the self-help group approach in afghanistan
TRANSCRIPT
THE SELF-HELP GROUP APPROACH IN AFGHANISTANREPORT PREPARED FOR PEOPLE IN NEED (PIN)
CONSULTANT: ANNIKA SCHMEDING
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary 5
1. Introduction 9
1.1. Research Rationale 9
1.2. DefinitionofSelf-HelpGroups 9
1.3. SHGphilosophy 10
1.4. Structure 11
1.5. HistoryofSHGsinAfghanistan 11
1.5. Differencestoothercountries 12
2. Methodology 15
2.1. Desk Based Review 15
2.2. Primary Data Collection 15
2.2.1. KeyInformantInterviews 15
2.2.2. FocusGroupDiscussion(FGD) 15
2.3. Limitations and Problems 16
3. Evaluation/DACCriteria 19
3.1. Relevance 19
3.1.1. Consistency/Relevance 19
3.1.2. NeedsAssessment 21
3.1.3. ComparisonofAlternatives 24
3.1.4. Inclusion/InternallyDisplacedPeopleandReturnees 25
3.1.5. NationalPoliciesandGovernmentStructure 27
3.2. Effectiveness 29
3.2.1. OutsideImpact 29
3.2.2. InfluencingFactors 34
3.2.3. Financial Processes 41
3.3. Efficiency 43
3.4. Sustainability 44
3.4.1. ContinuationandIndependencevs.Dependencies 44
3.4.2. Exit Plan 45
3.4.3. Link to Clusters and Federations 46
3.4.4. LinktoMicrofinanceInstitutions 47
3.5. Impact 53
3.5.1. EconomicImpact 53
3.5.2. SafetyNetworkandTrust 55
3.5.3. SocialImpact 56
3.5.4. NegativeImpact 59
3.6. SummaryofDACCriteria 60
4. ConclusionofEvaluation 63
4.1. Socialdevelopment 63
4.2. Economicdevelopment 63
4.3. Institutional stability 64
4.4. ConclusionsforCross-CuttingIssues 65
4.4.1. GenderDynamics 65
4.4.2. AfghanContext 66
4.4.3. TargetGroup 67
4.4.4. Urban Context 67
4.4.5. DisplacementandUprootedPeople 68
4.5. LessonsLearnedandGoodPractices 68
Bibliography 71
Annexes
ManualsandAnnualReports 72
AppendixA –QuestionnairesandFocusGroupDiscussionsGuides 73
InterviewGuideforkeyinformantinterview1(KII−1):
ImplementingOrganisations 73
InterviewGuideforkeyinformantinterview2(KII−2):
Community Leaders and Members 74
OverviewSheettoFilloutforeachFGD 76
QuestionsforFocusGroupDiscussions 76
3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ThisreportwasproducedbyAnnikaSchmedingfor
PeopleinNeed(PIN).Specialthanksare
duetoPIN’sstaffaswellastonationalinterviewers
andFGDfacilitatorsinallsurveyedcities,without
whomthisprojectwouldnothavebeenpossible.
Thanksareaswellduetoallparticipatingorgani-
sations,whogenerouslysharedtheirexperiences
withthisapproach,andofferedaccesstotheirSHGs
andClusters/Federations.Participatingorganisa-
tionswereAfghanAid,AREDP,ChristianAid,Handin
HandAfghanistan,AREA,OP-Mercy,RAADA,Serve,
UN-Habitat,Zardozi,andZOA. Theiranswershave
beenanonymizedinthisreportwithrandomletters,
ifnottakenfromwrittensources,becausethereport
aimstofurtheranunderstandingoftheapproachas
suchandnotanevaluationofindividualperformanc-
es.MicrofinanceInstitutionsthatkindlyofferedin-
sightsintotheirfunctioningwereFinca,Mutahidand
theAfghanistanMicrofinanceAssociation(AMA).
Thanksareaswellduetotheindividualexperts,who
advisedonIslamicfinance.
ACRONYMS
AFN Afghani/OfficialCurrencyofAfghanistan
CDC CommunityDevelopmentCouncil
CF Community Facilitator
CLA ClusterLevelAssociation
FGD FocusGroupDiscussion
IDP InternallyDisplacedPerson
KIS KabulInformalSettlements
KNH Kindernothilfe
MFI Micro Finance Institution
NGO Non-GovernmentalOrganisation
PIN PeopleinNeed
SHG Self-HelpGroup
USD CurrencyoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica
FinancedbytheEuropeanUnion
5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ThisreportoffersanoverviewofhowtheSelf-Help
Group(SHG)approachhasbeenusedintheAfghan
urbancontext,witha focusonitsthreemaincom-
ponents—socialdevelopment,economicdevelop-
mentandinstitutionalstability.Theresearchwascon-
ducted in November/December 2017 commissioned
byPeopleInNeed(PIN)togainanunderstandingof
howvariousapproacheshavebeenimplementedand
whichhavebeenmostsuccessful.Thestudycovers
theurbancentresofKabul,Herat,Mazar-eSharif,and
JalalabadwheretheSHGconcepthasbeenrolledout
by PIN or other relevant actors.
