"Helping People To Fight Against Poverty"

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01-5104360
026 522 523

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Tallo Kopchey, Dhankuta
Subidhanagar, Kathmandu

"Helping People To Fight Against Poverty"

Call Us

01-5104360
026 522 523

Our Location

Tallo Kopchey, Dhankuta
Subidhanagar, Kathmandu

Completed projects/ Economic Empowerment For Social Justice (EESJ) project:
Supporting Efforts Of The Women In Southern Lalitpur To Scale Up Their Business Initiatives And
Combat Inequality.

Economic Empowerment For Social Justice (EESJ) project: Supporting Efforts Of The Women In Southern Lalitpur To Scale Up Their Business Initiatives And Combat Inequality.

Funding Agency/Donor: Finn Church Aid/Women’s Bank Finland

Start Date

1st Jan 2020

Total Approved Budget NPR

3,23,73599/- (2,63,200 EURO)

Total Direct beneficiaries

2902

Completion Date

31st Dec, 2023

Budget Performance NPR

3,49,24,386/-

Indirect Beneficiaries

Approx 20,000 individuals

Brief Description of project

The EESJ Project was a continuation of the SEED Project, funded by FCA/Women’s Bank Finland, aimed at increasing the influence and dignity of women in southern Lalitpur. The project builds on previous achievements in access to finance, business skills, market opportunities, and the promotion of gender justice.

The project was structured around two key outcome areas:

Economic Empowerment:This outcome focuses on empowering target women economically by enhancing their access to financial resources and business skills.

Participation in Decision-Making:This outcome addresses barriers to women’s meaningful participation in decision-making processes and encourages the support of male counterparts in managing enterprises and controlling income.

The project aimd to provide services to 5,000 women in the southern Lalitpur district by strengthening 12 women’s savings and credit, agriculture, and multipurpose cooperatives. These cooperatives, previously inactive, have seen a significant increase in shareholder participation and savings since SOLVE began supporting them. They not only offered savings and credit services but also engage in various social and economic responsibilities within their communities. The network of cooperatives facilitated the establishment of numerous rural enterprises by providing credit to women members. Additionally, the cooperatives actively address issues such as gender-based violence, advocate against child marriage, and work to include disabled individuals in community development. SOLVE-Nepal committed in capacity building by delivering various training programs that empower women to engage in lobbying, leadership, and fundraising efforts. Almost all women’s cooperatives now have their own buildings, constructed with support from local government and FCA, further solidifying their presence and impact in the community.

The overall Goal of the Project is to:

  • Change the oppressive position of rural women promoting their economic, social, political and cultural rights.

Objective is to:

  • Develop, expand and strengthen women-led local institutions to promote economic, social and cultural rights of women in Lalitpur district of Nepal

Project Area

Godavari Municipality-07, Bagmati Rural Municipality, Konjyosom Rural Municipality, Mahankal Rural Municipality

Focus of project

Women’s Economic Empowerment, Cooperative Development, Community access to finance and Livelihood

Major activities

  • Enhanced access of target women to affordable finance through consolidation of capacity of eight women cooperatives out of 12. Series of thematic trainings and onsite coaching to cooperative managers, sub-committee members on account management, product development, documentation, expansion of membership, GBV reduction, etc was implemented.
  •  The project supported to prepare second-generation cooperative manager to take management responsibilities of the cooperatives when turnover of cooperative manager occurs.
  •  The project supported the cooperative to access soft interest rate loan from larger financial institutions as the cooperatives will fulfil the criteria for the same in line with Nepal Rastra Banks Directives.
  • The project in collaboration with target cooperatives assessed the capacity of exiting entrepreneurs and supported to scale up their businesses and also work with new entrepreneurs in successful enterprises proved from previous phased of the project.
  •  Project facilitated in sustainable market linkages jointly working with local government, stakeholders, producers, collectors and wholesale markets to identify two strategic locations and establish collection centers for product bulking.
  •  The project organized series of interactions with the male counterparts, social leaders and community dialogues on gender roles and importance of male engagement. The family and community level dialogues helped increase acceptance of male counter parts on women achievements.

