Project Description
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KENYA
($5,000)
WOMEN’S TEA-FARMING AND SMALL BUSINESSES
Project Director - Jessica Vukaya Kibira
This is the 5th year of a five-year project. Their original proposal provides the following summary, “Most of the women who are to grow tea can accommodate 500 plants on their land. Once production starts, monthly income will be $9. From this, $3 will be paid to the group. At the end of the year each member will receive a $175 bonus, of which $30 will be remitted to the group. Each member will then earn $215 per year and the group will have $1,100 to operate an office and provide some staff.
RSWR's representative in Kenya , Africa Quaker Vision, and RSWR's General Secretary, Roland Kreager, visited in February 2007. “It is important to look at the role and model that Jessica Kibira is providing. While she does not need a loan from the group, she participates, modeling the discipline of making regular loan payment in a timely manner, and repaying the entire loan, with interest. Rafiki does not included the poorest of the poor. However, it does include many poor women. A lesson to be learned here is that those women who are a step above desperate (like a number of women in Rafiki) can multiply our grant several times over, in the revolving fund and in spin-off projects. In Rafiki's case, that includes a nursery school for AIDS orphans, held in the nearby Friends-sponsorship (Wamago Friends Church, founded in 1927) primary school. Rafiki also hosted the yearly meeting (Chavakali) USFW conference and sharing their work with those present.”
From RMWG's recently received report, “Apart from the initial membership of 16 women, close to 130 women have benefitted in terms of loans and capacity building ... The initial 16 members are servicing their 3 rd and 4 th loans, ranging from Ksh. 10,000-40,000 [$155-$640], an indication that their investments were viable as previous loans were fully repaid and business expanded. Other Indicative Impacts: 1) The women managed to get enough food for themselves through improved farms inputs and were able to offer guardianship to orphans; 2) Members' scope of thinking has widened and many have taken to cash crop farming (e.g. tea), which is a sustainable venture that can bring an income for a long time; 3) By availing [themselves of] veterinary services, the members improved their traditional cows. As a result, milk output was higher, increasing income; 4) Through capacity building they continued to come up with new economic ideas, including function equipment rental, tea seedling nursery, and napier grass cultivation; 5) Some of the poorer members attended a prayer meeting of the United Society of Friends Women - Kenya where they worshiped with women from other classes. This could not have happened a few years ago; 6) Each member is saving Kshs. 100 ($1.55) per month .”
Project completed: June 30, 2009