PDI Global
[ Village Development Partnership ]
 
 TSUNAMI RELIEF
 
INCOME GENERATION

6. CASH FOR WORK
During the interim when there is no income, some people will be invited to work with us in cleaning up villages, making repairs to damages homes, boats and bridges, and helping to identify the felt needs of community members. They will be rewarded half in food and half in cash on a weekly basis. We will also focus on the more-vulnerable groups in the villages, such as women and the migrant workers working in the non-formal sector.

7. WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND INCOME GENERATION
Many poor villagers earned income from catching and raising fish in nets and traps, which have subsequently been destroyed by the tsunami. The project will provide them with revolving loans - initially interest-free - to buy new nets, cages, and traps so that they can resume their former occupations. The loan repayments will go directly into the Village Bank (see activity #9). We will also include with each a loan some mosquito netting for the safety of the family.

While PDA-PDI will provide the villagers with the initial small loan, this assistance will not completely cover all of their needs. The women will receive the initial loans for the nets, while the men will receive the follow-up loans. We have an agreement with the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) that they will extend additional, larger loans to the villagers as required. This will allow them to rebuild their livelihoods now and expand their businesses in the future.

8. BOAT BANK


Boat Bank		  


Small fishing boats, as well as engines, will be purchased and then rented to local fishermen for a daily fee, which will contribute towards eventual


Constructing new fish raising cages		   ownership. Buying the boats in small increments like this will help alleviate the debt buildup of the local fishermen as they restart their livelihoods. In addition, the proceeds from the Boat Bank will go directly into the Village Bank (see activity #9), thereby allowing others in their communities a chance to expand their businesses as well.

9. VILLAGE BANK
The bank will be created through the three following activities:
a.  planting trees (Baht 600,000)
b.  proceeds earned from the Boat Bank (Baht 1,250,000)
c.  funds paid back from the Women's Economic Empowerment and Income Generation revolving loans (Baht 1,200,000).


Rebuilding boats		   The three abovementioned activities will contribute a total of Baht 3,050,000 - 65% of the budget required per village - to the bank for future community projects designed by the communities themselves. One of the aims of the bank is to mobilize savings, the absence of which made the damage of the tsunami felt even more by the affected families. Villagers can borrow from this fund to further rebuild and expand their businesses. Elected villagers, 50% of which will be women, will be trained to manage affairs of the bank.

 

 

PDI is a 501(C)(3) organization based in the United States committed to eradicating poverty worldwide