At Kitowo and Pommerini

On Monday we went out to Kitowo and Pommerini.  Kitowo is an hour’s drive from Iringa, heading south from town.  It lies along a rutted dirt road that is, at times, over run with trucks and buses.  Kitowo is a new location this year.  Last year we were here when they signed their last document to register their SACCOS.  Their registration came through in May of last year so they were able to make one round of loans.  Kitowo has 62 members – 27 men and 32 women.  They made 26 loans to the farmers in their group last year – but since they are new, none of these loans are yet due. 

When we got to the meeting Itiweni gave a class on how to use their loans for their farms and reminded the members that we only give loans to make money NOT to spend.  She also urged them to attend the Ag Institute’s classes on good farming practices.

There were lots questions.  Peter talked about the importance of buying shares in the SACCOS and saving money.  He also talked about making a plan and doing what you plan.

We think that Kitowo will be a good location – their chair seems very competent and willing to work, the members seem attentive, and they seem well organized.

After chai we were off to Pommerini.  The Pommerini SACCOS has been around for awhile.  We finally got them registered last year.  The co-op officer Malila was here doing an audit.  We have known Malila since 2012.  He is very helpful and works well with us.  We asked him how the audit was going and he told us that everything looked very good.  We chatted for a bit and then he went back to checking their books and records.

Last year we held a “business plan” competition among the SACCOS.  Pommerini was one of the three winners of the competition.  Their plan was to start a SACCOS store that focused on selling seed and fertilizer.  They had a great plan and are off to a good start.

As we went into the meeting, the room was packed.  There are 72 members at this SACCOS – roughly split equally between men and women.  We introduced ourselves, Itiweni gave a class, and then we had questions.  The questions here were much the same as at other SACCOS.  One thing that we keep hearing is that the farmers really need to have a trustworthy source of seed and fertilizer.  Too often it seems they are getting bad product too late and at bad prices. 

During the meeting one of the babies started crying.  Tom gave him some candy (he is, after all, the candy man) but that didn’t last long.  Finally Sandy got up and took the baby outside.  Sometimes children are afraid of us and cry more when we do this.  This baby seemed very happy to have the attention that Sandy gave him.

After the meeting we interviewed two members.  Engera Swai is 53, married and the mother of four.  She and her husband also support some orphaned children of relatives.  She told us that they support 8 people at home and two children in secondary school.  She took out a small loan last year to start a duka (a small shop in the home) and to help with their farm.  After paying everything off she expects to make $400 this year and about twice that much next year. 

Browdi Kabilege, age 40, married with 3 children is a new member of this SACCOS.  He borrowed $200 to open a fish and fruit shop.  He told us that he expects to make a $350 profit this year.  He wants to take out a larger loan next year so he can expand his business.

After visiting with the SACCOS leaders we went to see their store.  They started their store with a $800 award from the Iringa Hope competition.  They are also eligible to borrow up to $1,000 at 8%.  When we went to the shop there were only a few items on the shelves.  We were told that they had bought as much fertilizer as they could three weeks ago, had already sold it all and bought more.  Tom told them that they needed to apply to Iringa Hope for their loan so they could have more stock on the shelves. 

  

Checking their books we see that they have made a $150 profit so far - a great start!  At least as impressive was the strong interest in the members to see this store grow.  They told us how happy they were to finally have a good source of fertilizer.  “So how about seed?”  We asked.  “When we get more capital,” we were told.  A good answer.  This store will do very well.

We are going to have an evening “rump session” on sales of fertilizer and seed when the leaders meet for their training session.  We have now seen two examples of SACCOS starting to sell this and doing well.  All of the places we have visited want to do this – so we think that if we get a good discussion going we should be able to get some good ideas from the SACCOS who have started and the others who want to do this!

We arrive at Kitowo and meet the Pastor.

It is a beautiful 60 minute drive from Iringa.

The people listened carefully to Itiweni's lesson.

This woman wanted to know about making plans.

We are carrying calendars featuring our borrowers to give to the SACCOS.  Everyone seems to enjoy them greatly.

The room at Pommerini was packed for our meeting.

Despite the close quarters the members were very attentive.

Sandy gave her message to the members.  She always gets a big laugh - usually at Tom's expense.

This little fellow wanted to make too much noise so Sandy took him outside.

Engera Swai is 53, married and the mother of four.  She and her husband also support some orphaned children of relatives.

Browdi Kabilege, age 40, married with 3 children is a new member of this SACCOS.  He borrowed $200 to open a fish and fruit shop.

After the meeting broke up a group of people went with us to see the SACCOS store.

The store is rented for $10/month.  They had sold almost all of their stock before we visited, netting a $150 profit in 3 weeks.

Here is the store.  Notice the bare shelves.  They need to come to our offices and get a loan.

The Agricultural Institute was also in the village to give a class.