| This manual is one of a series that was developed in Nepal by the PACT Women's Empowerment Programme. This programme was based on developing the capacity of women's groups, through literacy training, to manage their own village banks or savings groups and improve their income-generating activities. The programme was implemented through local NGOs and did not involve any provision of external money for credit. The manuals used during the programme have now been translated into English and published by PACT Publications so that the method can be adopted by others. This manual is a literacy training guide with lessons and exercises designed to take women through the essential steps of forming an economic group and learning to manage their own savings. The lessons are expected to be spread over a period of twelve weeks and cover the following topics: - Who am I?
- What can I do?
- What is an economic group?
- Qualities of members
- Managing the group
- Banking day
- How to run a meeting
- Voluntary savings
- What about loans?
- The importance of rules
- Opening a bank account
- Family gathering - the importance of getting families involved
As with all the manuals in this series, this one includes literacy exercises and uses stories and dialogues to explain each topic covered. It also shows how pictures and questions can be used to stimulate discussions. |