Watch how SPBD empowers women in Samoa
Member in the Spotlight:
Savaii too of Tuamasaga Village - Bakery
According to Savaii Too, "It is lucky that we live in Samoa. My children can run around in just a lavalava [sarong] and no shirt. My little ones don't need clothes. I don't know how we could live anywhere where it's cold." Her husband makes ST$40 (US$14) a week as a short order cook, hardly enough to feed their six children and two grandchildren. Their one-room home has a corrugated-iron roof and no windows. A lean-to serves as the kitchen, sitting room, and bedroom for the older boys.
The children were often sent home from school because the family could not pay their school fees. Even when fees were paid up, the family frequently lacked bus fare to get the children to school. The family continued to grow, and their miserable poverty seemed perpetual. Then Savaii was introduced to SPBD and learned that she might qualify for a loan that would help her establish a business.
Her ST$750 loan financed a small bakery specializing in keke saina and jam tarts, favourite local snacks. Her loan also financed the making of a crude cement oven and a two-burner gas stove for jam making. She works out of her kitchen and delivers her products to four shops twice a week. Her weekly sales now average ST$200, providing a net income of ST$100 (US$35) a week.
At first, Savaii thought the bakery would supplement her husband's wages. But she has become the main provider. She is working hard to pay off her loan so that she can apply for a larger loan. She eagerly anticipates expanding her business so her family can have a larger home and indoor plumbing. But for now, after buying food and paying school fees, she invests her profits in her business so it can grow.
Eventually Savaii's husband will give up his present job to work in their bakery. As of yet, she feels that they are not ready for him to stop working as a cook. But she can see the potential for developing her venture into a business that will provide work for all the adults in her family.
Before she opened her bakery, the family had money only one day a week, on payday. Having a little money every day is a new experience. "It really feels good," she says, with the pride of a true entrepreneur.
Tina Eneliko of Vaimoso Village
Business: Concrete Ballusters for the Construction Industry
This month's micro-entrepreneur in the spotlight is definitely not short on creativity. Tina Eneliko used her creativity, industrious work effort and a loan from SPBD to implant herself right into the middle of the Samoan construction industry. Tina took out a ST$750 loan to purchase molding cases, a vice, iron rods and cement mix to enable her to start producing concrete balusters at her home.
Using the tools, iron rods and concrete mix she can make a finished concrete baluster in about three hours. She can sell a baluster for ST$50 (about US$18) and is now producing and selling 40 balusters per week. That's 120 hours per week (her operation is truly around the clock!). Her balusters are used for new Western style homes and offices and Tina has now lined up several local contractors to whom she supplies her product.
Tina, a mother of five is also now able to afford significant improvements to her very basic home and can afford to give all of her children a good education and a good environment in which to grow up. She is just one of SPBD's shining examples of formerly poor members who are now super-charged micro-entrepreneurs.
From Bulls and Bears to Taro and Pancakes -- An SPBD Volunteer's Perspective
Please click here to read this article on our partner website.The Story of SPBD Micro-Entrepreneur Taliilagi Saulaulu
Taliilagi (left) is now enjoying one of the more thrilling sensations for SPBD members: freedom. "I used to have to wait for my husband to get paid before I could get money, now I get money whenever I need to on my own." She merely has to harvest a bit of cabbage and quickly sell it. The cabbage takes only two weeks to grow and so growing cabbage in Samoa is often referred to as "growing money." With her first ST$750 loan (US$200) SPBD loan, Taliilagi was able to purchase seed and equipment to improve the small plantation behind her house in the village of Faleseela Uta. She also grows more long-term crops such as taro, taamu, papaya, and yams. Taliilagi sells these crops either through delivery or through neighbors stopping by at her house.
She has not calculated exactly how much she now earns, but she knows for sure it is more than the ST$120 (US$45) per week that her husband makes at his job. She can now buy more meat for family dinners! Taliilagi has also noticed an increase in her work ethic. "I go out to work in the plantation every day now, because I know that I will get money from it," she says. "My husband now asks my opinion of on how best to spend money and the kids come to see me for allowances! I feel great!", she adds. Her story is just one of many women feeling empowered and self-confident through participation in SPBD's microcredit program.
Another important benefit that Taliilagi points out is that she is now able to send her children to better schools. In Samoa, all parents must pay school fees, with the amount varying by the quality of the school, which quality can differ substantially between schools. In sending her children to better schools and also paying for extra tutoring, Taliilagi is placing them on a path that will hopefully lead to university educations and greater opportunity all around. "SPBD is a great organization that can really help people when they use the funds properly," she notes.
