The Multiplier Effect of a Women’s Co-op

Small women’s cooperative provides more than just vegetables, it promotes self-reliance.

“We used to ride on the backs of donkeys to Foum Gleita which is 18 kilometers away, or M’Bout which is 25 kilometers away to buy necessities for our family such as rice, tea and soap. With the arrival of Counterpart, and the money they gave us to start our boutique, we don’t have to travel. All of our necessities are here,” said Famata Amadou.

The women’s cooperative in Kow Malal was started in May 2009 with a 500,000 UM ($1,750) grant from Counterpart International. Since beginning the cooperative, the 110 women members have made a profit of over 600,000 UM ($2,100).

The women have used the profits from the boutique to invest in other activities to improve the food security of the entire community. They invested half of their profits into constructing a building for the community cereal mill. Community members no longer have to walk to nearby villages to grind their cereal and can spend more time in the fields to improve their harvests. Since community members pay a small fee to use the mill, this provides another source of income for the women’s cooperative. With the other part of profit, they bought bags of essential items such as flour and sugar to give to village families on credit during the dry season; families reimbursed the cooperative after the harvest.

The women’s cooperative also used cooperative funds to create a community vegetable garden. Their garden is the only source of vegetables available in the community. “The entire village is healthier now that we eat vegetables every day,” said community member Mariam Kane. Before the garden, women had to walk several kilometers to find vegetables and often did not have enough time or money to make the trip.

Counterpart has also trained the women of the cooperative in business management. They record each product sold and take an inventory of the entire boutique every two months; they contribute a portion of their earnings to resupply the boutique. The women have weekly meetings to determine the scheduling of workers in the boutique, mill and garden. Aminatou Mint Sidi noted that “we do not need the men to help us in the management of our boutique. We are making decisions, not our husbands.”

Counterpart is currently carrying out a five-year, USAID-funded Title II Multi-Year Assistance Program (MYAP) composed of three program areas: maternal and child health and nutrition (MCHN), microenterprise and community development. Counterpart intervenes in over 160 communities throughout 4 regions. Learn more about Counterpart's Multi-Year Assistance Program in Mauritania on our Web site.

March 8th, 2010 | Tags: boutique, business management, cereal mill, cooperative, entrepreneurs, loan, Mauritania, MYAP, training, women | Category: Impact Stories | Leave a comment

Not Just a Day for Flowers…

By Maggie Farrand

March 8, International Women’s Day, is an opportunity to celebrate the “economic, political, and social achievements of women past, present and future.” Women hold great potential as agents of change within developing communities and given a chance and a voice, they can become the catalyst for huge global change.

Counterpart weaves gender-sensitive approaches into its global development efforts, promoting women’s participation and capturing women’s potential as entrepreneurs and caretakers. Many of Counterpart’s projects provide women with the tools and training they need to become active participants in their own development.

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Today, in honor of International Women’s Day, we provide a window into three such projects:

• The Garima Program, meaning “dignity” in Hindi, works with women in northwestern India to facilitate their ability to address reproductive health issues more effectively and increase their access to information about the country’s justice system. Every third woman in India faces domestic violence at some point in her life, ranging from pre-birth elimination of girls, dowry harassment and deaths, sexual harassment in work and public spaces, domestic violence and rape. While laws exist to protect women, the application and enforcement of these laws has been incredibly limited. Counterpart hopes to empower these women, educating them on their own rights and responsibilities, so they can begin to advocate on their own behalf.
• Over half of all grant funding under Counterpart’s Initiative to Promote Afghan Civil Society is distributed to women-led or women-focused NGOs, and half of all the I-PACS partners are women’s organizations. Counterpart understands that in order to mobilize a community, women must be involved. Counterpart builds up Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) like the Afghan Women’s Education Center and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs with skills training and small grants. Counterpart also trains government and CSO staff in Gender Awareness and Gender Analysis, so they too can better include women in their activities and discussions.
• In Senegal, as part of the Food for Education project, Counterpart delivers micronutrients and administers deworming medications to thousands of school-aged children. While not directly “women focused,” these small and inexpensive steps prevent serious illness in young girls, like anemia, and permanent cognitive defects from a lack of iron. Counterpart supports a women’s association and has improved their ability to cultivate, package and market local rice produced in the Senegal River Valley. This small business opportunity has shown to be incredibly fruitful – over a 3-year period, association members improved the calibration of rice into specific sizes for more consistent packaging, set up a rice processing unit and sold a total of 60.5 MT of rice through marketing at a local agricultural fair.

