Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

Rural Gambian Households

A Baseline Study of Credit Union Members in Four Regions of the Gambia

Irish League of Credit Unions Foundation

National Association of Cooperative Credit Unions of the Gambia

June 2012

For: Irish Aid

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

Page

Executive Summary 4

1. Background 5

2. Methodology 7

3. Analysis of CU use by rural members and by rural women 9

4. Household survey 17

5. Gender Issues in Rural Gambia and in the CU Movement 22

6. The Role of the Kafo in Rural Gambia 27

7. Member Perception of the CU in Rural Gambia 29

8. Wealth Ranking Exercise 31

Conclusion 35

i. List of Tables

Table 1: Breakdown of membership of 4 rural CUs Table 2: Average Savings in the CUs Table 3: Savings & Withdrawal Patterns in the CUs Table 4: Jambanjelly (Kombo South) - Breakdown of savings into size categories Table 5: Foni Kansala CU- Breakdown of savings into size categories Table 6: Sabunima CU - Breakdown of savings into size categories Table 7: Jokadu CU - Breakdown of savings into size categories Table 8: Places in which households save Table 9: CU Lending Patterns Table 10: Jambanjelly (Kombo South) - Breakdown of loans into size categories Table 11: Foni Kansala CU- Breakdown of loans into size categories Table 12: Sabunima CU - Breakdown of loans into size categories Table 13: Jokadu CU - Breakdown of loans into size categories Table 14: CU Borrowers disaggregated by sex Table 15: Reasons for Borrowing among Households Table 16: Where households borrow Table 17: Poverty Scores among Household in 4 Regions Table 18: Breakdown of sources of income over the year. Average of all regions Table 19: Average monthly household income declared by respondent Table 20: Households whose economic situation has disapproved in past 2 years Table 21: Breakdown of main household expenditure Table 22: Reasons that Children miss days at school Table 23: Spending roles within the household - who pays the various bills? Table 24: Who inherits the household assets if the male head dies?

Appendix A Poverty Scoring Tool

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

ii. Acronyms & Abbreviations

CDDP Community Driven Development Programme D Dalasi CU Credit Union GII Gender Inequality Index GPS Global Positioning System IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development ILCUF Irish League of Credit Unions Foundation NACCUG National Association of Co-operative Credit Unions of the Gambia UNDP United Nations Development Programme

iii. Acknowledgements

This study has been completed by ILCUF & NACCUG for Irish Aid under the ‘Gambian Credit Union Development Project 2012 to 2014’, supported by the Civil Society Fund.

Team Leader: Michael Gannon Gambia Team Leader: Baboucarr Jeng Field Research: Clare Hayden, Yaya Colleye Study Design & Technical Assistance: Isabelle Kidney Technical Assistance on Questionnaire Design: Henk Van Oosterhaut Data Processing & Analysis: Finbarr McCarthy & Kleid Gjini

Special thanks to all the members and volunteers of the Credit Unions throughout rural Gambia who contributed to the surveys and focus group meetings that made this study possible.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

Executive Summary

This baseline data set provides in-depth information relating to poverty, financial behaviour and gender issues in four representative rural Credit Unions (CU) for the Irish Aid funded programme ‘The Gambian Credit Union Project 2012 – 2014’. This is being implemented by the Irish League of Credit Unions Foundation (ILCUF) in collaboration with the National Association of Cooperatives and Credit Unions in the Gambia (NACCUG).

The household survey revealed that that the average household (or compound) size is 18; that just over a third are polygamous households; and that the average monthly income estimate is approximately €162 per household. The geographical distribution of poverty is consistent with other national studies, however, the variability in monthly income is surprising at an average of just €50 per month per household in Jokadu (the poorest CU) compared with €313 in Fuladu West. Education is the major expenditure item after food, however, over 60% of reported incidences of children missing days of school due to financial pressures. Despite the hardship, rural Gambia has embraced the mobile phone revolution and 96% of households own at least one mobile phone.

The wealth ranking exercise conducted gave an indication as to the characteristics of the various groups including the very poor. This group is characterised by a lack of productive assets, labour constraints, lacking in means of transport, have very low livestock holdings, are often female headed, have traditional housing with thatched roofs and are living frequently off one meal per day.

Members’ perceptions of CUs were positive. Features that were particularly appreciated included security of savings, confidentiality, support to income growth and access to emergency lending for meeting health and education costs. The proportion of women members is equal to or greater than men and further surpasses male membership when group membership is taken into account. However, this does not translate into significant levels of women’s involvement in the directorial or national network levels of the movement.

The frequency of savings lodgements was higher with poorer members, although the number of lodgements made per year by members from both poorer and better off areas was very low. The study found that CU members also continue to use traditional informal savings clubs. Average savings levels fall are ‘medium’ (€40 or more) or ‘high’ for the two CUs in the better off regions (Foni Kansala and Jambanjelly) whereas the average savings in Sabunima and Jokadu CU was ‘low’ or ‘very low’ (under €25 and under €12.50). The average loan sizes in the CUs similarly reflect the different economic capacities of the 4 regions in the study. Kombo South has a much higher average loan balance, more than 3 times that of any other region and 12 times higher than the poorest region Jokadu. Roughly half of all loans were used for business purposes, and the rest were used for education, food, emergencies and household purposes.

The impact of recent droughts (2010 and 2011) was evident in financial behaviour (crisis loans and withdrawing savings) and had disproportionately difficult consequences for women in terms of increased time spent collecting water, difficulties in farming their land (the men tend to get the required inputs first), increased levels of gender based violence (anecdotal) as well as increased financial pressure on women who generally pay for school fees and other domestic costs.

The Gambian context is set out at the start of the report. A variety of methodological approaches were used including reviewing membership records to discern patterns of financial behaviour, a household poverty scoring exercise, and this was cross-referenced by a wealth ranking exercise which also aided in gauging the depth of outreach. Focus group discussions were held to examine kafos (indigenous support structures); to explore gender issues and local insights and opinions on various matters. The methodologies, survey and other formats are detailed in appendices.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

1. Background

Gambia is one of the poorest countries in sub Saharan Africa. Its population has increased from 600,000 in 1980 to 1.7 million today. This reflects decreased child mortality (from 21% in 1980 to 10% today) and lengthened life expectancy (from 47 years in 1980 to 58 today) but this growth adds to the already great challenge of providing healthcare, education and income for a larger population.

Gambia's Human Development Index score is 0.420, which gives the country a rank of 168 out of 187 countries with comparable data. The HDI of Sub-Saharan Africa as a region increased from 0.365 in 1980 to 0.463 today, placing Gambia below the regional average. 1 Gambia’s ranking has decreased from 155 of 177 in 2004 to 168 of 187 in 2011. This poverty in The Gambia has been described by IFAD as “widespread, pervasive and predominantly rural” (IFAD, 2012a).

The situation for rural households in The Gambia is increasingly bleak. A very bad rainy season in 2011 has led to food shortages in 2012. There have been declines of over 50% in the main food crops: rice groundnut and early millet. This problem is compounded by the fact that the global economic crisis has seen the price of a bag of rice (a staple food) increase by at least $5 per 50kg bag (a 10 to 20% increase) 2.

Women’s role in society is still inequitable. Rural women in particular experience low literacy, low access to employment, hard agricultural labour on their farms, poor access to health facilities and heavy child rearing duties.

Gambia scores 0.613 on the 2011 UNDP Gender Inequality Index. The GII measures inequality in achievements between women and men in three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market. Gambia scores marginally better than the Low Human Development category score of 0.631. It is encouraging however that Gambia’s score on this index has improved steadily since 1995.

Gambians have very limited access to financial services and to credit. In 2010, there were an estimated 24.5 branches of financial institutions per 100,000 in the Gambia. Of these 5.76 per 100,000 (23.5%) are CU branches. The estimate of accounts per adult is relatively healthy. - 28% have bank accounts - 3.7% have CU accounts - 17% have accounts in Micro Finance Institutions 3 However, the distribution of financial inclusion is skewed towards Banjul, the capital, and the availability of financial services is correlated with proximity to Banjul.

CUs help people to manage and develop on the available funds they have by offering savings services, and by lending to those who have the means to repay. CUs are co-operative societies, owned by the members, and all surpluses are returned to the member. Their goal is to improve the lives of their members in the community, while building a sustainable financial institution which can survive independently of subsidies. CUs place great importance on building the financial literacy of their members, so that they can make the best independent decisions with their own money.

In the 1990s ILCUF, the development foundation of the Irish CU movement stimulated the revival of the Gambian CU movement. A national apex body, NACCUG, was formed by the CUs themselves,

1 Gambia National Profile on UNDP Human Development Index. http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/GMB.html 2 Oxfam America http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/may/22/fears-grow-gambia-food-insecurity 3 : http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.11.142571/ & http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.11.142556/

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

and with sustained support from ILCUF and from a number of Irish CUs directly, the Gambian CU movement has grown to over 50 CUs with 40,000 members and total savings of over €8 million. This growth and consolidation is mainly in urban areas and among the employees of the public sector however. The rural CU movement has 40 CUs with 10,000 members and total savings of c. €400,000. Growth in rural CUs is difficult to achieve due to low income levels, low educational levels and poor communications and physical infrastructure.