Through SPBD's program, Taliilagi gets to know her neighbors and friends even better than before. "We chat all the time about our respective micro-businesses. I advise my friends when they have difficulties. We, women, must help each other!", she argues. She and other members also use the time after SPBD's weekly meetings as a social time. "We talk, we laugh, we play bingo and we socialize.", she says. "SPBD helps bringing us together", she adds. Taliilagi embodies perfectly SPBD's philosophy: "Instigate hope, provide opportunity, make lasting impact!".
Pisa Laauli - Banana Plantation
When Pisa heard about SPBD, she jumped at the opportunity to make her banana farm lucrative and sustainable. Three loans and a new vegetable garden later, Pisa exemplifies how the women of SPBD can use their loans to enhance resources they already have. Two years ago, Pisa had three acres of land planted with bananas and taro, but she could not afford to buy fertilizers for the bananas or chemicals to kill weeds. Her plantation was overgrown, and the family land was more of a burden than an asset. Neither Pisa nor her husband worked, and they tried desperately to sell what small crops they could harvest to support their four kids and Pisa's ailing parents. All eight people lived in one fale. Their hut had a metal roof and concrete floor but no windows walls or inside facilities.Now Pisa not only keeps her farm in peak condition, thanks to SPBD funds, she also takes her commitment to repaying her loan and honoring the group guarantee very seriously. Pisa has never been in arrears, and when one member of her group slips behind in payments, she always steps in to help. Pisa attests that no other financial organization is willing to give her the opportunity that SPBD is giving her, and she makes every effort to maintain good credit.
Fortunately, Pisa has found local restaurants that use her exclusively to supply their bananas, taro, and vegetables. This ensures that she has the income to make loan repayments, purchase chemicals, and provide a higher standard of living for her family. The family now always has food on the table, and Pisa can pay her childrens' school fees to ensure that they receive a good education. She hopes to take out a fourth loan with SPBD in the future to continue growing her business, and SPBD is thrilled to supply unsecured credit to returning participants such as Pisa with strong motivation and business initiative.
Valelia Faumui - Fans
The second center in Lalovaea elected Valelia Faumui to be their Center Chief, and she has taken the job very seriously. "I encourage my members to stay current in their payments, and when hard times hit, we all honor the group guarantee. It is my job to ensure that this happens," she says. Her strong leadership isn't the only thing that makes Valelia a model member of SPBD: her fan-making business is equally successful.Valelia needed to put her handicraft skills to work in order to support her five children, husband, and two elderly parents. Her husband finds odd jobs when possible, but Valelia, as a former pre-school volunteer, takes education very seriously and wants to pay for all the kids to finish their schooling. The loan she secured through SPBD is empowering Valelia to utilize her skills to make enough income to send her kids to school.
With her first loan, Valelia bought ribbon, mats, tape, scissors, and feathers. She makes beautiful fans whose colors add zest to the traditional handicraft. She has found a ready market at Aggie Grey's Hotel, Plantation House, and other gift shops around Apia. She can serve up to 100 customers a week and makes a large profit. With the help of her daughter, Valelia works diligently to fulfil standard and customized orders as they pour in.
After proving the success of her business and paying down her first loan, Valelia took out a second loan to help pay school fees. She thanks SPBD for the opportunity to improve her family's quality of life, and also for the new freedom and empowerment that she has found as a leader in her village.
Sesilia Nicholas - Taro Plantation
Sesilia proudly stands in her field, pulling up a taro root with one strong pull and presenting it to her Center Manager, Roretta. Sesilia was instrumental in bringing SPBD into her village over a year ago after she saw a news feature story about SPBD on television. Since then, she has seen her plantation transform from a small family garden into a larger scale business after receiving her first loan. Sesilia invested her money in taro plants and chemical sprays to help keep the plants healthy.The plantation keeps Sesilia and her husband busy-much busier than a year ago, when neither of them could find a job or a steady flow of income. Now Sesilia takes three or four bags of taro to the Fugalii vegetable market in town each Saturday, receiving ST$100 per bag. She must rent a truck to get her taro to market, and she can usually walk away with ST$200 tala profit per week. This profit allows her to pay off her loan while giving her enough money to buy weedkiller and provide for her family. While she risks selling in an oversaturated market, since taro is a popular crop, Sesilia hopes to export taro at some point in the future.