Cross cutting issues

  • Project further strengthened the capacity of GBV reduction sub-committee and Judicial Committee on monitoring of GBV cases and support survivors to access justice.
  •  The project carried out disability survey in partnership with expert organizations which was executed in close collaboration with the local government to enhance their ownership on findings.
  •  Project also supported to carry out FGDs to understand farmers’ perception on impacts of climate change and farmers’ recommendation for better adaptation.

Methodology

  • Establish, Strengthen and Mobilization of Women Led Cooperative in proposed areas.
  •  Income generation through Enterprise Development interlink with FWEAN to promote enterprise and market access.
  •  Collaboration with local stakeholders to made and create so that women will lead local institutions like groups, cooperatives and actions for social transformation.
  • Train and mobilize women in the context of new federal structure to cope the development needs.

Collaborations

SOLVE-Nepal has been working closely with Rural Municipality of the respected areas. The RMs are also providing funds to manage cooperative buildings and space also, SOLVE also jointly working with FWEAN to develop the women entrepreneur in the funding support of FCA.

Achievements

  • Women are economically empowered, to achieve the intended outcomes of the project SOLVE-Nepal implemented the planned activities during project period.
  •  More than 96% of loan mobilized in income generating activity of all cooperatives. 80% of the share member are involving at least one IGA by taking loan from cooperative during the project period. Percentage of population above the poverty line from 43.8% (base line) to 57.78% (end line) from 2020 to 2022. Source: end line study 2022). Likewise; within these three yea project was able to support targeted RHs to earn NPR. 53198 per/HH as an extra income which is 11.31% (Baseline income) of annual HH Income.
  • Cooperative are committed to provide quality services to their share members by establishing office space. 11 cooperative have own office space/building with moderate level facilities. 100% cooperatives have been conducting annual auditing, AGM and PEARLS review and communicate with share members.
  • Business plan implementation and review have been done in all cooperatives, link between cooperative business plan and PEARLS monitoring is set-up, and the cooperative business plan is in lined with PEARLS monitoring indicators.
  •  Women’s representation and participation in the decision-making role is enhanced significantly comparison with previous. 24% representation secured by cooperative member in Bagmati RM board, 27% in Konjyosom RM board and 37% in Mahankal RM board representation secured after the local level election hold in 2022.
  •  The portfolio of saving is NCRS 95792156 and share amount collected from shareholders is NCRS 12255200 during the project period.
  •  Total 5000 women share members are associated with 12 different women cooperative of south Lalitpur.
  • Among 12 cooperatives 11 women cooperatives have their own building to run cooperative activities.
  •  A total of 103.869.646.00 saving. Total share capital 13,365,400.00 and loan taken by 4140 women (2020-2022 data) and 273.506,789.00 is invested towards the women to start micro enterprises and livelihood.
  •  All cooperative has good access with the local government and running programme against women violence, against child marriage.
  •  Some cooperatives are also succeeded to achieve loan from Cooperative banks and youth employment fund.
  •  All cooperative has their own staff to run the cooperative and opening their office daily.
  • Konjyosom Rural Municipality has contributed 10 lakhs and EESJ project contributed 10 lakhs for Local Women Economic Development (LWED), as a revolving fund targeting the women who are ultra-poor, disables and Dalits to bring them in the mainstream of development. The fund is invested in only 3% to make them self-stand. Lesson learnt and Challenges:
  •  Women Cooperative is effective to manage local issues like child marriage gender-based violence.
  • Duplication is challenge but women aware on taking ownership of their Cooperatives.

Lesson learnt and Challenges

An example of collaboration with Konjyosom Rural Municipally

The Konjyosom Rural Municipality and SOLVE-Nepal has launched a joint programme to address the ultra-poor women, disables, Dalits and excluded women by providing a loan in cheapest rate i.e. 3% to increase their income. Each organization has an agreement on ‘Local Women Economic Development (LWED)’, which address the excluded people to bring in the main stream of development through cooperative movement. SOLVE provided NR one million and Konjyosom RM also allocated NRS. One million, which is equally divided for 4 women Cooperative exists in Konjyosom RM.