This baseline study examines current wealth and income levels among the rural membership. It also examines gender equality within the rural membership. It analyses the level of use that members make of their CUs.

This study will define areas under which the impact of the ILCUF Gambian Credit Union Development Project 2012 to 2014 (supported by Irish Aid) can be assessed, in particular changes in the areas of; - household financial situation - financial literacy - status and participation of women in the household and in the community - household income

The household financial situation will be measured by the proxy indicator of savings levels of membership in general. The project will also follow up on an in-depth case study basis of the change in poverty scoring at household level. The changes in financial literacy will be tracked by re-visiting financial provision, management and spending roles (as well as from follow up surveys of financial literacy training). Changes in the status and participation of women in the household and the community will be measured through a qualitative re-assessment of gender issues and specific enquiries relating to any changes. Finally, changes in household income will be gauged though re- visiting wealth ranking and the household survey. Wealth ranking findings are also a means for the community to input the development of impact indicators, as planned in the programme proposal: Rural communities and the local partners will participate directly in the midterm review and in the external project evaluation, and will be involved in setting impact indicators.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

2. Methodology

The Gambia Jokadu Area: 11,295 sq km Banju l Land: 10,000 sq km Water: 1,295 sq km Fulladu Population: 1.78million Foni Kansala West Bordered by: Senegal, (Bwiam) Kombo South (Sabunima ) Atlantic Ocean (Jambanjelly)

Map of the Gambia. Location of the 4 selected regions for CU, household and kafo research.

Analysis of CU Use by rural members We analysed the records of 4 typical rural CUs. Each is from a different region of the Gambia. Each CU has been functioning for over 5 years. These are 4 of the largest rural CUs, membership ranges from 491 to 1120, with total membership for the 4 of 3,128. This represents 30% of the rural CU membership of the Gambian movement.

The study analysed all member balances to establish savings and loans balances. Balances were categorised in ranges from ‘very low’ to ‘very high’. Very low is below 500 Dalasi 4 (c. €12) and very high is over 15,000D (€375).

We used a random sample of 15 members, ranged from oldest to newer members, to study the lodgement and withdrawal patterns of the membership.

The CU analysis template is in Appendix A.

Household Survey We conducted a survey of 27 sample households from 4 different regions. These are the 4 regions from where the CUs were chosen for analysis. All households hold at least one CU account. The questionnaire covered the following areas: Household assets Household income Household expenditure Savings and Loans patterns • CU & Non CU (including personal and family) Literacy levels of women and children Role of women in the household finances The households were chosen with assistance from the CUs and NACCUG, taking care to vary the selection in terms of distance from the CU office and in terms of active usage of the CU. The Irish researcher completed the questionnaire through interview with the respondent. In 25 cases this was in the respondent’s home so many of the asset questions could be checked by looking around. In most cases interpreting into the local language (Wolluff or Mandinka) was needed. The questionnaire is in Appendix B.

The questionnaire contains a poverty scoring tool, which calculates a poverty (or wealth) score based on the answers to 20 questions on the household size, type of marriage, educational level, housing

4 Dalasi (D) is the national currency of the Gambia. At June 21 st 2012 €1 = 39D. For convenience we use the conversion rate €1 = 40D throughout this document. This means that 1,000D = €25.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

quality, assets, energy source, water access, healthcare access and ownership of communication, transport and luxury items. This tool is in Appendix C.

The researcher was warmly welcomed by the respondents and households were comfortable with completing the questionnaire. The fact that most had completed a national census questionnaire last year helped in this regard. Households were not paid; a small gift was given to the household in thanks for their cooperation.

The CU member chosen for household survey was not always the head of the household. Household often have numerous CU members. In particular many women members chosen for interview were not heads of the household. In practice many household members were present for most interviews and consulted together to answer many questions.

GPS co-ordinates were recorded for each household and each CU visited. These may help in the future with satellite imagery surveys of the Gambia which can study poverty levels through analysis of the physical habitations of households.

Qualitative Methodology The qualitative data in this report was collected from various sources through a number of means, including focus group discussions with kafo 5 groups, meetings with CU boards, wealth ranking and informal feedback, e.g. after surveys had been conducted.

The researcher met with two kafos, one in Jambanjelly and one in Jokadu. One of these kafos was an all-female group and the membership of the other, while being mixed, was predominantly female. A central research theme at these focus groups therefore was gender equality and the role that women play in the community, in the CU and in the home.

Meetings were held with the boards of five rural CUs. As well as looking at the capacity of the board itself and the resources available to it the meetings also examined the typical challenges faced by the members of each of the CUs.

A wealth ranking exercise was conducted at three rural CUs to provide further information on the average rural CU member in The Gambia. In each of the three CUs a random sample of members was selected and the board were then asked to place these members in order based on their relative levels of wealth/poverty. This exercise helped to indicate the type of assets (or lack thereof) held by the members. It also gives some indication of the range of members in terms of the variation in asset and poverty levels between those at the top and at the bottom of the rankings.

Finally the qualitative data has also been informed by the information given by the questionnaire respondents. The respondents often provided more detailed and specific data that was not required by the questionnaire but was used in the broader study.

5 A kafo is a group of people who share a common purpose, e.g. work a plot together or have a rotating savings club. See section on kafos.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

3. Analysis of CU use by rural members and by rural women

Membership

These 4 CUs have built up significant membership and presence in their communities over the past 10 years.

Table 1: Breakdown of membership of 4 rural CUs

Credit Union Membership Men Women Kafo Children Jambanjelly CU (Kombo South) 1128 31% 30% 10% 29% Foni Kansala CU 981 38% 38% 12% 12% Sabunima CU (Fuladu West) 491 25% 68% 6% 1% Jokadu CU 528 24% 74% 1% 1%

Women are well represented in the membership of rural CUs. Women membership is equal to that of men in all 4 CUs analysed, as it is in overall national statistics. In 2 of the 4 CUs, women’s membership is dramatically higher that men, at 68% and 74%. This reflects the development focus of these CUs, one of which has been assisted by collaboration with other development projects.

The kafo membership is also predominantly women (over 70%) so, when the kafo members are added to the CU members to estimate the total no. of CU users, women form a clear majority. We will see later however that this membership majority does not ensure equality at directorial level or at national network level.

Children’s accounts are accounts which parents open for their child and manage in order to help cover the costs of the child’s education. They are especially numerous in Jambanjelly due to previous development projects which worked to improve the educational opportunities of the children there.

Unlike other countries where ILCUF works (e.g. Albania, Sierra Leone) there are no “women only CUs” in the Gambia.

Savings

Table 2: Average Savings in the CUs Average Savings % of members with medium or high per Member - savings level i.e. savings above 1,000D Credit Union Dalasi (€40) Jambanjelly CU (Kombo South) 1678 (€42) 38% Foni Kansala CU 3188 (€80) 50% Sabunima CU 876 (€22) 14% Jokadu CU 624 (€16) 17% €1 = 40D

Average savings in the CUs reflect the different economic realities of the 4 regions in the study. In the South Bank regions nearest to the capital Banjul members have the higher average savings. In Sabunima and in Jokadu on the isolated North Bank the average savings balances are less than half of those wealthier regions. In the South Bank regions a member is 3 times more likely a medium or high savings level compared to Sabunima and North Bank.

It must be noted that higher average balances in the South Bank regions are also due to their proximity to NACCUG HQ in Banjul. The CUs benefit from more support from NACCUG. NACCUG is affected by the high cost of supporting CUs further from it HQ. Establishment of regional bases is part of the strategy to reduce long term costs.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

37% of households surveyed replied that they had no savings other than their CU savings. This is very worrying as it shows extreme vulnerability to crisis among these households, some of whom may have a loan with the CU and therefore do not even have access to their savings in the event of a crisis. Table 3 shows the average no of times that a member used the CU in the past year to lodge or withdraw savings.

Table 3: Savings & Withdrawal Patterns in the CUs

Average No. of Average No. of times the times the member member saved withdrew savings Credit Union last year last year CU Savings Policy Jambanjelly CU (Kombo South) 1.7 2.5 25D (€0.62) per month Foni Kansala CU 1.4 0.5 50D (€1.25) per month Sabunima CU 3.3 1.7 50D €1.25) per month Jokadu CU 2.1 0.1 25D €0.62) per month

It is notable that, although the regions of Kombo South and Foni Kansala have far higher average savings balances, their members did not visit the CU as often to save. In the Fuladu West and Jokadu regions members came twice as often to the CU to save. This underlines the importance of the CU to these members, even though their savings balances are less than half those of members in other regions.

