Date: 1 August 2025
Location: Mawphlang Block, East Khasi Hills
In the small but determined community of Lawshlem village, East Khasi Hills District, women have built something remarkable not just a physical structure, but a space where motherhood and livelihood can co-exist without compromise.
The story began with a question the Village Organisation (VO) members often asked themselves: Why should women have to choose between feeding their babies and earning a living?
For women in Lawshlem, agriculture is a primary source of livelihood. But working in the fields comes with a difficult reality—mothers of infants and toddlers cannot bring their young children along while tending to crops. This means they either have to skip breastfeeding during working hours or give up precious income by staying home. Both options carry heavy costs either for the child’s health or the family’s financial stability.
The women of the VO decided that this was a choice no mother should have to make. And so, they designed a solution that was as practical as it was compassionate: a breastfeeding hut located right next to the agricultural fields.
Built by Women, for Women
The breastfeeding hut was not the work of external contractors or agencies—it was built entirely by Self-Help Group (SHG) and VO members themselves. This sense of ownership is reflected in every detail, from the sturdy walls to the thoughtful placement near the fields.
I 
nside, mothers can step away from their work to nurse their babies in privacy and comfort, shielded from sun or rain. The hut also doubles as a day care centre, where toddlers can safely play while their mothers work nearby.
Around the hut, the women have planted a kitchen garden—another layer of practicality that turns the space into a source of nutrition as well as care. Vegetables grown here are used for meals prepared in the hut, adding to the children’s diet and promoting healthy eating habits from an early age. The success of the first breastfeeding hut has inspired bigger ambitions. The VO is already planning to construct two more huts in adjoining villages, bringing this innovation to more women who face the same challenges.
They are also thinking ahead about how to make the structures more durable, spacious, and hygienic, allowing babies and toddlers more freedom to move around safely. Discussions are underway on incorporating easy-to-clean flooring, better ventilation, and expanded play areas.
A Model of Community-Led Development
This initiative is more than just a local convenience—it’s a powerful example of community-led problem solving. It addresses a critical Early Childhood Development (ECD) need—ensuring infants receive the nourishment and bonding of breastfeeding during their most crucial growth phase—while also safeguarding women’s economic participation.
It also embodies the principles that the Human Development Leadership Program (HDLP) champions:
-
Solutions shaped by lived realities rather than top-down directives.
-
Leadership from within the community, particularly from women who understand the challenges firsthand.
-
Sustainable ownership, where the very people who benefit are also the ones who plan, build, and maintain the intervention.
What makes the Lawshlem breastfeeding hut truly stand out is that it tackles multiple development goals at once:
-
Health and nutrition for infants and toddlers through uninterrupted breastfeeding and supplemental kitchen garden produce.
-
Women’s economic empowerment by enabling them to work without sacrificing childcare.
-
Community cohesion as members come together to plan, construct, and maintain the hut.
In doing so, Lawshlem’s women have demonstrated that rural development doesn’t always require large-scale infrastructure projects or high-budget programs. Sometimes, it begins with recognising a simple need and mobilising the will to meet it. The hut stands today as both a shelter and a statement that in Lawshlem, women will not choose between motherhood and livelihood. They will have both, and they will build the path to make it possible with their own hands.