Her Money, Her Life intentionally created women-centered solutions to the challenges farmers faced in making tea crops profitable. Photo credit: Kazi Yetu
Her Money, Her Life intentionally created women-centered solutions to the challenges farmers faced in making tea crops profitable. Photo credit: Kazi Yetu
Despite doing much of the work, in many contexts women take a backseat when decisions are made about family farms and businesses. This means women often have limited opportunities to improve their income and their efforts go unrecognized.
With Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) at the center, Her Money, Her Life is challenging traditional views of women’s role in agricultural production and building connections with market opportunities.
Her Money, Her Life uses VSLAs as an entry point for deep engagement with families and communities to address the power dynamics and social norms holding women back from improving their income.
In Tanzania, the project created 2000+ VSLA groups with 41,000+ members. VSLA members develop financial and digital skills, with opportunities to access training on agriculture and entrepreneurship to improve their production. Women go on to add value to their crops through collective investment and new business initiatives.
Beyond communities, CARE’s partnership in Tanzania with social enterprise Kazi Yetu and extensive engagement with key government departments addresses some of the barriers women face in earning better income from their crops.
The project continues to support women to take on new roles, connect with markets, and lead change within their communities.
Her Money, Her Life has helped change the face of tea in Tanzania, increasing the official price of green-lead tea by 17% and establishing a new Tea Auction, which offers potential for women to have a greater role in selling tea.
A new demonstration factory, co-owned by VSLAs members from a cooperative and partner Kazi Yetu, has shifted the role women play in the tea value chain and been so successful the Government of Tanzania has committed to construct five more factories. Selling processed tea instead of green leaves has led to a 546% income increase for the smallholder cooperative and Kazi Yetu saw an 82% return on investment from this partnership.
Hear directly from Zainabu Senkodo, a participant in CARE’s Her Money, Her Life project, as she shares her journey from dependency to empowerment. Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Zainabu’s story reflects a shift in restrictive gender roles in the workplace, highlighting the transformative impact of financial independence and resilience.
Through CARE’s Her Money, Her Life Project, Bakari Shidafa, a husband and father in Tanzania’s Usambara highlands, has become a community advocate for gender equality and shared family responsibilities. Despite physical challenges, Bakari champions joint decision-making and women’s rights, encouraging an inclusive approach to family life and inspiring his village toward greater equity.
Read MoreThis report captures the remarkable progress of Lutindi Tea, Herbs, and Spices in Tanzania’s beautiful Usambara mountains, where collective investment through CARE’s Her Money, Her Life Project—backed by Bloomberg Philanthropies—has propelled the group from modest operations to thriving local enterprise
Read MoreThrough CARE’s Her Money, Her Life Project and partnerships with Viridium and Kazi Yetu, Sarah Ruben, a spice farmer from Tanzania’s Usambara mountains, gained the tools and market access needed to overcome barriers like unstable markets and low yields. Now, as a thriving entrepreneur and community leader, Sarah supports her family, employs other women, and champions gender equity in her village.
Read MoreThrough the establishment of Tanzania’s first specialty tea factory, CARE’s Her Money, Her Life Project is empowering women tea farmers in Bungu to bridge economic and social divides. The women featured in this story, Hobokeza, Sauda, and Latifa, are gaining financial independence and overcoming social barriers by embracing roles from organic farming to tea processing, setting a precedent for gender equity and economic growth in their communities.
Read MoreThe Her Money, Her Life project in Tanzania is maximizing the potential benefits women receive from their crops through a focus on entrepreneurship and collective investment. This impact brief outlines how the project uses VSLAs as a platform to support women in improving their income, leading change in their communities, and challenging traditional roles in the tea value chain.
Read MoreThe Her Money, Her Life project in Tanzania is maximizing the potential benefits women receive from their crops through a focus on entrepreneurship and collective investment. This brief outlines how the project uses VSLAs as a platform to address root causes of gender inequality.
Read MoreThe potential of savings groups goes beyond money. CARE sees savings groups as an effective platform for greater gender equality beyond women as individuals. This learning report aims start a conversation about the role of savings groups in addressing systemic gender inequities in markets.
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