Ranchi: Over 35,000 women entrepreneurs and self-help groups across five districts benefited from repurposed govt assets, primarily unused school buildings, which are eventually used for economic and administrative activities. The initiative, led by Grant Thornton Bharat LLP (GTB) with support from the Gates Foundation and in collaboration with the Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS) under its PALASH programme, is helping women achieve sustainable, women-led development.Currently, the initiative benefits women in 15 blocks across Ranchi, Ramgarh, Hazaribag, Bokaro, and Seraikela Kharsawan. The programme has repurposed more than 50 such assets into hubs of economic empowerment and social cohesion.The initiative converts vacant or abandoned primary school buildings into offices, training centres, storage facilities, and processing units. These spaces provide safe, cost-free environments for community-based organisations such as producer groups, cluster level federations, farmer producer organisations, and village organisations.Khurshida, a participatory resource person from Raghunathpur village, Chanho block, Ranchi, said, "Earlier, we used to operate our cluster-level federation office from a rented room for Rs 1,800 per month.

It was congested and inadequate for holding meetings. We now have a spacious, rent-free building for our activities. The saved amount is being reinvested in printing registers for SHGs and village organisers.

We're also planning to offer sewing and beautician training for local women."Anamika Sinha, a consultant at Grant Thornton Bharat LLP, said, "We've reached five districts and plan to expand further. The journey began with an asset-mapping pilot in Katkamsandi block of Hazaribag, which successfully demonstrated the potential of leveraging existing public infrastructure to support rural women's entrepreneurship. Encouraged by the outcomes, the initiative was scaled up with vital support from the rural development and education departments of the state govt, which provided approvals for the reallocation of unused school buildings.

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