Rural members save between 1.4 and 3.3 times per year, this is far less often than urban members and members of nationwide professional CUs, who save monthly through automated wage deduction systems. Most rural members deal with far less cash less often and have seasonally dependant sources of incomes so this is understandable. However we have noted elsewhere in this study the importance of Kafos and of Osusus to cash management. Rural Gambians and in particular rural women use these informal clubs, some as often as weekly, to manage small amounts of cash. CUs should improve their relations with these entities to increase the overall level and frequency of CU use.

The most pertinent finding of this table is that none of the rural CUs are implementing fully their own savings policies, all of which aim to secure a monthly savings lodgement from the member. Poor board capacity may be one reason that boards have not reviewed this policy and refined it to make it more realistic and attainable.

Table 4: Jambanjelly CU (Kombo South) Breakdown of savings into size categories

Very High - over 15000D High - 5000 to 15000D Medium - 1000 to 5000D Women - Savings Low - 500 to 1000D Men - Savings Very Low -less than 500D … 0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

The membership of this CU is evenly distributed across men and women at c. 30% each. This CU shows a high level of children’s membership (29%), as the CU offers the service of accounts designed to help towards the payment of school fees.

Average savings for Jambanjelly CU is in the medium category (between 1,000 and 5,000 Dalasi – between €25 and €125). 48% of members male and 67% of members female have savings in the low and very low categories. The larger proportion of women in these categories indicates that women do not participate equally as savers; however this may be offset by the high level of children’s accounts, which are mainly managed by women.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

Table 5:Foni Kansala CU Breakdown of savings into size categories

Very High - over 15000D High - 5000 to 15000D Medium - 1000 to 5000D Women - Savings Low - 500 to 1000D Men - Savings Very Low -less than 500D

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Average savings for Foni Kansala CU is in the medium category (between 1,000 & 5,000 Dalasi – between €25 & €125). Fifty percent of members both male and female have savings in the low and very low categories.

The membership of this CU is evenly distributed across men and women at 38% each. Savings patterns also show an even distribution; the proportion of men and women with very low balances are almost identical, i.e. men and women save in similar amounts. This indicates that the participation of men and women in the CU is equal in terms of savings. Kafos and children’s accounts are strong in the CU at 24% of all accounts. As these accounts are mainly managed by women this is a good indication of women’s participation in the CU.

Table 6: Sabunima CU Breakdown of savings into size categories

Very High - over 15000D High - 5000 to 15000D Medium - 1000 to 5000D Women - Savings Low - 500 to 1000D Men - Savings Very Low -less than 500D 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Sabunima CU has a very high level of women’s membership at 68%. Savings patterns among men and women are roughly similar except that men hold significantly more of the high savings balances; 9% of men have high or very high balances compared to just 2% of women.

Table 7: Jokadu CU Breakdown of savings into size categories

Very High - over 15000D High - 5000 to 15000D Medium - 1000 to 5000D Women - Loans Low - 500 to 1000D Men - Loans Very Low -less than 500D

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Jokadu CU has a very high level of women’s membership at 74%. Savings patterns among men and women are very similar, even at the high and very high levels.

Finally the study asked if households have other places in which they keep their savings.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

Table 8: Places in which households save 80% CU Savings 60% MFI/Bank Savings 40% Savings in House 20% Savings with Family 0% Savings in Business 1

The CU overshadows all other facilities. It is the home of almost 60% of all the cash savings declared in the survey, including home and family savings. One third of all respondents declared that they had no savings anywhere else than the CU, not even at home or in safekeeping with other family members.

However the wealth ranking exercise clearly showed that rural households value livestock as a form of wealth and many households invest spare cash into livestock whenever possible. An important element of financial literacy will be to help members understand when it is best for them to maintain cash as savings and when to use cash to buy livestock.

Credit Union Lending

Table 9: CU Lending Patterns

% of loans in Average Loan per medium and high No. of borrowers Total Loans as % of Credit Union Member - Dalasi categories as % of members Total Savings Jambanjelly CU (Kombo South) 33,772 26% 3% 62% Foni Kansala CU 10,272 40% 12% 39% Sabunima CU 3,519 22% 9% 38% Jokadu CU 1,787 10% 67% 193% €1 = 40D

Predictably the average loan levels in the CUs reflect the different economic capacities of the 4 regions in the study. Kombo South has a much higher average loan balance, more than 3 times that of any other region and 12 times higher than the poorest region Jokadu. However it is important to note the different nature of the CU lending in these 2 CUs above. Jambanjelly is currently lending to only 3% of its members, so it is not surprising that average loans are high. Jokadu is lending to 67%, of its members which is an unusually high level of borrowers even by Irish standards. This high level is explained by the fact that Jokadu has benefitted from an external scheme to lend additional funds to its members. (Therefore Jokadu loans are 193% of its savings). Such external funds rarely present themselves to CUs, they have great potential to assist members but must be handled with great care as badly managed ‘microfinance’ loan schemes can backfire on CUs and lead to delinquency and loss of member loyalty.

Sabunima and Foni Kansala are more representative of more standard CU lending practice, with borrower to member ratios of 12% and 9%. Recommended borrower to member ratios internationally are generally between 10% and 30%, depending on loan size and on the maturity of the CU. In this way typically between a tenth and a third of members have a loan at any one time. Sabunima and Foni Kansala both have plenty of funds available to lend to their members, as they have less than 40% of members’ savings out on loan. It is not unusual for rural CUs to be ‘underlent’, especially at particular times of the year. It is not a problem in itself and it certainly is preferable to making unsound loans. However given the undeniable need in the areas it is incumbent on CUs to help its members explore ways they can invest in income generating activities.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

Table 10: Jambanjelly (Kombo South) Breakdown of loans into size categories

Very High - over 15000D High - 5000 to 15000D Medium - 1000 to 5000D Women - Loans Low - 500 to 1000D Men - Loans Very Low -less than 500D

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

The very low level of borrowers per member here (just 3%) is a concern. Obviously this CU is concentrating its lending on large loans to a small number of members. This CU reported the highest level score on the ‘Average No. of times the member withdrew savings last year’ at 2.5 withdrawals per year. This suggests that most members are withdrawing savings in preference to borrowing. The CU should review this and encourage more members to borrow modest amounts rather than withdraw savings.

The pattern of borrowing in terms of amounts and frequency is almost identical for men and women. Participation of women is good therefore and encouraging.

Table 11: Foni Kansala CU Breakdown of loans into size categories

Very High - over 15000D High - 5000 to 15000D Medium - 1000 to 5000D Women - Loans Low - 500 to 1000D Men - Loans Very Low -less than 500D 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

In Foni Kansala the pattern of borrowing is quite similar for men and women. There are noticeably less women with loans in the very high level category (9% compared to 22% of men). However the strong representation of women in the medium and high categories (65% in total) indicates that women are accessing substantial loans.

Table 12: Sabunima CU Breakdown of loans into size categories

Very High - over 15000D High - 5000 to 15000D Medium - 1000 to 5000D Women - Loans Low - 500 to 1000D Men - Loans Very Low -less than 500D

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

In Sabunima CU women and men’s borrowing patterns are almost identical, although a smaller proportion of the women’s loans are in the high and very high categories.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

Table 13: Jodaku CU Breakdown of loans into size categories

Very High - over 15000D High - 5000 to 15000D Medium - 1000 to 5000D Women - Loans Low - 500 to 1000D Men - Loans Very Low -less than 500D 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

In Jokadu, the poorest region, men and women’s loan patterns are similar, although here again a smaller proportion of women have loans in the high and very high categories. The large number of loans to women in this CU is due in part to the assistance of a n external fund.

Table 14: CU Borrowers disaggregated by sex % of men with % of women with Credit Union loans loans Jambanjelly CU 5% 4% Foni Kansala CU 14% 15% Sabunima CU 18% 6% Jokadu CU 59% 70%

Across all 4 regions women numerically have as many loans as men. However in some CUs women form the great majority of the membership, so we must analyse the number of borrowers relative to the number of members male and female. This table reveals that in Sabunima only 6% of women members have loans whereas 18% of men have loans. Other regions show parity and indeed in Jokadu more women proportionally have loans than men. This is a result of the external fund and the policies this fund favouring women.

