Dien Bien Phu: A new model for Huoi Pung
In 2007, we set the groundwork for a debt relief pilot in one case study area, Huoi Pung village.
In the late nineties, consecutive failed rice harvests prompted the entire population of Huoi
Pung to borrow from private rice lenders who charge interest rates of up to 50 percent per
season. A cycle of debt ensued.
Rather than providing cash loans, we have developed alternative loan products with farming experts from Hanoi Agricultural University (HAU). HAU experts will develop, train and support partners in small-scale farming activities and Chi Em will loan material inputs such as animals, food and medicine. Partners will sell their product to repay the Chi Em loan in cash. We call our clients, 'Partners,' to demonstrate that our relationship is less of a Bank - Client but more of an assistance program devoted to provide all both financial and non-financial services for these partners and their families
The program will include technical training and support from HAU experts to selected key farmers, who will subsequently serve as trainers to other farmers in the community who want to take part in HAU’s small-scale farming activities. HAU will organize members of the community to assess the impact of these new farming activities and to assess the HAU trainers. We will launch our loans to more than 15 households in the beginning of June.
Perhaps what makes us most cautionary is the response we have received from the households in Huoi Pung. For over one year, we have proposed solutions from community centers, to electricity to rice storage centers, but coming up with and financing the right solution has been extremely challenging. Therefore, our partners in Huoi Pung are reticent about our program and our intentions and we need to prove to them first and foremost, that we will do what we say we will do. As we launch the program and spend time in the target village, it is disheartening to feel that we, who have spend so much time and money, developing the perfect solution, are not appreciated...but then I put myself in the shoes of those we serve and understand perfectly. While I hope that we are not developing an assistance program for target households who do not want that assistance, I think that we need to be both reactive and perseverant. Reactive to the needs and will of our beneficiaries and perseverant to prove that we can implement what we say we intend to implement so as to gain back the trust and co-investment of our partners.
In the late nineties, consecutive failed rice harvests prompted the entire population of Huoi
Pung to borrow from private rice lenders who charge interest rates of up to 50 percent per
season. A cycle of debt ensued.
Rather than providing cash loans, we have developed alternative loan products with farming experts from Hanoi Agricultural University (HAU). HAU experts will develop, train and support partners in small-scale farming activities and Chi Em will loan material inputs such as animals, food and medicine. Partners will sell their product to repay the Chi Em loan in cash. We call our clients, 'Partners,' to demonstrate that our relationship is less of a Bank - Client but more of an assistance program devoted to provide all both financial and non-financial services for these partners and their families
The program will include technical training and support from HAU experts to selected key farmers, who will subsequently serve as trainers to other farmers in the community who want to take part in HAU’s small-scale farming activities. HAU will organize members of the community to assess the impact of these new farming activities and to assess the HAU trainers. We will launch our loans to more than 15 households in the beginning of June.
Perhaps what makes us most cautionary is the response we have received from the households in Huoi Pung. For over one year, we have proposed solutions from community centers, to electricity to rice storage centers, but coming up with and financing the right solution has been extremely challenging. Therefore, our partners in Huoi Pung are reticent about our program and our intentions and we need to prove to them first and foremost, that we will do what we say we will do. As we launch the program and spend time in the target village, it is disheartening to feel that we, who have spend so much time and money, developing the perfect solution, are not appreciated...but then I put myself in the shoes of those we serve and understand perfectly. While I hope that we are not developing an assistance program for target households who do not want that assistance, I think that we need to be both reactive and perseverant. Reactive to the needs and will of our beneficiaries and perseverant to prove that we can implement what we say we intend to implement so as to gain back the trust and co-investment of our partners.
posted by Katharine | 4:15 PM
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