Self-HelpGroupsarevoluntary(financial)sav-
ingassociationscomprisedofa smallhomogenous
groupofpeopleina localcommunity.Thebasicidea
isfora smallgroupofpeopletocometogetheratreg-
ularintervals(weekly,bi-weeklyormonthly)andto
contributea smallamountofmoneycollectively(for
example20,50or100AFNperperson)toa commu-
nalfund.Thismoneyiskeptina savingbox,recorded
ina ledgerandcanbeloanedouttomembersofthe
groupwithagreeduponconditions.
ThecentralideabehindtheSelf-HelpGroup
approachistotacklepoverty,enablesocialandeco-
nomicempowermentandsupporttheadvancement
ofgenderequality.OneofthereasonsthatSHGsbe-
comeeffectiveina broadergeographical(region-
al/national)orsocio-politicalsense,apartfromtheir
individualempowerment,istheirembeddinginto
a largerstructureofclustersandfederations.Afghan
SHGsareincomparisontoothercountriesrelatively
un-connected:SHGsinbothIndiaandBangladesh,for
example,areregularlylinkedupfurthermorewiththe
generalbankingsystemandwithMicrofinanceInsti-
tutions,aswellaswithgovernmentalentities.
TheSelf-HelpGroupapproach,ifimplement-
edwithenoughsupportduringestablishmentand
witha viableexitstrategyinmind,isespeciallysuit-
edtosupportAfghancommunities,especiallywom-
en,intheirsocialandeconomicdevelopment.One
ofthemaincharacteristicsthatsetstheSHGap-
proachapartfromotherdevelopmentapproachesis
thetimeframenecessarytomakeSelf-HelpGroups
sustainable.Manypositivesocialimpactsarevisi-
bleinthefirstyearsofimplementation,suchasthe
developmentofgroupsolidarityandsocialaswell
aseconomicnetworksthatcansupportindividu-
alsandfamilies.However,toguaranteethelong-
termsustainabilityoftheSelf-HelpGroups,especial-
lywithscalingupinClustersandFederationstohave
a broadercivilsocietyimpact,a longertimeframe
suchasa 5–10-yeartimehorizon,isdesirable.While
thetimetoestablishthesupportivestructureandef-
fecttheoverallchange,doesnotfitneatlyintothe
project-based,grant-dependentbusinessmodelsthat
mostNGOsfunctionunder,itmightbetimetothink
inAfghanistanratherinthesemediumtolongterms
ofdevelopmenttoachievelastingchangesrather
thanquickfixes.
Summary of key points of the report:
— Theapproachisespecially suited for women to
bringthemintotheworkforcewithsmallbusi-
nessesandtoenablethemtodevelopa socialand
economicnetworkthatcansupporttheirbusiness
development
— EstablishmentofSHGsfor men posed particu-
lar challenges,reportedbyallorganisationswho
triedtoimplementtheapproachwithbothgen-
ders.Men’savailabilityandtheirgeneraldemands
forhigherfinancialinputsfromtheorganisa-
tions,bringsintoquestionwhetherthisapproach
shouldbeimplementedformeninAfghanistan.It
seemsthattheapproachcanonlybeimplemented
withmaleparticipantsiftheorganisationsarenot
bringingupfinancialassistanceatallinthefirst
place,oriftheyarewillingtoacceptfinancialim-
balancesbetweengenders.
— SocialnetworksoftheSHGsprovide the flexibil-
ity and fall-back support neededtodevelopbusi-
nessesandprovideresiliencythroughtheirde-
velopmentstages.Whenbuddingbusinessesface
difficulties,theyknowthattheycancountonso-
cialandeconomicsupportoftheirSHGmembers,
whichgivesthema safetynetworkwhiletaking
theirfirststeps.
— ClusterLevelAssociationsofferanopportunity
for community engagementinsocialandpoliti-
calissues.Theyarea productive interface for lo-
cal and regional politicians,especiallywiththefe-
malepopulation.
