March 2025 News
A look at livelihood successes in India
Mahasraddha reports…
Mahasraddha and Ratnasila, our grant co-ordinator in India
The work of the Trust has greatly expanded in India since the covid pandemic of 2020-22. India was hit very hard at that time and many Order members in found themselves in desperate and sometimes life-threatening circumstances. The Abhayaratna Trust responded by running an appeal which received a tremendous response from the Triratna Community all over the world, raising over £200,000. This enabled the Trust to help many Order members across India at the time and also in the longer term, because many Order members there lost their livelihoods due to the pandemic.
As a result, the Abhayaratna Trust developed our Livelihood Project, giving grants to Indian Order members in hardship to set up livelihoods lost during covid. Management and administrative structures were put in place to govern the project, and regular progress reports were sent from India to the Abhayaratna Trustees. Overall, the project has been very successful, with grants awarded to 29 Order members, the majority of whom successfully set up sustainable livelihoods.
I came across a deep respect and gratitude for the Abhayaratna Trust in India; indeed, every beneficiary I visited began with words of heartfelt gratitude to the Trust. I do think that the generosity of our Triratna Community’s response to the India covid appeal has had a significant impact on the solidarity felt in India with our International Order and Movement.
Mahasraddha receives a token of gratitude on behalf of the Abhayaratna Trust at the Order convention in India.
Following the 2025 International Convention at Bodhgaya, I undertook a tour visiting beneficiaries of livelihood grants in Nagpur, Wardha and Pune. I was deeply moved by the impact these grants have had on the lives of Order member beneficiaries and their families. The impact has not just been financial but also on mental health, since the consequences of not having an income in India can be extremely difficult.
While the majority of beneficiaries have all set up robust and sustainable livelihoods, there are some outstanding examples, two of which I want to tell you about below.
Maitrijaya’s delightful pickle business
Covid decimated the fledgling pickle manufacturing and trading business of Dharmacharini Maitrijaya. Sales completely dried up leaving Maitrijaya and her family with no income. The livelihood grant from the Abhayaratna Trust allowed her to not only re-establish the business but also expand it. The business now has its own premises and she sells a wide range of delicious pickles, all manufactured there, and employs 10 people from the surrounding village, further expanding the impact of the grant.
Maitrijaya’s business also has a solid reputation in India and sales are now largely completed online. My impression was that the business could easily become international, maybe even a rival to Pataks!
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Maitrijaya’s business and seeing the impact of her grant from the Abhayaratna Trust with my own eyes. Deep gratitude was expressed to the Abhayaratna Trust not just from Maitrijaya, but also the employees I met in the factory.
Jnanolka’s Eatery - and Dharma - centre
Another outstanding example of a successful livelihood business helped with an Abhayaratna Trust livelihood grant is the Eatery establishment set up by Dharmachari Jnanolka.
Jnanolka (right) with Mahasraddha and Ratnasila at the Eatery
Jnanolka’s started his business from scratch, selling excellent hot and cold food, including curries. What distinguishes Jnanolka’s Eatery from the many food outlets I saw in India was the palpable sense of its being a thriving community hub in his village outside Pune.
It is also used by the sangha after hours: having worked up to 12 hours at the Eatery, Jnanolka runs classes in Buddhism and meditation, including Mitra Study there (six people have now become mitras, with two having asked for ordination). Things are going so well that he plans to use some of the profits from his Eatery business to set up a Buddhist Centre! A great example of how a non-Centre premises can be used to effectively spread the Dharma. I left with Jnanolka expressing profuse gratitude to the Abhayaratna Trust and our donors.
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