Hand in Hand with local partners in NE Cambodia
Written by Theo Ebbers Friday, 20 May 2011 11:29
As part of its efforts to build local Alliance partners’ capacities in rural business development through market value chain analysis and micro-finance, AIT/AOP facilitated an initial visit of “Hand in Hand India” to Kratie and Stung Treng,
“Hand in Hand” is a development organization that aims to eliminate poverty by creating enterprises and jobs. A core component of its approach is the creation of Self Help Groups (SHGs). Through this, in rural South India alone, over 660,000 (as of April 2011) women have been mobilized and nearly 540,000 micro and family-based enterprises created, of which over 6,100 are SMEs, i.e. having at least three employees each.
To address the multi-dimensions of poverty, Hand in Hand pursues an integrated community development programme that combines access to education, information, health-care, clean environment and the creation of jobs.
Mr. Hemantha Kumar Pamarthy, the Managing Director of Hand in Hand Micro Finance Pvt. Ltd, an associate of Hand in Hand India, shared with CRDT and CEPA how his organization tackles each of these areas with micro-lending to self-help groups as a starting point.
These small saving groups are the key to enhancing the poor’s access to capital, the promotion of rural entrepreneurship and job creation.
Mr. Hemantha shared valuable advice on core principles that make Hand in Hand’s approach of organizing and sustaining such groups so successful.
According to this, all such groups need to be “affinity groups”. Group members know each other well, are “close to each other”. Hand in Hand experiences show, that the ideal size for micro-lending/self-help groups is between 15 – 20 members. Groups decide how much each member is required to save on a regular basis (monthly, weekly). Such compulsory saving is needed to avoid the creation of disparities within a group, but optional saving above the mandatory minimum amount can be allowed, depending on the context. Each group needs clear rules and regulations about saving and loan mechanisms, which are accepted by all group members.
While such a standardized, prescriptive approach may seem difficult to fit into the Alliance’s approach to local-partner and community driven engagement for poverty alleviation, Hand in Hand’s success beyond India, with successfully applying these core organizational principles to establishing SHGs in Brazil, its expansion into Afghanistan and South Africa demonstrate that these core principles can successfully be adapted to a wide range of diverse local contexts. Building on Hand in Hand’s principles and approaches, over 300 “Groups for Opportunities in Livelihoods Development” (Gol D) have been established in Brazil over the past year.
AIT/AOP will further investigate possibilities of cooperating with Hand in Hand and making its experiences and expertise available for the Alliance and its local partners, exploring the Alliance’s partnership mechanisms for creating a joint effort with Hand in Hand in local poverty alleviation and creation of jobs.