Community Based Health Insurance Programme of Kadamalai Kalanjia Vattara Sangam (DHAN Foundation)

DHAN Collective

DHAN Collective is a creative concept to nurture and preserve the culture of collegiality, mutuality and solidarity. Shared purpose, core values and resources (human, financial and physical resources) bind the DHAN Collective. DHAN Foundation as the parent institution guides, supports and regulates its family institutions on their mission, policies, strategies and values. Each institution defines its ‘own unique’ space with synergy.

Kalanjiam Community Banking Programme

The Kalanjiam Community Banking Programme, one of DHAN Foundation’s pioneering works, has been transformed into an institution, ‘Kalanjiam Foundation’, to take the promotional role of upscaling Kalanjiam nested institutions model. It would advance the theme of Kalanjiam Development Finance and guide the people institutions for generations. This is the first institution in the DHAN Collective.

The Kalanjiam Community Banking Programme was started in the year 1990 as a pilot project. It has gone through various stages of development from project to programme and a movement of the Kalanjiam members.

The Kalanjiam Community Banking Programme focuses on women and believes that localised financial institutions owned and controlled by women are an effective strategy to impact on poverty and gender issues. The primary unit of community financial institutions is the Self-Help Group of 15 to 20 poor women and is called the Kalanjiam. They act as a single window at their doorsteps for the savings and credit transactions. The cluster and federation at panchayat and block levels are the nested institutions at next higher levels. They help the Kalanjiams address other social and development needs of the members such as drinking water, health, education, sanitation, access to basic infrastructure, alcoholism gender issues etc. there by enhancing the sustainability of these institutions.

Health and Educational Programmes

They help create linkages with banks and apex financial institutions to meet the multiple credit needs of members, collaborate with other development agencies such as government to demand and access their entitlements, implement civic programmes such as in health and education for their members, provide insurance services etc. The programme has taken the shape of a movement called the ‘Kalanjia Iyyakam’ working towards bringing more women into the fold of the Kalanjiams. The Kalanjia Movement is implementing a number of innovative programmes for reaching out to more women. The Kalanjiam Foundation has been promoted for upscaling the Kalanjiam nested institutions model.

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