Table 15: Reasons for Borrowing among Households Reasons members borrow Food Business/Agri 10% 50% Emergency 14%

Household Education Goods Social Reasons House 23% 0% 0% 3% o

The survey asked people what was the main reason they took their last loan at the CU for. Business was the main reason at 50%; this is mainly investment in their farms through buying seeds and other inputs . Education was second highest with a quarter of all members borrowing for school related costs. Food and emergencies account for another quarter of the costs; worryingly high levels since these are expenses which do not yield any return. Housing is a smal l proportion at just 3%. Surprisingly no rural households report borrowing for festivals or social events. Urban CUs have a high level of lending for religious and traditional festivals such as Futampaf (Jola tribe i nitiation), Christmas and Tobaski.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

Table 16: Where households borrow 80% CU Loan 60% Dev Proj Loan

40% Shop Loan Loan in Kind 20% Family Loan 0% 1 Mfi Loan

The survey results show the importance of the CU to its members as 60% of the households borrow from the CU. The next largest source of credit was shop loans; 30% of respondents had a shop loan, usually from the purchase of rice. This concurs with the worrying survey response that 41% of households buy food on credit. This behaviour may be based on convenience as much as need, but it is usually of great concern, since households may pay over the odds for basic food items and may find it difficult to break the cycle of debt for day to day needs.

A small proportion of members have development project loans, which are significant when they can be accessed, but they are short term and will not be available to all members in the long run.

The survey questionnaire listed Osusu loans among the possible answers to the question of where household borrow. However respondents were adamant that the money they access from Osusu is not a loan. Osusu is a group of people who each contribute a fixed amount regularly to form the group fund. The group then gives the entire fund to each member, usually in rotation. This is a popular traditional form of saving/borrowing.

Respondents perceive their obligations as Osusu members (to contribute money regularly to the common fund) as different from that of repaying a loan. They perceive that they are savers with the Osusu rather than borrowers. In fact, depending on the members place in the Osusu system he or she may be a borrower rather than a saver.

Indicators Deriving from Membership Analysis The following outcome level indicators will be re-assessed at the end of the programme and relate in large part to increased access to savings and credit facilities:

Savings: Increased membership CU Savings policy reviewed, refined, and implemented Increased average savings per member Increased number of times that the member saves per year Same or reduced number of times per year that the member withdraws savings Increased % of members in the medium and high savings categories Equal participation of women in membership and savings

Lending: Borrower to member ratio healthy across all CUs CU Loans policy reviewed, refined, and implemented Total loans to total member ratio healthy across all CUs Increased participation of women in borrowing Good levels of repayment Positive trends in the reasons for borrowing

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

Each CU should have an action plan which sets targets for all of these areas, and performance will be measured against these targets. The action plans will take due consideration of when each CU can benefit from major NACCUG projects inputs such as new IT, regional offices, financial literacy training and savings boxes.

Note on CU Analysis: At present the compiling of CU Analyses on member behaviour, disaggregated by sex, is slow due to the lack of suitable software. The new software to be introduced by the project will generate this type of information at the push of a bottom. This enables greatly improved CU financial management and social performance management.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

4. Household Survey Household Characteristics, Wealth, Income, Spending & Education

Household Size The first striking result of the survey is the size of the typical rural Gambian household. The survey considered carefully its definition of a household, since Gambian families tend to live together in compounds of small houses or huts, there is considerable interaction among extended family, polygamy is common and there is high multi generational dependency. The final definition of the household is the number of people who share food, income and shelter. This was explained colloquially to the respondents as the number of people who share the same cooking bowl.

The average household has 18 people and has 3 or 4 generations. The largest households interviewed had over 40 people while the smallest had 7. This is significantly higher than the average household size of the Gambian CDDP survey 2010, which is 12.66. This survey covered 1,951 households in rural Gambia as part of the baseline data set for the World Bank’s Community Driven Development Programme. The median in our study is 15, which is closer to the median of 11.6 7 in the CDDP study. Larger household size in our study may be an indication that households who use the CU are larger and more consolidated than the typical Gambian household.

In addition the average household has another 3 people from outside the household who depend on it for income, bringing the average number of dependents to 21.

Polygamy Polygamy is one of the reasons for such large household size. 37% of the households interviewed were polygamous households. This is part of Islamic tradition in the Gambia. A man may marry up to 4 wives. Our survey results concur generally with the results of the Gambia CDDP study of 2010 which found 45% of Gambian households to be polygamous. The economics of polygamy are complex. Men who are considered wealthy are seen as attractive husbands as they can offer security to the woman. On the other hand some men see women as economic assets as they work hard and bear children to support the man in his old age. Therefore both a man and woman may marry to improve their economic security. However as a man takes more wives he incurs more expense in feeding and educating a larger household. Polygamy is often an indication of social status in the village.

Poverty Scoring The household survey questionnaire contains a poverty scoring tool. This tool analysed the answers to 20 questions on the household size, type of marriage, educational level, housing quality, assets, energy source, water access, healthcare access and ownership of communication, transport and luxury items. The tool weights the 20 answers and arrives at a poverty score, based on a maximum (wealthiest) score of 200.

Table 17: Poverty Scores among Household in 4 Regions Poverty Scores Average Lowest HH Highest HH (maximum score 200) per region (poorest) (wealthiest) Kombo South 109 84 144 Foni Kansala 104 81 127 Fuladu West 100 56 134 Jokadu 89 72 115

6 2010, The Graduate Institute, Arcand JL et al, The Gambia CDDP baseline: rural household survey, qualitative survey, village network survey , (Geneva), p. 36 7 2010, The Graduate Institute, ibid, p. 36.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

The average poverty scores show that the regions closest to the capital Banjul are the wealthiest. Kombo South and Foni Kansala score highest while Fuladu West and Jokadu are the poorest. This concurs with the evidence from the CU analysis, which shows far lower average savings and loans balances per CU member in those regions. It also concurs with the findings of the wealth ranking exercise.

Jokadu on the North Bank scores by far the lowest average, confirming its status as the poorest region in the study. In the poverty scoring tool Jokadu is 20% lower than Kombo South on average, whereas the average savings per member in Jokadu is 3 times less than in Kombo South.

It is of interest that the lowest score recorded in the entire survey, (56 in Bwiam, Foni Kansala) is for a female headed household. This concurs with the opinions expressed by CU Board members that female headed households are the most vulnerable.

Housing is generally poor with 63% reporting sand or mud flooring and 48% of households without access to piped water. However healthcare is more encouraging than expected as 85% of households replied that they can visit a medical facility if they are sick. Despite the hardship rural Gambia has embraced the mobile phone revolution and 96% of households own at least one mobile phone.

Income The survey asked households to describe their annual income in 3 forms; monthly income, annual income from sale of produce and the value of own produce consumed. The households found it difficult to make estimates so it is difficult to know how accurate the actual amounts are. However the comparison between regions is clear.

Respondents reported that monthly income accounts for an average of 50% of total annual income. 32% of total annual income comes from sale of produce and the value of own produce consumed is 18%.

Table 18: Breakdown of sources of income over the year. Average of all regions

Monthly Income

Annual Income - Sale of Produce Annual Produce for Consumption

There is huge regional variation in the level of income earned monthly as table 19 shows. Note that in this table monthly income refers to amounts which come into the household on a monthly basis, either from employment, petty trading or regular sales of produce (e.g. firewood, eggs, market vegetables etc.)

Table 19: Average monthly household income declared by respondent (€1 = 40D) 15000

10000

5000 Series1 0 Kombos Foni Fuladu Jokadu South Kansala West

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

Once again the Jokadu region emerges as much poorer than the others in average monthly income. The amount declared is less than 2,000D (c. €50) per household per month.

In overall annual income terms Jokadu is also the poorest region, reporting an average annual household income of 30,300D (c. €750). With average household size of up to18 people this is an income per capita of c. 1,600D. This is half the reported figure of the CDDP survey of 2009 for monetary income per capita. 8

The other regions have significantly higher average income levels, especially in Kombo South where trading and fishing are more active.

Remittances are a central part of the rural economy as well. In the CDDP Survey of 2010 around half of the respondents reporting receiving remittances from relatives who work outside the village. However our survey did not ask the question directly and households themselves did not emphasise the importance of remittances, perhaps due to the fact that they do not earn this money themselves.

In general it is very hard to define annual income as the volume of produce will vary with the seasons and its value will depend on market prices. The households found it easier to answer the simple question as to whether their economic situations had improved or not over the past 2 years.

Table 20: Households whose economic situation has disapproved in past 2 years

Households whose economic situation has disapproved in past 2 years

Kombos South 82% Foni Kansala 0% Fuladu West 100% Jokadu 67%

All but one region report that things have worsened, most blame this on poor harvests and to rising costs of food and inputs.

In most regions land is plentiful but the resources to work the land and the capital to buy the inputs are lacking. 85% of households have access to communal land in addition to their own land, but only 59% of these households actually use of this land. The wealth ranking exercise bears this out; in Jokadu the community members did not even consider land to be significant when assessing the wealth of their neighbours. In Jambanjelly (Kombo South) however, which is nearer to the urban areas, land is of considerable value for housing, business and agriculture.

Spending The main expenditure items of all households across the regions are food and education. Although the Kombo South and Foni Kansala regions are markedly better off than Fuladu West and Jokadu the proportion of household expenditure on food reported by respondents in each region is roughly the same (range of 20% to 27%). This may be because in the poorer regions households rely more on their own produce, or because households in better off regions have a more varied and expensive diet. This finding bears out the popular theory that as incomes rise households increase their spending on food and basic items, and therefore end up with less disposable income for investment than one might expect.

