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, too often women are excluded from decision-making around family farms and businesses. This limits the opportunities women have for improving their income and for their efforts to be recognized and celebrated.
With Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) at the center, Her Money, Her Life challenges traditional social roles in agricultural production and builds opportunities for women around the world.
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 roles of women in the workplace, highlighting the transformative impact of financial independence and resilience.
