Production Credit for Rural Women Project

Production Credit for Rural Women Project

Rural women are held back from improving family living standards by social discrimination. This project was designed to underline the important contribution women can make to family incomes. Ultimately it served as a model for efforts to ensure that women’s interests are reflected in development policies in Nepal. The project covered all ecological zones of the country and all five administrative regions. Key features of the project included:

• education and training for rural women
• provision of drinking water supplies and community forestry schemes designed to save women work
• development of social services and infrastructure

The project empowered women and increased their incomes. It demonstrated how they can become more confident, self-reliant and productive. More than 50,000 women were trained, and more than 18,000 women’s credit groups were formed.

Source: IFAD