The Livelihood Recovery Project in North Nias aims at supporting and empowering communities and helping them to develop livelihoods strategies. ACTED is very sensitive to the durability of the gains made. This will only be achieved if the local system is strengthened with regulations, unity and a sense of community ownership. Over the past nine months, ACTED has implemented a self-help group awareness campaign in 26 villages in Lahewa. Participative meetings and trainings in topics such as small business development and budget management were organized. The month of May was filled with celebrations as ten distinct self-help groups opened across six villages including Holi and Lukhulase.

Holi Village: Multi-business cooperative (KSU SUKA MAJU)

On May 6, Holi village celebrated the opening of their first cooperative. Around 50 people attended the event, including village government and religious leaders and ACTED staff. KSU’s enthusiasm is embodied by the name they have chosen - “suka maju” which can be roughly translated as “strong spirit to achieve a goal.”

KSU operates as a savings and loans centre and cultivates cocoa and vegetables. Its shared land was donated to the group by one of the members for use over the next 25 years. The group’s start-up capital was indeed generated solely by collections from individual members who contributed roughly 10 dollars and pledged to donate one dollar per month in a savings scheme.

While the formation of the group was inspired by ACTED’s livelihoods programmes, its success could not have been achieved without the dedication of each member. They came to a consensus on guiding principles and regulations as well as monitoring and evaluation tools to gage their success over time. At the end of May, the group was to register at the cooperative office so as to benefit from government programmes.

Lukhulase Village:

Savings, loans and vegetable cooperative (KSP SIFAOTO’DO)
On May 25, ACTED joined around 60 community members and local officials to celebrate the opening of a savings, loans and vegetable cultivation cooperative in Lukhulase village. Group members discussed the challenges of maintaining group momentum and their appreciation of ACTED’s support. Before signing official papers sanctioning the group under village law, The Head of Village said: “At first I was not sure what the results would be. ACTED spent so much time in our village but I didn’t see what was coming of it. But now I see the [programme’s] effects and I see excellence!”

Eight other groups are planned to open soon and six are in the process of developing their mission statement. Most groups have selected savings, loans and vegetable cultivation as their main activities.