As part of the European Union funded Far Ban Bo Project, an orientation meeting was held for Community Leaders of Anomabo, Egyaa and Biriwa were oriented. The meeting was to introduce the VSLA Model and how it works to the leaders.

A Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) is a group of 15-30 people who save together and take small loans from those savings. The activities of the VSLA run in ‘cycles’ of about one year, after which the accumulated savings and the loan profits are shared out among the members according to the amount they have saved.

 

 

 

 

 

VSLA is to build the capacity of community groups to be able to mobilise savings, use these savings to start a loan fund and to create a social fund for relief of members experiencing emergencies VSLAs are member-managed: programme staff and Village Agents will train members, but never manage the VSLA, write in the passbooks or touch money belonging to the members.

The community leaders were supportive and optimistic about the Model and share that this will help cultivate the habit of savings and managing their own money.

VSLA seeks to contribute to improving livelihoods and nutritional status of smallholder fishers and other users of fishery resources through social and economic safeguards, which is one of the Expected Outcomes of the Far Ban Bo Project