A MACS (Mutually Aided Cooperative Society) is a democratic, community-driven cooperative formed by and for its members — in this case, rural women, including marginalized, Dalit, and tribal groups. These societies operate on the core principles of:

• Self-help
• Mutual aid
• Voluntary participation
• Democratic governance

PEACE supports MACS as a strategic model to alleviate poverty, empower women, and create sustainable livelihoods in rural India.

🔹 Self-Help and Mutual Aid

• Members pool their monthly savings (₹20–₹30 per member) to create a common fund.
• These pooled resources are used to offer emergency loans, enterprise funding, and community support.

🔹 Financial Services

• MACS provide members with:
• Savings accounts
• Internal lending mechanisms
• Credit for micro-enterprise and household needs

🔹 Women’s Empowerment

• Regular training sessions on financial literacy, leadership, and rights awareness
• Increased participation in decision-making, both within families and in local governance
• Members are educated about their legal rights, property laws, protection from domestic violence, and dowry prohibition

🔹 Livelihood Promotion

• MACS support income-generating activities such as:
• Tailoring
• Petty shops
• Dairy cooperatives
• Food processing
• Herbal product marketing
• Some MACS also participate in FPOs (Farmer Producer Organizations) and marketing cooperatives.

🔹 Community Development

• Beyond economic services, MACS facilitate:
• Health awareness campaigns
• School enrollment drives
• Legal literacy camps
• Cultural events to build solidarity

• Democratic Governance: Each MACS elects a Board of Directors from among its members.
• General Body Meetings are conducted annually to ensure transparency and inclusive decision-making.
• Auditing and Dispute Resolution: All MACS are subject to regular audits, with mechanisms for grievance redressal and conflict mediation.

• Empowered over 12,000 women across 120 villages
• Enabled hundreds of rural women to become entrepreneurs, leaders, and change-makers
• Built a strong rural women’s cooperative movement that sustains itself beyond project cycles

• Formation of Deccan Thrift and Credit Network (DTCN) – A federated platform of MACS that facilitates inter-cooperative learning, joint trainings, and bulk negotiations with financial institutions
• Partnerships with NABARD, REHASWISS, Oxfam India Trust, and CWS to expand MACS outreach and strengthen institutional capacity
• PEACE-supported MACS are recognized for their integrity, financial discipline, and community ownership

Women in rural areas often face multiple layers of exclusion — economic, social, and institutional. Through MACS, PEACE offers a bottom-up solution that not only promotes financial security but also restores dignity, voice, and agency to rural women.

MACS are more than cooperatives — they are movements of transformation, helping women rise from marginalization to leadership, from survival to entrepreneurship, and from silence to action.

Through its pioneering work in Women’s MACS, PEACE continues to demonstrate that collective action and community-owned institutions are essential pillars for building inclusive, resilient, and equitable rural societies. As these cooperatives grow and evolve, they leave behind not just economic change, but a legacy of empowerment.