing her skills to meet the demands of her clients.
With a loan amount of ₹50,000 she has been able to purchase more beauty equipment to upgrade her salon. With two staff employed, Zareni Kikon shares her hopes and dreams of expanding her business which can help generate jobs for Naga youths to tackle the unemployment crisis.
Kuzhochilu Nienu
Kuzhochilu Nienu carries out vending near local ground, Kohima. In 2019 she started saving with tEA’s financial wing. Through the Solidarity fund, Kuzhochilu was able to avail an interest free loan of ₹25,000. The interest free loan has been able to help her remain afloat post pandemic and restart her vending.
Nelia Lohunamie
Nelia Lohunamie is from Punanamei village but grew up in Kohima. For over ten years, Nelia has been engaged in street vending and supports her family through the trade. She availed an interest free loan of ₹25,000 through the Solidarity fund and utilized it solely for her children’s education.
Welonilu Wezah
Hailing from Jessami Village, Welonilu Wezah is one among five siblings in the family. As a Person with Disabilities, Welonilu has persevered and graduated. She taught as a substitute teacher in the village school until the pandemic started. During this period, she began capitalizing on her baking skills and turned it into a small inhouse business and has been supporting her family through her business. She attended the 4th training batch and shares that she has better understanding on marketing basics. Post attainment of the training sessions, she has been maintaining a daily diary to keep her accounts, has created her own business card and exploring better ways to brand and label her baked goods. She wishes to work towards having better equipments to boost her business and also plans to learn and explore the art of making ginger and lemon pickles.
Wekhrozo-u Kapfo
Wekhrozo-u Kapfo, 24 from Soraphung Village, attended the 7th batch training on 6th-8th Dec, 2021. Married to an Indian Army and a mother of two, she has been in the thrift business where she sells pre used clothes and other apparels in a makeshift store in her house. It’s been over two years she has been in this business.
She says, the training has helped her make proper estimates on daily expenditures and savings. Previously unaware of applications that can ease her work and help maintain her accounts, today Wekhrozo-u is excited about the prospect of using such applications and online financial platforms. An ambitious entrepreneur, she wishes to own a grocery store in the future and is on a keen lookout for similar trainings.
