Enrollment in Mali has begun! This time of the year is always exciting for our field team as new villages are added on and agents spend their days explaining the program to farmers and discussing their dreams they would like to realize with a larger harvest. This year, we have added one new addition: group enrollment for women. Women in Mali are very used to saving in groups, almost every village has several women savings groups where members contribute an agreed upon amount that can then be loaned to one or several members of the group. Pooling their money helps women smooth out their income throughout the year and working in a group provides the social support needed.
This year myAgro has decided to use this model for its own program: in addition to signing up for their own individual packages, women are asked to build a group of 6 to 12 members. With the help of our field agents groups will meet regularly and encourage each other to save “doni doni” (“slowly, slowly” as we say in Bambara). This extra layer of support is meant to continue throughout planting season where women depend on each other to prepare and work their fields.