6
— Development of sustainable SHGs takes time
and sustained support,especiallyintermsof
trainingandsupervision.Thetime-horizonfores-
tablishingnotonlySHGs,butalsoClusterswhich
cansupportthepermanenceandsustainabilityof
SHGs,ismuchlongerthanmostprojectcyclesand
lieswiththreeyearsforSHGsandadditionalyears
withClustersina timeframeofrather5–7years.
— Opinion on financial support of SHGs by organi-
sations is split.Thesupportersofa‘pure’approach
suggestonlygivingtrainingandinsomecasesma-
terialsupport,butnofinancialsupport,asthis
wouldperpetuatea hand-outculturethatleadsto
dependencies.Supportersofgivingloansor‘top-
ups’maintainthatthiswouldenablea fasterbusi-
nessdevelopmentasthebiggerrevolvingfundsen-
ablebiggerloans.Thedecisionforeitherapproach
mightliewiththetimehorizonthatanorganisation
choosesforpursuingtheSHGapproach.
— A developedexit strategyisa musttoensurethat
theSHGsaresustainableinthefuture.Mostor-
ganisationssawa combination of a structural em-
bedding (in clusters and foundations) together
with established market linkagesasthebestop-
tiontoensuresustainabilityoftheSHGs.
— Afghanistanhasatpresentno governmental
structure to effectively deal or interface with
SHGs.Unlikeothercountries,whichofferde-
partmentsthatdealwithSHGs,Afghanistan
lacksanynationalpolicy,guidelineordepart-
mentwithcontactpersonstooversee,stream-
lineorguidetheprocessofSHGestablishment.
Itwouldbeadvisabletolobbyfortheestablish-
mentofa responsibleunitina department.An
embeddingofSHGsinthegovernmentalstruc-
turebringsthepossibleriskofa formalizationin
bureaucratic structures that can make the im-
plementationinflexible.Instructively,govern-
mentalsupportwasgenerallyrequestedbyor-
ganisationseitherinthefunctionofgivinginitial
guidanceandinformation,orforthefinalhand-
overofexistingSHGs,ClustersandFederations,
tooffera counterpart.Governmentalsupport
wasnotthoughtofasrunning,regulating,orlim-
itingSHGs,butratherasa pointofcontactto
provideinformationanda networkingpointfor
SHGimplementersandSHGsthemselves.
— OnlysomeSHGimplementingorganisationshad
experienceswithMicrofinance Institutions and
banksandmostunequivocallysawitnotasa via-
bleoptionduetothepracticewithinMicrofinance
toworkwithanaddedinterest.However,recent
developmentswithintheMicrofinancesector
inAfghanistanandgloballyhaveseentheintro-
ductionofIslamicfinancingtools,whichcreated
a sub-sectorofIslamicMicrofinance.Thissector
offers,especiallywiththeMurabahasalestrans-
action,a viableoptiontoextendsmallbudding
businessesina Shariahcompliantway.
Many income-generating projects, such as custom-made tailoring, are the outcome of the support of the Self-Help Groups
9
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Research Rationale
Thisreportassessestheimpactandeffectivenessof
theSelf-HelpGroup(SHG)approachasusedinthe
Afghanurbancontext,witha focusonits3maincom-
ponents—socialdevelopment,economicdevelop-
mentandinstitutionalstability.Thestudyaimstoim-
provetheunderstanding,anddocumenttheimpact,
oftheSelf-HelpGroups(SHGs)approachinAfghan-
istan,toidentifybestpracticesaswellaschallenges
incurrentSHGmethodologiesusedbyselectedNGO
facilitators.Theultimategoalistoprovidepractical
recommendationstooptimisetheSHGapproach’s
relevanceandeffectiveness.Whilethereportwas
commissionedbyPeopleInNeed(PIN)theintention
isnottoevaluateorreviewtheperformanceofPINor
otheractorsindividually,buttogainanunderstand-
ingofhowvariousapproacheshavebeenimplement-
edandwhichhavebeenmostsuccessful(orcouldbe
overallimproved).Thestudycoversurbancentres
wheretheSHGconcepthasbeenrolledoutbyPIN
orotherrelevantactors,whiletakingintoconsidera-
tiontheaccessandsecuritysituation.Therefore,the
studyfocusesonthefollowingcities—Kabul,Her-
at,Jalalabad,andMazar-e-Sharif.Thestudywasalso
designedtoconsiderthedifferentAfghancontextsin
whichtheSHGapproachcouldbeapplied,withmod-
ifications,suchasIDPcommunities,femaleversus
maleSHGs,aswellasthedifferencesinurbanandru-
ralsettings.