8 2010, The Graduate Institute, ibid, p. 36.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

Table 21: Breakdown of main household expenditure 30 25 20 Food% 15 Ed% 10 5 Savings% 0 Kombos South Foni Kansala Fuladu West Jokadu

Education is the major expense of households after food. Here the poverty of Jokadu is evident as it reports spending of 25% of household income on education compared to 20% or less in all other areas.

Households report a capacity to save of between 4% in Jokadu to 15% in Foni Kansala. However we see from the high number of very low savings balances that households are not saving this amount in the CUs. It is clear from the interviews with focus groups that money kept at home does not last long before it is used. For most households the only secure long term savings are those in the CU or another institution.

Education The survey found that 70% of women have had no formal education. 22% of respondents were literate in English and 33% literate in their local language. Some are also literate in Arabic due to Koranic schooling but there appears to be no economic or social role for Arabic aside from its religious role.

Numeracy is of great importance to CUs as members must be able to understand their CU book and the cost of borrowing and using money. 67% of respondents said that they were numerate. Some illiterate people are highly numerate, especially those engaged in small business that depends on making a daily profit to survive. Many are senior volunteers and leaders in their CUs and it is inspiring to see people overcome the difficulties of lack of education to play a full role in the community.

However only 52% of respondents said that they understood their CU passbook, which is worrying. All numerate people should understand the passbook. Illiterate and innumerate people usually rely on another household member who is literate or numerate to ensure that their financial and CU affairs are in order. There is also a huge degree of trust and reliance on the CU staff and volunteers (this is common in Ireland as well it must be said). NACCUG and the CUs themselves must maintain adequate training, controls and procedures to ensure that this trust is not abused.

The future is more encouraging as 85% of households replied that all their children aged 5 to 12 are in school.

Table 22: Reasons that Children miss days at school 80%

60%

40%

20%

0% Cost of Schooling Work in family Work elsewhere business

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

However over 60% of households replied that their children lost days at school due to the cost of schooling. Costs range from fees to book, uniforms and school lunches. Fewer households kept their children at home to work or sent them elsewhere to work at the expense of school (11% & 4%).

Savings and loans products for education are crucial to securing full education for children. These must take into account all the costs of schooling, which are more than simply the fees.

Impact Indicators Deriving from the Household Survey

At the end of the programme, the impact assessment should show improvements in the following areas:

Poverty scoring for assessed households Income levels Member perception of changes in their economic situation Capacity to save Children having to absent themselves from school due to household financial pressures

It should be noted that these results may be affected by external factors such as drought or other shocks. Current sample size may limit the ability of the study to claim representativeness across the whole programme of findings, but other proxy / cross referencing indicators such as savings levels etc. will help to substantiate any identified trends.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

5. Gender Issues in Rural Gambia and in the CU Movement

Livelihood and Agricultural challenges When the women of rural Gambia were questioned about the challenges that they face in their day-today lives their answers centred almost exclusively around agricultural problems: access to resources, lack of rainfall, lack of fertile land etc. This is in keeping with statistical data from the Gambia. According to the U.N. inter-agency network Women Watch Gambian women produce 40% of food consumed in the household and they provide about 75% of the total agricultural labour force 9

One of the main issues for the women questioned as part of this research was access to and ownership of agricultural production resources and farm inputs. This problem has been exacerbated by the recent poor rainy seasons as the optimum time for ploughing and the sowing of seeds has become very limited.

One CU member in Sabunima described the situation as follows: “There is a very short rainy season in Gambia. Usually the women are late going into their rice fields because there are only one or two tractors and they are owned by private people. Before they finish their own land and come to help the women to plough, the rainy season would have gone two months ahead. The women would be left with only two months of rain and that’s not sufficient to get the just- germinated plants to full maturity.”

The women of Jokadu are experiencing exactly the same problem: “Normally [the women] have to plough their land very late because those who own the farm implements are all men so they plough their own land first before they think of giving the women support. By then the rainy season will be very far advanced.”

Fertiliser is another resource that the women have difficulty in accessing. In Jokadu, on the North Bank, the women have had to abandon some of the land that they had been farming as it has become infertile and they have not been able to access fertiliser. They have moved their farming activities to land which is very fertile as it has been left fallow for the past twenty years. However this land, unlike the land they abandoned, does not have a concrete-lined well and the women do not have access to the resources required for a concrete-lined well. “...so when we draw water some water is falling back into the well. This undermines the sand and before you know it the well falls in. We need to dig another well but in the meantime the plants are dying from a lack of water.”

The lack of rainfall over the past two years has also resulted in shortages of water for domestic purposes. One village in Jokadu on the North Bank reported that their 10 metre deep well is now running dry. In a second village in Jokadu the residents reported that they all now rely on the one well for their water. Each person is limited to 20 litres of water from the well each time so many people have to make multiple trips to the well each day and there is a lengthy queue as a result. Again this is an issue for the women as the task of fetching water falls solely to the women and children.

Gender Based Violence Women were slow to respond to questions or prompts in relation to gender based violence. In many cases they chose to ignore the question or responded with answers which did not address this issue. However it is clear from the limited information received that violence against women does occur and while not condoned it is seemingly still accepted by both genders.

One woman when discussing the difficulty in completing all her domestic and other tasks each day indicated the importance of quitting work in time to go home and prepare supper for her family: “At

9 Women Watch (2000) The Gambia: Response to the Questionnaire on Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (1995) & The Outcome of the Twenty-Third Special Session of the General Assembly (2000) http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/Review/responses/GAMBIA-English.pdf

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

supper time if the kids go to bed without eating sometimes the husband will hit you saying ‘what have you been doing all day’.”

According to the women of Jambanjelly a lot of the domestic violence that does occur is due to financial problems within a household. “When [financial issues] happen the man can get angry and frustrated and start hitting you.”

The Jambanjelly women were subsequently asked whether domestic violence levels had changed over the past two years in line with the increased financial pressures caused by the dry rainy seasons. They felt that the level of domestic violence has increased as the financial problems of couples grow. One woman explained that she believes this is because the woman is the one that is seen to be spending all of the money as it is generally the woman’s role to buy food, pay school fees etc. As a result she feels it is very important for the woman to have her own source of income coming into the household: “...That is why they have to go to the market garden so that they too will bring some money into the home, otherwise the man will be angry with them.”

Financial Provision, Management and Spending Roles It is of interest that, in the womens group discussions, women declared that most of the spending roles fell on them. This contrasts with the household survery data which shows as follows.

Table 23: Spending roles within the household - who pays the various bills? 100% 80%

60% husband 40% wife 20% both 0% food bills school medical business social selling fees bills inputs events produce

It would appear that men who responded to the survey wanted to show a more active role in managing household expenditure than they actually play.

It is clear that women feel the need to manage the finances and to provide for the household. This is onerous for the women as they are already tasked with the cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping and child-minding duties of the household in an environment where such tasks are very time-consuming as there are no time-saving appliances or devices available.

According to the board members of Jokadu CU, the responsibility for medical and education bills falls to the women 90% of the time. “So the women are aware of the fact that they have a bigger responsibility so they have to work hard and save.”

The desire to contribute to the financial income of the household was evident over the course of the study in all villages and districts. The income generating activities ranged from farming to petty trading to market gardening, smoking fish, catering, making soap and tie-dying.

For several women that now have their own small business the CU was a means to achieving that through the provision of a small loan. One woman that now has a petty trade business tells how she never had enough income to buy the stock necessary to become a trader previously. She would buy a tin of tomato puree on credit from a local shop and sell it on in smaller portions. Once sold, she would pay the shopkeeper the money she owed him and retain a small profit for herself. With a small loan from the CU she was able to purchase some stock and establish herself as a petty trader.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

For most women however farming is still the most accessible and feasible source of income. These farming activities are very time consuming for the women. In fact Women Watch in their report noted the ‘drudgery’ of the work performed by Gambian women working in agriculture for example ploughing or the processing of cereals (Women Watch, 2000). The women interviewed as part of this research similarly spoke of their duties and the length of time that they demand: “We go to the farm, to the rice field, we collect the crop, then we have to pound it, wash it, cook it, find firewood, do everything.” (Jambanjelly CU member)

“There are women in this village who, before they are able to save or to take a loan for school fees, have to get firewood. They have to go to the woods themselves with their axe to fell the tree, split it, put it in their horse cart and go and sell it. That way they can have an income and save here for the betterment of their families and payment of school fees.” (Foni Kansala CU member)

“The man would have his farm, you would have to have your own farm. He will never have time to come and help you. The children also won’t come and help you, if they do they will have a problem with their father. But when it comes to the payment of school fees the husband will say ‘has your mother not got a farm? Go to your mother to pay and buy rice’.” (Foni Kansala CU member)

The above quote sums up the main problem for women in rural Gambia; while the men provide income for the household they have little appreciation of the costs in addition to food that are involved in running a home. As a result many of the additional costs, in particular school fees, fall to the woman to pay. However without assistance women can struggle to find the time to devote to income- generating activities in addition to their duties in the home.

