About this manual
This manual is a practical, step-by-step guide for forming, training, and mentoring a Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA).
Why use this manual?
The manual’s purpose is to provide a standard approach to delivering training and mentoring sessions to VSLA members. The manual provides instructions for organizing and facilitating the full range of sessions and topics for VSLA members. Specifically, the manual gives factual information about equipping women and others with knowledge about VSLA, and skills to enable them to attain economic empowerment through financial inclusion.
Who should use this manual?
CARE wrote this manual for Community-Based Trainers (CBTs) who are responsible for training and mentoring VSLA. The manual may also be used by those who are responsible for training CBTs to do their work.
How should you use this manual?
Whether you are using this manual to train CBTs, or you are a trained CBT who is training VSLA, you should read the entire manual in advance. This will help you think through the content, prepare all necessary materials, mentally practice the meetings and sessions, and anticipate likely questions and their answers, challenges and their solutions.
Be aware, however, that this manual does not and cannot provide all the knowledge, examples, and methods that a CBT might need. VSLA is a global phenomenon: CARE and other organizations deliver the methodology in thousands of cultural contexts, and dozens of languages, to a near-infinite variety of people. CARE urges you, the CBT, to be creative in adapting your delivery to the local context, while remaining true to the core principles and best practices of the VSLA methodology.