Supporting small‐scale enterprises for women farmers in the Sahel

This article explores reasons for the success and failure of small‐scale enterprise programmes for rural women in the Sahel sponsored by a Malian NGO. The CILCA Mali programme has assisted projects in rainfed crop production, vegetable production, sheep fattening, poultry raising, and soap and textile production based on a revolving credit scheme operating both for collective and individual loans. They have also placed heavy emphasis on training village women, on helping make viable village women's organizations, on health and sanitation activities and on preschools. Their eclectic approach, with its underlying emphasis on economically viable microenterprises in agricultural, animal husbandry and manufacturing activities, has been quite successful. It seems that the project has benefited village women both in terms of status and in terms of family welfare. The ‘integrated’ approach to development which tries to do everything simultaneously has often been criticized. in this case, though, the many non‐economic activities seem to have been important assets reinforcing the success of the micro‐enterprises. The generalist/technician character of the women's technical team and their back‐up from the rural technical institute are also factors in CILCA‐Mali's success. CILC A‐Mali may be seen as a useful example of what can be accomplished for and with village women in the poorest circumstances and the worst possible climatic conditions by a microenterprise strategy embedded in a broader village system approach.