One woman in Bwiam said that the women understand that in reality the financial responsibility could be more evenly divided among the men and women. However she felt that costs such as school fees do not have the same level of priority for men as they do for women and so ultimately even if responsibility was more evenly divided nothing would change. She believes that the solution is to raise the income of the woman instead so that they can meet these additional costs more easily without unnecessary stress or hardship.

In terms of financial management within households, this can be an issue for people that have received little or no formal education and are surviving on very small incomes. CU members stated that they had difficulties with budgeting. While they were aware that costs such as school fees were impending they were not able to put money aside in advance to make this payment. Instead once a note was sent by the headmistress requesting payment then they would begin struggling to find the money to meet that particular responsibility. The CU has played an important role in these moments of financial crisis by releasing members savings for such occasions or by providing loans. The survey showed that23% of the respondents using their loan for the purposes of education.

Financial management becomes even more difficult for those people that are trying to manage a business as well as a home. One woman who received business development training through her CU said that she now has a much clearer idea of what her costs and her profits are. In the past if she bought something at one price and sold it for another price she thought that the difference was her profit, she never factored in costs. Now she knows how much money she is earning every week and she can plan accordingly.

This woman is not unique in her poor financial management of her business. In Jokadu one kafo member spoke about the difficulties in this regard: “All we know is that we have this amount of money, we keep it. If there is a family problem we dip our hand into the box and give it out. When there’s anything for sale for food we see if there’s any money, we buy, the family consumes. So we cannot separate the family expenses and our consumer expenses and our business expenses.”

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

Ownership and inheritance Women are still severely discriminated against in the inheritance system. The wife is not entitled to inherit the household assets on the death of the male head of household. The most common inheritor is the eldest son, followed by all the children. This system leaves women dependant on the family of her deceased husband, who generally take control of the assets.

Table 24: Who inherits the household assets if the male head dies? 60%

40%

20%

0% Eldest Son All the Male Wife Wife and A Male Other children Children Children Relative

As mentiond above women may own their own land but are generally severely curtailed in the income they can yield from this land, due to all their other duties.

One woman interviewed during this study had been ‘inherited’ by her husband. Widowed by her first husband she was then married to his brother and became his third wife. The reason given for this was that it ensured that her children remained within the family of their father. This woman was in a financially stronger position than her new husband. She received no income from him, instead she gave him financial assistance once or twice every month as the need arose.

Women are curtailed in their exploitation of their own land due to a lack of resources. Farm implements and farm machinery are owned almost exclusively by men, who therefore get priority in using them during the sowing and harvesting seasons. The female kafo members in Jokadu stated that it is often halfway through the rainy season before they finally have access to implements. This leaves their crops with very little time to germinate and thrive before the start of the dry season

Literacy, Numeracy and Education The views of womens focus groups and of CU Board members reinforce the survey results for literacy levels.

The Chairman of Sabunima CU believes that over 90% of the members can’t read or write. At the CU in Bwiam the wall by the cashier’s desk is black and grubby with ink. This is because many of the members can’t sign their name and so use their thumb print to verify transactions instead. When they are finished they are inclined to wipe their blackened thumbs on the wall.

Many of the CU members spoken to over the course of this study relied on their children to interpret their CU book for them. While they could make calculations they could not understand figures and so while they were able to keep a mental record of loan repayments they needed their children to ensure that the receipt from the CU corresponded with their own record.

Because of their own difficulties with literacy and numeracy, and because the children can help their parents by reading and writing documents for them, Gambian parents have a strong determination to send their children to school regardless of the level of poverty in the home. The majority of respondents stated that when it comes to access to education they do not give any preference to either gender. One woman felt however that she would give priority to sons as education can sometimes be wasted on the girls as they go and get pregnant as teenagers or they leave the home to get married - in which case the education benefits a different family.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

A woman in Kombo South however spoke about her determination to educate all her children – boys and girls. When asked why she said that even now as a grown woman she can’t even understand warning signs or danger signs. She doesn’t want her daughters to suffer in the ways that she has because of her inability to read and write.

Role of Rural Women in CUs and at national level - NACCUG Women are the majority of members in the rural CU movement. In terms of CU use to build savings and take loans women benefit proportionately less than men but are still accessing important services from their CUs.

However participation of women in the governing structures of their CUs and of the national apex body NACCUG is far below the level it should be. At CU board level women are well represented numerically but the key decision making posts are with men.

CUs have a regional (chapter) network. Each chapter has one representative at national level on the Board of Directors of NACCUG. Currently 3 members of the Board of NACCUG are women (25% of the Board). Since inception women have been represented on the NACCUG board but rural female representatives are much less active than urban representatives. This reflects the relative size and development status of their CUs and also their educational level. Language is also an issue; less educated rural women rarely speak English and depend on interpreting to participate fully in Board meetings.

Women are also much less active on the staff of rural CUs and NACCUG. All the NACCUG rural development staff (field officers) are male. This is no surprise as they have to travel long distances on motorbikes to visit the CUs. CU staff themselves are predominantly male, and where there are women they are the junior staff.

Women staff are more prominentt, active and senior in urban CUs, this is a source of encouragement to rural CUs who aim to recruit local women in the future.

Indicators Deriving from the Assessment of Gender Issues and Women’s Invovlement in the CU Movement

The main areas that come under the influence of the programme are improved financial servcies including for women, financial literacy, women’s role in the CU movment. The following indicators (including impact and outcome level indicators) will be monitored and assessed at the end of the programme to ascertain changes in gender empowerment:

Members satisfaction with financial products and services Changes in finanical literacy levels Improvements in women’s role in managing household budgets

Quality of women’s contribution to CU governance and management Quantity and quality of women’s contribution to NACCUG governance and management

This will involve a member satisfaction survey including a retrospective assessment; monitoring of quality of financial literacy training and follow up reports of a sample of those who have undergone training; and the disaggregation of male:female participation in management and governenance of the CUs at different levels as well as a qualitiative assessment of the effectiveness of women’s contributions within their roles (in the end of programme evaluation).

Note, may issues are outside the remit of the project (such as inheritance, women’s literacy skills, domestic violence, healthcare etc.). However CUs can play an important role in general member sensitisation on wider issues, especially by using opportunities such as AGMs and other CU meetings.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

6. The Role of the Kafo in Rural Gambia

Kafos are informal groups which have a common purpose. They may use a plot of land together, manage a rotating savings club (Osusu), rent a market stall or some other small economic venture. Kafos usually hold one CU account. There are 240 kafos registered in the 4 CUs analysed for this study, they comprise 8% of the total number of accounts. However they consist of well over 1,000 people, many of whom do not hold individual CU accounts. Kafo members are predominantly women.

In the household survey 74% of respondents were members of at least 1 kafo. They are therefore of great importance to the economic and social fabric of rural Gambia.

Meetings were held with two kafo groups during this study; one in Jambanjelly and one in Jokadu. One of these kafos was a mixed kafo with 50 members; 35 women and 15 men. The other kafo was an all-female group of 38 members.

Both kafos are over 10 years old and both joined the CU within 3 to 4 years of establishment. Both kafos have similar levels of savings 5,000-6,000 Dalasi (€200 - €250) in their CUs.

The Jambanjelly kafo was established originally as an Osusu. The Osusu activity of the kafo still continues while the kafo have also become involved in providing labour for hire on people’s farmland. The kafo in Jambanjelly has never taken a loan from the CU. They feel that they are not yet financially strong enough to receive a sizeable loan and would prefer to wait and take out a larger loan than to take out a smaller loan now.

In Jokadu the kafo was originally formed to bring unity and cohesion amongst the women of the community. Many of the women had married into the community and so they were not familiar with each other. The kafo was an important means of bringing these women together and strengthening the community. The kafo in Jokadu is in the process of repaying a 10,000 Dalasi (€400) loan to the CU. This loan was taken to help the kafo develop their communal farm and other activities.

The reasons for membership identified by the kafo members included: - community unity - loans from the kafo - good financial management: visible success of the kafo year-on-year - support from fellow members - assistance with farmwork - financial: proceeds from harvest divided amongst members - external support: NGOs prefer to deal with groups rather than individuals.

Fundamental to the importance of the kafo is the fact that the members help each other with the work on their farms in a reciprocal fashion 10 . The members can pay the kafo for this work at harvest time once they receive money for their crops. In some cases the kafo also works on the farms of non- members. In Jokadu the kafo has established a reputation as hard workers and now is in demand as hired labour. The assistance with farm work is particularly vital for the women who, as highlighted previously, may struggle to keep on top of the work on their own.