March 8th, 2010 | Tags: International Women's Day | Category: Happenings | Leave a comment

New Podcast: Voices from the Field - Senegal

In Gamadji-Sare, a small village in northern Senegal, Counterpart started with one school feeding program; next came agricultural development, then micro financing. Now, Counterpart's programs in the village are an interlaced network that empowers the entire community. Listen to Counterpart's Country Director in Senegal, Josephine Trenchard, tell the story of how Counterpart's programs prospered in Gamadji - and how the village did, too.

February 10th, 2010 | Tags: Josephine Trenchard, podcast, Senegal | Category: Multimedia | Leave a comment

Feeding a Village: The Boulangerie of Booté

A man in Booté realizes his potential through a microfinance loan from Counterpart International.

Ahmed Vall Ould N'Taqui was awarded a small microfinance loan from Counterpart International, with the dream of starting his own boulangerie. Now, he runs his budding small boulangerie, and even has high hopes to expand his shop.

“Before I took the microfinance loan, I was a farmer and had to spend most of my time away from my family working in other villages. I wasn’t making enough money to feed my family and furnish my home. With the boulangerie, I can stay in Booté with my family, I have bought a cow to give milk to my family and my household is well-furnished, said Ahmed.

He added, “I recently was ill and had to go to the hospital to receive treatment and I wouldn’t have been able to afford it without my profits from the boulangerie.”

Ahmed financed his boulangerie with a microfinance loan of approximately $680. He bought materials to construct the boulangerie which he built himself and used the rest of the money to buy ingredients for bread. He has regularly made loan payments for nine months.

Ahmed has even talking to the local microfinance institution, Caisse d’Epargne et de Credit Jkikke-Muttuelle (CECD-M) and Counterpart about using his profits from his boulangerie to start his own butcher shop.

The boulangerie has not only helped Ahmed and his family, but the entire village of Booté. “Before the boulangerie, we had to walk several kilometers to find bread in nearby villages. When you ask villagers what Counterpart has done for them, first thing they say is that they brought us bread.”

Since 2009, Counterpart has funded 505 loan applications for income-generating activities which have benefitted over 5000 people, the majority of whom are women in partnership with CECD-M.

CECD-M and Counterpart staff join with community members who are interested in small-scale business loans to help them write their applications and create business plans.

Counterpart regularly monitors the progress of the microloan recipients, providing necessary technical assistance and giving advice on credit management, income and strategies to increase their progress.

Counterpart is currently carrying out a five-year, USAID-funded Title II Multi-Year Assistance Program (MYAP) composed of three program areas: maternal and child health and nutrition (MCHN), microenterprise and community development. Counterpart intervenes in over 160 communities throughout 4 regions. Learn more about Counterpart's Multi-Year Assistance Program in Mauritania on our Web site.

February 9th, 2010 | Tags: boulangerie, CECD-M, loans, Mauritania, microcredit, microfinance, MYAP | Category: Impact Stories | Leave a comment

Reconstruction of Water Supply in Duz-Rasullu, Azerbaijan

Situation

Counterpart International has worked in Duz-Rasullu village since 2002. Situated 280 miles from the capital Baku, this village is incredibly remote. Being so secluded has severely hindered their development and modernization efforts. Women and children must walk for miles to the nearest water spring. In winter, the roads and water sources froze, making their water availability problems even worse. While villagers had attempted to build their own pipeline, a lack of experience and funds resulted in a poorly-designed and malfunctioning tank.

What We Did

In mid-2009, Counterpart began the construction of a water tank for the Duz-Rasulla village in the Gedebey region of Azerbaijan, funded by the US Department of State "Small Reconstruction Projects" initiative. Counterpart constructed a 72 ton capacity tank, after a pit was dug to accommodate the tank. The tank is 80 inches under ground level, and the visible part is 50 inches above ground, which prevents the water from freezing in the winter. The tank is a centerpiece of a brand new water system that provides water to over 1,000 people in the village.

Chief of the Executive Committee of Gedebey region, Kamran Rzazade, said: "It is obvious that Duz-Rasullu Water Tank answers all modern standard requirements and plays an important role in the provision of services to the population of our region." The reconstruction of the water supply has eliminated the villagers' need to walk to the closest water source, and it will have a positive effect on the living conditions of all local residents.

To learn more about Counterpart’s Small Reconstruction Projects throughout the Former Soviet Union, visit our Web site.

February 2nd, 2010 | Tags: Azerbaijan, reconstruction, Small Reconstruction Project, SRP, SRP Azerbaijan, water | Category: Impact Stories | Leave a comment