| dcterms.description | Clubbing together
Cue:
The difficulty for women to obtain credit has been widely recognised; for example, they are frequently not eligible for credit because assets such as their home and land are regarded as the property of their husband, and cannot be used to guarantee a loan. So what can women in this situation do? In an area known as Ballastone Park, 45 km west of Lusaka, Zambia, women have found that grouping together in a club has provided an answer. Being in a group enabled the women to obtain a grant from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, and that grant, together with some training, has allowed them to develop a successful agricultural business. Chris Kakunta went to meet three members of the Limbikani women?s club, and began by asking Mary Makani, the Chairperson, to explain the background to their business venture.
IN: ?We were women in a club ?
OUT: ? and after our grandchildren.?
DUR?N 4?15?
BACK ANNOUNCEMENT:
Mary Makani, Christine Mwale and Catherine Amulomba of the Limbikani Women?s Club were talking to Chris Kakunta.
Transcript
Makani We were women in a club, who were always meeting together trying to find a way into which we can help ourselves as retired women and widows.
Kakunta So Telefood programme under FAO came in, Mrs Mwale, what exactly did they do?
Mwale We were given this grant by FAO and that was to purchase the pigs for the women in this club.
Kakunta This is the first time Mrs Amulomba, you are keeping pigs as a club. How easy is it for women like you to keep pigs?
Amulomba It is easy for us because we have undergone a training which was done by the Ministry of Agriculture. We were trained here at this farm. All the women came here for training. We were empowered with the knowledge and the skills and we did it practically on my first pigs which we got. And then secondly when we got the pigs for the women we now went ahead because the Ministry of Agriculture people were able to come here to visit us and to assist us, even the veterinary people used to come to assist us and to help us.
Kakunta How many of you are there in the club Mrs Makani?
Makani We are about 14 women.
Kakunta How are you exactly benefiting from this project?
Makani We have benefited a lot because each member has got a pig from the main pen. Each time there are pigs in here we give one to another women, we pass one to another women.
Kakunta Tell me how exactly this works?
Makani Well, when we wean the pigs and we fatten them for two months, after that we number the pigs inside the pen and we give them numbers, they pick a number which we put in the basket. Then after that we open up our papers which we have picked and each one will see the number which is matching with a pig inside. Then you pick the pig and take it home.
Kakunta Wonderful. Now if my pig is male what happens, it means it will never produce? How do you exactly share if a pig is male?
Makani We are only sharing the females at the moment.
Kakunta Mrs Mwale what do you do to the male ones?
Mwale With the male ones we fatten them and we sell. So the money is put back into the club for food and for other maintenance in the project.
Kakunta Is this a sustainable way of sharing some of these proceeds from a project like this one Mrs Amulomba?
Amulomba Yes it is because each women at the end of the project, each women will have two female pigs and then the rest of the pigs will be sold and the money will be put back into the bank account for the club. And then later on we can decide whether to empower ourselves by getting loans and we pay interest and we then go onto another project which will not be funded, which will now be from the proceeds of the pigs.
Kakunta So as members of Limbikani Women?s Club do you think this project actually has helped in terms of uplifting living standards?
Amulomba Yes it has because it has brought us all together and we are even sharing ideas apart from the piggery, we are even sharing ideas on how to grow crops and what types of crops we should grow in a certain season. And it also cements our relationship, whoever has got a problem will be visiting each other. So this project has brought us together.
Kakunta As we come to the end of the interview Mrs Makani, what important lessons would you like to share with our listeners about this project?
Makani Well I would love to say this to the listeners. Coming together is one thing that is needed in a society because you learn a lot from one another just as we have done here at Limbikani?s Women?s Club. We have learnt a lot from one another, a way of living, even a way of relating to one another. Most of the people here they are widows and retired women and when you are retired you have no money, you have no future. But with this project we have seen ourselves together encouraging one another and by the end of the day we will no longer be the same retired people, we will be people who will be able to look after ourselves and after our grandchildren. End of track. | en_US |
