1. Purpose group creates financial access for financially excluded local farming community in general and farming women in particular

The purpose group members have been benefited through receiving loan from their respective groups with reasonable interest rate of 3% which otherwise borrowed by higher interest rate usually 10 – 18% from informal local lenders. Loan provision capacity of purpose groups have dramatically increased from time-to-time. Currently 1, 616 target families have engaged in various incomes generation activities (IGAs) which have been contributing towards enhancing their household income result in enabling poor households to send their children to school and to lead their lives. Evidently, in the past years, almost all the members benefited from loan access facilitated by their respective purpose groups. In this sense, it is particularly striking to note that access to loan is economically empowering target  farmer families in general and women in particular, extricating them from the exploitative hands of informal loan providers / usurers /. Accordingly, many individuals from the groups expressed their gratitude to Floresta Ethiopia initiated purpose groups which create financial access to the financially excluded farming family particularly women.

2. Purpose group creates job opportunity for rural youth

  In the same token, Floresta Ethiopia initiated purpose groups are working towards the reduction of rural youth unemployment by engaging them in ranges of income generation schemes. Youth purpose group participants have greatly benefited from the loan system set out by their respective purpose groups. It is a common phenomenon rural youth migrates to nearby towns, cities and even overseas in search of job opportunity result in urban streetism, due to lack of local employment opportunity at local level. Thus, involvement of rural youth in respective purpose group limits urban streetism by lowering rural-urban migration. In this regard 1,226 youth 706 of them are female are engaging in individual and group income generation activities by receiving seed money from their respective purpose groups in the form of loan. Apart from their involvement in individual IGAs, ten (10) youth purpose groups comprising 278 members engage in cereal & vegetables production as well as forest development in 5.75 hectare of land given by the local government. The groups produced 10 quintals of Teff, 15 quintals of wheat, 7 quintals of onions and 40 quintals of potatoes in one production season. Each group has been obtaining ETB 30,000.00 profit in one production season on average from the sale of produces.  Moreover, the youth groups participating in forest development generating income for the sale of grass while waiting the planted trees ready for sale. In this connection, a youth group called “Yiblital “generated ETB 14,000.00 Plus per season from the sale of grass.    

3. Purpose group contributing towards women empowerment and disability inclusion

  Purpose groups are playing indispensible role towards womens’ socio-economic empowerment by addressing their socio-economic constraints at local level. In the aforementioned paragraphs we highlighted the economic benefits of purpose group to rural farming families in general and farming women in particular. Apart from the economic empowerment, women participating in purpose groups started exercising their social positions’ at household and community levels, subsequently their decision making power elevating in their family and community.  Women assuming leadership position in their respective purpose groups. In line with this 125 women are currently leading 52 purpose groups. The self-awareness and self-confidence of women in purpose groups are improving at improving rate.  Women leaders are properly managing and handling periodic meetings which boosts their decision making power. To this end, one of the beneficiary women namely “Abebechi Yibeltal” her name is changed, chairwomen of “kinenet” purpose group explained that “I am privileged to participate in purpose group, I was always requesting money from my husband for each and every expense, since I didn’t have the right to handle money in my hand, despite I exerted utmost effort for my family income and livelihood, I didn’t have decision making power on my family matters.  I use to serve as mother and wife only. Now, my self-confidence has elevated and so does my involvement in decision making. I strongly believe the program support of FE has come here for women who had no means of getting income’’. She is also participating in sheep fattening and poultry production activities and generating income. 

Purpose group is not only a mechanism to empower farming family women, but also people with disability are actively take part in respective purpose groups and gaining huge benefits and develops sense of importance in their community. Currently 124 people with disability are engaging in purpose groups, 36 of them are participating in various income generation activities and lead their life independently. Their inclusion in purpose groups, and subsequently in IGAs not only enables them to lead their life independently, but also reducing stigma and discrimination by the local community.      

4. Purpose group contributing towards promotion of social cohesion

  Each purpose group member has been contributing 3-4 ETB per month as social contribution by their own initiative. The money collected regularly given freely as social support to farm families who face shortage of income, families affected by disaster, for family who lost their family members and other social calamites. The purpose group members also attending regular periodic meetings fortnightly; in the meetings the members usually discussing different social, economic, environment  and other issues that concerns them in addition to saving and loan matters. This situation promotes their social cohesion and tie of the target farming families. In a nutshell the respective purpose groups are local platforms to discuss and seek local solutions to local problems result in promoting harmonious relationship among the farming families and community.             

5. Purpose group contributing to environmental restoration

 Purpose groups are entry point for Floresta Ethiopia program. Purpose group members are actively participating in tree planting and management, construction of soil and water  conservation structures, farmers field school, redemptive agriculture, church fencing, fuel saving stove and the like in their respective watersheds. Beside, 18 purpose groups have engaged in forest development activities in 13.5 hectares of land provided by the local government. Participating, in forest development intervention is considered as “kill two birds with one stone” means generating income while restoring the environment. Thus, the above-mentioned points clearly indicated that purposes groups are not only contributing towards economic empowerment of farming community, but also playing crucial role for environmental restoration at watershed level.

 Purpose group promotes financial literacy and saving culture of the farming community

 Joining purpose group promotes and boosts financial literacy and improves saving culture among farming community. The training facilitated by Floresta Ethiopia on financial literacy and related topic to target farming community  give an  opportunity to know about finance and saving practices. As the Purpose group participants’ repeatedly explain, “The training facilitated by FE gives us a clue, what is more useful is the discussion, conversation,  and learning we are making during the periodic purpose group meetings  make us to improve our financial literacy and saving cultures.  We use our purpose group meeting as a social platform to share knowledge and experiences which help us a lot to improve our saving practices”.