Sesilia's house is in better condition than most, with walls, windows, and electricity, but the toilet and kitchen are still outside. Yet her family's income was negligible before SPBD started helping Sesilia's village, and with her loan she has a truly promising opportunity to invest in her family's livelihood. She also continues to motivate her fellow Center members, and no one in the Center is in arrears with their loan payments.
Penina Valoaga - General Store
Customers lean leisurely over the counter in front of Penina's General Store as its owner and namesake pop the tops off of coke bottles. Penina's shop, located down an unpaved road in the middle of her inland rural village, is the only store of its kind within walking distance of her village. When it opened a year ago, Penina tapped into an underserved market segment. Her shop is sizable and well-stocked with Samoan staples of canned meat, mosquito coils, and soft drinks. The shop also provides a ready venue for Penina to sell fresh fruits and vegetables grown on her plantation. In fact, her stall eliminates the need for her fellow villagers to make the day-long bus ride to Apia to buy goods for meals.When Penina first joined SPBD, she took out a ST$750 small business loan to upgrade her small plantation. With her husband, child, and two elderly parents all living under one roof, Penina needed to ensure that she had a steady food supply and source of income to provide for her family. Yet before SPBD entered her life, the family had to scrape by without money to maintain the farm and without any opportunity to make a steady income. Their home had a thatched roof, no walls or windows and only an outdoor toilet and kitchen. The family car doubled as a taxi for occasional income.
With solid management and much maintenance, Penina's plantation became profitable within weeks. Recognizing the need for a shop in her village, Penina decided to invest the profits from her plantation into opening her store, which she located in the center of her village in front of her sister-in-law's home and piggery. Once her first loan was paid down, Penina immediately applied for a second loan to enhance and stock her stall with goods, which she buys in Apia and brings back to her store. Penina had an excellent attendance record at Center Meetings and is never in arrears, so she recently qualified for a third loan of ST$1750. She will use it to not only to make continuing improvements to her store, but also to pour concrete on the floor of her fale. She hopes to install a metal roof someday soon.
Through her own initiative and the unsecured loans she obtained through SPBD, Penina's plantation and store are models of solid businesses started by SPBD members. While Penina operates her store, her husband can tend the fields, and Penina has no problem paying her son's school fees. Thus, Penina's hard work and astute investment of her first loan has helped her provide a better, healthier quality of life for her entire family.
Makerita has Launched a Successful Sewing Business
Makerita Talafaaoti of the village of Faleasiu designs, prints and sews a wide variety of clothing.
Perhaps her most famous design was the dress prepared for Miss Pohnpei (Federated States of Micronesia), in the Miss South Pacific Beauty Pageant held last October in Apia.
Makerita is also an active trader in a wide range of merchandise. Her clothing designs and other items are all available for sale at her stall in the Savalalo Market in central Apia.
Makerita has taken out two loans from SPBD and has bought an industrial sewing machine, many bolts of material, all sorts of sewing accessories, and has stocked her store with heaps of merchandise for resale.
Taro Plantations
SPBD has helped many persons expand and improve thier agricultural efforts.
This woman in Faleasiu now has a very impressive Taro Plantation. She has used her SPBD loan to buy the Taro bulbs, chemicals, fertilizers and farm equipment.
Taro is a great export crop for Samoa. She sells her Taro at the main market in Apia, of which much is ultimately exported to markets in New Zealand and Australia.
The Samoan Taro industry was almost entirely wiped out (over 90% gone) a few years ago when a terrible taro blight swept Samoa. The new strain of Taro that SPBD members plant is blight resistant. Many of our members are key players in rebuilding Samoa's taro capacity and rebuilding taro as an important overseas income earner.
Roadside Vegetable Stands
SPBD has helped many women start small roadside fruit and vegetable stands.
These business are easy to run and generate a great income for our members.
Recently the Samoan Minister of Women's Affairs commented that she was certain that SPBD was making a significant improvement in the overall health of many Samoans because of their improved diets that are resulting from the ever increasing number of local produce vendors, most of whom have been aided by SPBD.
The Apia Park Centre with SPBD's Centre Manager Stella Siale
This group of women in the Apia Park Centre have all managerd to start successful little businesses via SPBD.
They run small barbeque stands, weaving operations, sewing buisnesses, handicraft production, taxi operations, beach fales, vegetable gardens, small roadside stores, and small plantations to name a few.