Also of significance is the fact that the kafo can be a source of loans for its members. In the case of Jokadu it has also provided emergency loans for non-members that need it to purchase food. In the case of members, both kafos in this study gave assistance to members to pay school fees. They also provided food in secret to needy members at times of food shortage.

10 In this regard the kafo is similar to the traditional Irish meitheal.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

While many members of each kafo are also individual members of the CU they also use kafo loans as an alternative to a CU loan as they are more informal and therefore can be immediate.

Kafos are coherent sub groups of the membership and as such they present excellent opportunities for CUs to advance their educational and literacy programmes.

The ‘graduation’ of very low income members of the community into fully active individual CU members is a focus of an ILCUF programme for West Africa 11 which will begin soon and includes the Gambia. In other project countries this is being done throgh models of microfinance. In the Gambian context kafo members who are not themselves CU members are obvious candidates to benefit from a graduation programme.

Indicators Deriving from the Assessment of Kafo Participation

The developmental benefits listed by respondents relating to kafos suggest that being part of a Kafo is a social good. Therefore the outcome level indicators that will be monitored are:

Number of active kafo accounts being held in CUs Membership numbers of active kafo accounts Percentage of women who are members of the active kafos Number of kafo members who become individual CU members

Number of kafo members who benefit from literacy and educational programmes through kafo/CU collaboration

11 The ILCUF “West Africa Credit Union Programme Against Poverty” is approved for support by the EU ACP Microfinance Programme and due to start in Summer of 2012.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

7. Member Perception of the CU in Rural Gambia

The members of the CUs that were interviewed over the course of this study were very positive about the influence the CU has had in their lives. This positivity was expressed by members of all levels of income and not just those with higher levels of savings or that had been granted a loan.

The CU has proven to be just as beneficial to those members that have little to save as those sparse savings are safe and secure. Security of savings was a benefit of the CU that was identified repeatedly by the members. Several CU members stated that in the past, in their large households, money was constantly going missing and it created suspicion and strife amongst families. Now that the savings are kept at the CU this no longer occurs.

Confidentiality is an important benefit of the CU. One woman said that prior to being a member of the CU when she was short of money to buy food she would have to get her rice on credit. However if she did not pay immediately the shopkeeper would tell everyone in the village that she owed him money.

The CU has been important for developing the habit of saving amongst its members also. The alkalo (village chief) of Gunjur (Kombo South) found it impossible to save in the past, despite having a higher than average income, as there were constantly people calling to his door looking for help and if he had some money in his pocket he would give it to them. Now that he is a member of the CU he can put some money aside for his family first before giving it out to villagers. He is now happy that, should anything ever happen to him, he has left some money behind for his children.

Similarly an eighty-year-old woman who engaged in petty trading in Kuntaya was also very happy to add money to her savings in the CU as often as possible. Despite having an average annual income of less than 20,000D (circa €500) she regularly saved every bit of spare money she received as she knew that she would die soon and she wanted to ensure her family would be financially secure when she’d gone.

The loans made available by the CUs have also been of benefit to their members. Half of the loans taken by respondents have been used for emergency situations such as the purchase of food or the paying of school fees. The other 50% been taken for business purposes – to establish or develop a business or to invest in agriculture. The activities involved in these businesses varied widely from petty trading to fishing, bee-keeping, taxi driving, fuel sales, fish export and tailoring. In some cases the loan was accompanied by business development training which greatly benefited the members and their prospective businesses. However due to the lack of resources this training had not been widely received.

In Jokadu, the poorest of the districts visited during this study, the CU engages in some other activities outside the financial realm to support its members. The board members come together once a week to cook a local soup that they will give out on credit amongst their members. They will continue to make that soup until the rainy season arrives at which point they will buy and sow sesame seeds. They will then process these seeds to produce oil as an alternative to imported oil. During the rainy season when there is sometimes a lack of vegetables the oil will be divided equally amongst the members on credit until after harvest. The CU also grows corn. Sesame and corn are drought resistant crops. Once corn is harvested and processed it is given to the poorest of the poor members on credit and they can make repayments gradually so that every member has enough food to feed their families. The proceeds from these activities are then reinvested in the CU.

When asked what they would most like their CU to do for them, the great majority of respondents requested greater assistance with agricultural loans. By this they meant that they need not only a loan to develop their farms but structured assistance to ensure that their investment is a success. This ranges from business training, technical agricultural training, assistance with purchasing inputs, assistance with selling produce etc. This roles are outside the direct role of the CU but they are essential to successful lending.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

Indicators Deriving from the Assessment of Membership Perception

The outcome level indicator that will be monitored to assess members perception of their CUs will be member satisfaction. This will be rated by conducting what is more commonly known as a ‘client satisfaction survey’. Through focus group discussions, this assesses the different attributes of products and services.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

8. Wealth Ranking Exercise

Introduction The purpose of the wealth ranking exercise was to gain insight into the attributes of wealth and poverty as perceived locally, to learn more about the CU members and to help inform research questions and targeting strategies.

A wealth ranking exercise was conducted with the boards of 3 CUs; Jokadu, Jambanjelly (Kombo South) and Foni Kansala. A random selection of CU members was made from the register book. The board members were then asked to rank this group of members from the wealthiest to the poorest.

The board were assured that if they wanted to omit anyone that was selected (e.g. a close relative) they could do so. All 3 boards were very cooperative in this exercise, with directors even volunteering to be included in the ranking.

Jambanjelly (Kombo South) In Jambanjelly a random selection was made of twelve members and these were ranked in order by the board members. It was found that the person ranked No. 1 on the list (i.e. wealthiest relative to the others) owns a mini-supermarket, has a full-time job, possesses 3 vehicles, some land and 2 sheep. When asked if this man was typical of the wealthy members of the CU the board said that there are very few wealthier than him. Some members may own more land than this man, owning up to 10 or 15 plots and up to 3 separate compounds. Also some members may own more vehicles than this man. Being a fishing community some members own refrigerated trucks for the transport of fish.

One sees from this case that the local perception of wealth includes employment, assets, livestock and land.

No. 2 on this list owns a house and land. He has a car and a full-time job and owns one goat. No. 3 owns an orchard and some land. He has some pigs, ten hens and ten goats. No. 4 has some land. He also has a donkey and cart and owns a bicycle. No. 5 has a full time job and owns a goat and a donkey. No. 6 owns five cows and three sheep. No. 7 owns a bicycle and some land.

The person ranked at the bottom of the list does not own any land or have a job. Instead she farms communal land. She lives in a mud hut and owns three sheep and five hens. When asked if this woman was typical of the poorer members of the CU the board felt that there are many that are in her situation or are even poorer. The board point out the fact that this woman has an independent source of income from her animals and her farming. The poorer members of the CU do not have an independent source of income and instead rely on support from a family member or neighbour. Some members of the CU live in bare mud huts that have not been plastered. They cannot even afford the roof of these homes and need assistance from their families in order to provide a roof for the hut.

There are also poorer people in the community that are not members of the CU. These people can be seen at the village market every single day, all year round. They rely on coins from sympathisers for their survival.

It is interesting to note that, when considering the land owned by the random selection, the board not only considered its size but also whether or not it was fenced. Fencing can add significant value to a plot of land as it can make the difference between a full harvest or a crop of vegetables eaten by animals. On the above list even though No. 7 owns land he is ranked below people that do not own land. This is because his land is not fenced and therefore not such a reliable source of income as for example the cattle and sheep owned by No. 6.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

The high value placed on the cart as a means of transportation is also important to note. No. 4 ranks higher than someone in full-time employment and someone owning five cattle despite not having a regular source of income or owning any livestock because he is in possession of a donkey and cart which can be hired by people that need to transport goods or produce.

Foni Kansala Ten CU members were randomly selected for the ranking exercise in Bwiam, with the following results.

No. 1 owns ten hens, eight goats and one donkey. He owns a house worth 100,000 Dalasi and land worth 20,000 Dalasi. No. 2 owns five hens and has land worth 80,000 Dalasi. No. 3 has land worth 30,000 Dalasi and owns a donkey and two hens. No. 4 owns one donkey, one hen, six sheep and two goats. No. 5 owns two goats, three hens and one cow. No. 6 owns two hens and four goats. No. 7 owns one hen, one sheep and one goat. No. 8 has two hens and one goat. No. 9 owns one goat. No. 10 has no assets. She lives in a mud hut with a grass roof. She relies on her son for her subsistence.

The board believe that No. 10 is among the poorest members of the CU. However they state that there are poorer people living in the community – those that have no-one to rely on and depend on the charity of friends and neighbours. Such people are not members of the CU as they have no money to save.

There are people in the CU that are far wealthier than the person ranked No. 1. Typically these people live in big houses, they own large herds of cattle and expansive tracts of land – so much so that they can rent some land to local civil servants for an additional, steady source of income.

