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Yallingup, Western Australia
Email:
viti@bearfruit.com.au
Website:
http://www.bearfruit.com.au
o
Previous to the loans, most interviewed had no personal assets. (But those who
did were living in an extended family environment and were utilising their
parents’ assets to develop business initiatives in their villages — a form of
microcredit loan in itself.) Yet, in both scenarios, the flow on effect was business
growth, education for their children, and personal savings.
3.
The realisation that there were commonalities between my 2003 – 2005 Australasian
study and the HwH 2011 findings. In short, the opportunity to take out a loan enabled
rurally based women to put into practice their business vision which resulted in:
o
Contributing to their community (or village) in a far greater way than first
imagined,
o
the realisation that as women they were good at managing money matters and
that they were able to,
o
operate a business without neglecting parenting and cultural responsibilities.
My key findings closely resonate with Moss et al (2005) concept of ‘
scaffolding’
thus highlighting
the ‘shared experiences’ of these women — especially when viewed from beyond their
contrasting worlds and the bottom line of their businesses. This then opens up space to connect
those ‘shared experiences’ and this report will go some way to bringing that into view.
What I have learnt with this project is that HwH long-term endeavours are about banking on
social change — to build the ‘local’ capacity for self-sustainability. Or as Nepalese themselves
say, ‘to provide the net not the fish.’