Environmental Defenders uses the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) model to help rural women and farming households escape poverty while conserving the environment. In Dei sub-county, Pakwach district, Uganda, Environmental Defenders is tackling growing poverty and strengthening the resilience of struggling rural farming communities by organizing women farmers into Village Savings and Loan Associations. This article looks at how the project is changing lives through higher incomes, access to loans, safe spaces for women, stronger rural enterprises, and the empowerment of the women of Dei.
Three Women’s Groups, One Savings Model
Through this work, Environmental Defenders supports three women farmers’ organizations in Dei: Chan Ber Ku Fur, Mer Ber, and Bidokomit Group. With Environmental Defenders’ guidance, members have formed self-managed groups of 20 to 30 people from the Dei community, who meet twice a week to save money in a safe space, take out small loans, and access emergency loans from one another.
What the Baseline Survey Found
In February 2022, Environmental Defenders launched an Agriculture, Livelihoods, and Conservation Baseline Survey to understand and document the conditions of communities living next to the Luli Kayonga Forest Reserve and on the shores of Lake Albert at Dei landing site in Pakwach district.
The survey found that women smallholder farmers and their households in Dei sub-county rely heavily on subsistence agriculture, have few ways to diversify their incomes, and take little part in local decentralized governance. Strict new restrictions on fishing, and human rights violations in how government rules are enforced on Lake Albert, have pushed many households into acute hunger.
Although the Ugandan government has stepped up law enforcement against activities that threaten Lake Albert’s waters, there have been complaints of human rights violations. According to Environmental Defenders, police and soldiers enforce compliance by seizing boats and nets, which law enforcement personnel routinely burn. Environmental Defenders’ review of sections 101 and 102 of Uganda’s fisheries and aquaculture law found no provision allowing enforcement authorities to destroy or burn seized boats and nets. Instead, the law sets out clear procedures for handling seized items and allows suspects to seek their return even while their cases are before the courts. Burning boats or nets without legal backing may therefore amount to a human rights violation. These and other pressures have damaged living conditions and livelihoods in Dei, particularly for women smallholder farmers and fisherfolk.
Voices from Dei
“As we speak, that graph does not represent the fishermen; farmers, on the other hand, may be better than fishermen because their income is currently zero, and people are sleeping on empty bellies.” — Dei sub-county leader, validation workshop, Dei, July 18, 2022
“This is proof of the dire situation: we made a visit to Kayonga Primary School last week. We noticed that from a student population of 1,022 at the start of the year, we now had only 106 pupils in the P1–P7 class range. This means that [916] pupils are unable to attend school because they have not eaten. There is not a single boat left in Kayonga.” — Dei sub-county leader, validation workshop, Dei, July 18, 2022
“The Government of Uganda imposed stringent regulations on us beginning in 2021. There was no community outreach to educate us about the rules. Instead, we were given one week to change our net sizes and convert from canoes to boats.” — Senior community member, key informant interview, Dei landing site, February 27, 2022
During the men’s focus group discussion in Dei village, one participant said:
“The government sees us as rebels… we are not. They accuse us of using illegal boat sizes and illegal net sizes, but we lack the funds to buy the nets and boats they require. So let them provide us with nets and boats, and set up groups to work with.” — Participant, men’s focus group discussion, Dei village, 2022
The discussion that followed turned to how large a loan these men would need to rebuild their fishing livelihoods, and participants compared cost estimates for the main equipment required to meet current regulations.
How the Village Savings and Loan Association Works
In response, Environmental Defenders organized 90 vulnerable women from smallholder farming and fisherfolk households into three farmers’ groups that operate as Village Savings and Loan Associations. Through these associations, women farmers and fishers pool their knowledge, networks, risks, and finances to take collective action.
The project combines savings and loans with sustainable agricultural intensification, participation in local governance, agroforestry, and environmental peacebuilding. Together, these approaches support environmentally friendly, gender-sensitive production and marketing of a diverse range of agricultural products that benefit both women and men and increase food security and profitability.
Results: Higher Incomes, New Homes, Children in School
The project is helping to reduce poverty at the household level, and members report higher household earnings. Some have bought property, including farmland. Members told Environmental Defenders that the project has helped them earn money from fishing, farming, and crop sales, allowing them to send their children to boarding school. Some have earned enough to buy the fishing gear and boats now required by the Ugandan government for fishing on Lake Albert. Others have built new homes and say they can raise their children in peace thanks to the association. Others have moved from farming into fishing, using the legal gear and boats permitted under Uganda’s fisheries law.
Restoring the Environment Through Agroforestry
The project’s agroforestry component is improving the natural environment by increasing the area planted with native and fruit trees and by establishing woodlots, among other activities. Learn more about our livelihood security program, the food sovereignty strategy for the Albertine region, and our restoration work around Lake Albert.