The board feel that No. 5 and No. 6 on the ranking above are typical of the average CU member in Bwiam. These members live in mud houses with corrugated iron roofs.

Jokadu In Jokadu nine members were selected for the ranking exercise. The person ranked highest on this list of nine owns five goats, five hens and two bulls. He also owns a shop and conducts some petty trading activities.

No. 2 owns two goats, three hens, two cows and one horse. She also owns a transistor radio and lives in a mud house. No. 3 owns two goats. She lives in a cement house with a large radio (stereo) and a big box bed. No. 4 owns one cow and two goats. She lives in a cement house and owns an additional two houses that are made of mud with corrugated iron roofs. She also owns a transistor radio. No. 5 owns a goat and a donkey. He lives in a house with a corrugated iron roof and owns a transistor radio. No. 6 lives in a grass hut and owns one donkey. No. 7 lives in a mud hut and owns five hens. No. 8 lives in a cement house and owns a transistor radio. He owns one cow and five hens. No. 9 lives in a cement house and owns a transistor radio.

The board members believe that No. 9 is far better off than some other CU members. He had his animal die in the drought of the past two years but he still has his cement home. Other members who have also had their animals die live in mud or grass huts. They may live in poorly constructed homes

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

that leak in the rainy season. Some of the members have to use plastic bags on their roofs to try and protect their families from the rain.

The location of the houses is also an important factor which the board members considered in this ranking exercise. One board member stated that in her own case she lives in a mud hut that is in an exposed location and so it needs to be rebuilt after every rainy season. Other members of the CU may have their homes located on land that gets boggy or even flooded in the rainy season. The poorest members of the CU may have to survive on just one meal per day.

The board were asked whether they thought No. 5, ranked mid-way in the list of nine, was typical of the average CU member. The board felt that this man is in fact far better off than some members and so is wealthier than the average Cunumber member. This member has a donkey and can therefore generate an income by collecting and carrying things for people.

Interestingly the member that was ranked No. 2 was ranked above other members living in cement houses despite living in a mud house. This is because this member has a horse. The horse can be used as a source of income by transporting things for people.

Findings When the results of the ranking in each area are compared it is possible to make some distinctions. Firstly it is clear that the selection of members in Jambanjelly are wealthier than those of Bwiam and Jokadu. The selection in Jambanjelly collectively own four vehicles whereas there are no vehicles owned by anyone selected in either of the other two districts. This may be attributed to Jambanjelly’s location. Jambanjelly is situated in the Kombos – the area surrounding the country’s capital Banjul. The residents of the Kombos may have more opportunities for income generation given their proximity to an urban centre. Jambanjelly is also located just six kilometres from the coast making the fishing industry an important economic activity in the area. This factor is particularly important in recent years as the fishing industry has been an important alternative source of income following the poor harvests caused by the drought.

While overall the members of Jambanjelly CU appear to be wealthier than those of the other two districts all three CUs have some extremely impoverished members. In both Foni Kansala and in Jokadu there were CU members that had no independent means of income generation and were reliant on family for support. From anecdotal evidence, both during the wealth ranking exercise and during the interviews, it would seem that the elderly and particularly the widowed are often the most vulnerable to this situation.

Reference was made previously to the considerations made and the criteria used by the board members in making their ranking. When comparing the criteria used by the three different boards it is noteworthy to highlight that in the case of the Jokadu board land was not used as a consideraton. This is because the district is more sparsely populated and there is no shortage of land. On the other hand in Jambanjelly, with its proximity to the urban centres of the Kombos, the land is much more valuable and an important criteria for considering a person’s wealth.

In the case of the vast majority of the sample in all three districts their relative wealth or poverty hinged on the No. and type of animals that they owned. Given that some farmers have seen their animals wiped out by the recent drought and many have experienced almost complete crop failures it would suggest that many of the CU members in these districts are very vulnerable. As these members have little in the way of assets and resources it would seem that the CU and its facility for securing members’ savings can play a vital role in assisting these members in times of economic emergency.

This exercise is important in that it identifies how the community itself perceives wealth. It is of interest that none of the groups identified savings (cash wealth) as a factor in ranking the members in terms of their wealth. This is despite the fact that these savings may be all the member has to fall back in in the events of calamities such as crop failure or the death of animals. It may be that cash

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

wealth is not visually obvious and therefore the boards did not include it in their assessment of the members. The same applies of course, in reverse, for loans.

Indicators Deriving from the Wealth Ranking Exercise

A wealth ranking exercise at the end of the programme will help the evaluation to assess how the perception of CU boards in relation to wealth has changed. In particular it can see if board members have developed a greater appreciation of the importance of savings/loans to overall wealth

Re-assess all the members who were assessed in this WRE to see how their economic situation has changed. Assess how their CU membership has improved their economic situation during project period.

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012

Conclusion

The research carried out provides a baseline for assessing progress in relation to rural livelihoods development under the Irish Aid funded project ‘The Gambian Rural Development Project 2012 - 2014.’ The methodologies used and datasets arising provide a basis for assessing progress in relation to development indicators as set out in the document above.

The main findings included the geographical distribution of wealth (with proximity to the capital and being on the south side of The Gambia River being positive predictors); the wealth / poverty profile of CU membership showing a relatively even distribution across various wealth strata excluding the extreme poor (e.g. those resorting to begging); patterns of financial behaviour disaggregated by gender which showed in general an under-usage of CU services; and an assessment of gender which highlighted the particular contextual constraints on women . The research corroborated the stark and not un-common manifestation of poverty (such as living off one meal per day); indicators which are heavily associated with life in Sub-Saharan Africa, but are often overlooked in the case of The Gambia, perhaps because of its reputation as a tourist destination and its small population size.

The research also highlighted the serious vulnerability to drought owing to dependence on rain fed agriculture in most places. Compounding factors were cited and pointed to the need for an emphasis on investment, financial literacy and cooperation with other development actors which can enable members’ involvement in appropriate value chains that can increase their income.

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Appendix A - Poverty Scoring Tool Household Demographics and poverty level Location Survey: Name District Location Survey: village Respondent is male (1); female (2) Age of the respondent (age in numbers) Membership No. In CU Years or duration of CU membership (duration in numbers)

Member of Kafo

Poverty Poverty scoring index

Respondent is: polygamous marriage 4 monongamous marriage 4 4 single 4 divorced or widowed 0 How many people live under this roof/ no of people who 7 or more 0 share food, income and shelter (number equals points) 6 3 5 7 4 11 20 3 15 2 18 1 20 How many generations live under this roof (number 3 or 4 0 equals points) 2 2 4 1 4 Number of other people depending on the HH income - 7 or more 0 extended family members) (number equals points) 6 3 5 7 4 11 20 3 15 2 18 1 20 Are all children ages 5 to 12 in school No 0 4 Yes or no children ages 5 to 12 4 What is the highest grade completed by the female head/spouse No female head/spouse 0 10 none or pre school 4 Primary or middle 7 What is the main construction material used for the roof of the residence Palm leaves/raffia/thatch, wood, mud bricks/earth, bamboo 0 10 Corrugated iron sheets, cement/concrete, asbestos/slate or roofing tiles 10 Floor is made of sand 0 10 concrete or has tiles 10

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toilet facilities no facility 0 8 traditional pit toilet/ventilated pit latrine 4 flush toilet 8 How many rooms does the house have (each room counts for 2 point; (maximum 10 points) 10

What is the main source of lighting for the dwelling? Candles/burners/ batteries/gas 0 10 Electricity/generator) 10 What is the main source of drinking water for the household Water from borehole, lake, river, spring 0 Water from open well in dwelling yard/plot or open public well 5 10 Piped water (piped into dwelling; piped into yard or plot; public tape or tap 10 neighbors) Main source of energy for cooking Kerosene, electric or gas 10 10 firewood, dung, charcoal 0 Does any household member own a working radio

None 0 10 small radio (transistor) 5 large radio 10 HH has no refrigerator 0 10 a refrigerator 10 HH has no TV 0 10 a small TV 5 a large TV 10 # of bikes (for each bike 2 points; maximum 10 points). The enumerator can adapt the points if the price or quality of the motorbike is very poor 10 # of mobile phones (for each mobile phones 3 points; maximum 12) 12 When member HH is sick they go to village nurse/witch doctor 0 10 private doctor or hospital) 10 HH buys food often on credit 0 8 usually with cash 8 Total score 200 Other poverty yardsticks been unable to afford a local drink if wanted to (yes=1; no=0) been without medicine or medical treatment when needed (yes=1; no=0) have at least one person in the household without shoes (yes=1; no=0) been unable to afford to send children to school (yes=1; no=0) been without fuel to heat home or cook (yes=1; no=0) at least one person in the household without blanket when needed (yes=1; no=0) been without enough food or at most one meanl a day (yes=1; no=0) felt unsafe from crime in the house (yes=1; no=0)

Baseline Study of Rural Gambian Households - ILCUF June 2012