1.2. Definition of Self-Help Groups
Thebaseconceptofa Self-HelpGroupisrelative-
lystraightforward:establishinga voluntary(finan-
cial)savingassociationcomprisedofa smallhomoge-
nousgroupofpeopleina localcommunity.However,
therealityofhowtheSHGapproachisimplemented
andwhatthisimplementationentails,variesgreatly
amongorganisations.1
Fromtheeconomicsperspective,thebasic
ideaisfora smallgroupofpeopletocometogetherat
regularintervals,suchasweekly,bi-weeklyormonth-
ly.Eachmembercontributesa smallamountofmon-
eytoa communalfund,forexample20,50or100
AFNperperson.Thismoneyiskeptina savingbox,
recordedina ledgerandcanbeloanedouttomem-
bersofthegroupwithagreeduponconditions.Most
savinggroupsinAfghanistanhandletheloanswith-
outcharginganyinterest.Theparticipantscanbuild
upwiththeseloanssmallenterprises.However,much
morethanthemerefinancialfunction,italsoenables
participantstobuildupa socio-financialsafetynet-
work,onwhichtheycanrelywhenexperiencingso-
cialoreconomicdifficulties.
Oncethegroupsareestablished,Self-Help
Groupscanrunbythemselvesinsavingandaccumu-
1 Seealsoforthisfroma theoreticalperspective:Murria,Priyanka,
andSatishVerma.“MicrofinancethroughSelf-HelpGroups:
A ThematicPerspective.”Productivity54,no.3(December2013):
302–10.
latingmoney,givingloansandcollectingthemon-
eyback.Trainingsthroughorganisationsthates-
tablishedthemenablecontinuouslearningnotonly
ofaspectssuchasbusinessdevelopment,andlead-
ership,butalsooftenoftangibleskillsthatcanbe
usedindevelopingbusinesses.Whetherskillswillbe
taughtsuchasthroughvocationalskilltrainings,or
onlyenhancedthroughdiscussionsonhowtomarket
them,dependsontheorganisations.
Thisorganisationalsupportsuggestssever-
aldynamicsthathavethepotentialtocontradictor
underminetheintendedpurposeoftheSHG. While
SHGsareusuallydefinedassmall,homogenousaffin-
itygroupsofpeople,formedtoattaincertaincollec-
tivesocialandeconomicgoals,inpracticethegroups
mightbemorediverseintermsofethnicityorso-
cio-economicstatus.Theideabehindhomogenous
groupsistocreatea platforminwhichpeoplewith
similarneedscanmeet,exchangeandfindstrategies
tonurturea commongoalofeconomicandsocialde-
velopment.Itshouldpreventbuildingofhierarchical
structuresinwhichthemoreknowledgeableorbetter
offdominateothergroupmembers.Diversegroups
canplayoutinmultiplewayswitheither‘stronger’
groupmembersmanipulateordominatethelessfi-
nanciallyliterate,oronthecontrarythroughstrong-
ermemberssupportingweakermemberstodevel-
optheirstanding.However,withinstronglydiverse
groups,itisuptothegroupdynamicandnotthefacil-
itatorhowtheheterogeneityplaysout.Astheexam-
10
pleofotherheterogeneouscharacteristicsshows,di-
versitymustnotalwaysbea drawback,butcanonthe
contraryhelpintheintegrationofIDPsandreturnees.
However,thismightrequiremoreinitialsupportby
theorganisationinsettinguptheSHG(see:3.1.4. In-
clusion/InternallyDisplacedPeopleandReturnees).
Anotheraspectisthevoluntarynatureofthe
groups:whilethegroupsarefreeassociationsofpeo-
plewhocometogetherfora mainpurposeandwho
canleaveatanytime,thisdefinition“fail(s)todescribe
theroleplayedbyNonGovernmentOrganisations
(NGOs)intheformation,stabilisation,trainingand
functioningofSelf-HelpGroups(SHGs).”2Organisa-
tionsareusuallynotonlyresponsiblefordefiningthe
characteristicsofwhocanjointhegroup,butalsofor
thestructuralparametersinwhichtheyfunction.Fur-
thermore,mostadditionaltrainingsthatthegroupre-
ceivesaregivenbytheorganisationsthatestablish
theSHGs.
1.3. SHG philosophy
Likeinitsphysicalstructure,theoverarchingphilos-
ophybehindtheSHGconceptmayseemstraight-
forwardonthesurfacebutinitsimplementationwe
encountera greatdealofvariety.Thecentralideabe-
hindtheSelf-HelpGroupapproachistotacklepov-
erty,enablesocialandeconomicempowermentand
supporttheadvancementofgenderequality.While
alloftheseaspectsplayeda rolefortheinterview
partners,eachorganisationstresseddifferentfoci
2 Murria/Verma,2013,p.304.
Phot
o Ja
n M
rkvičk
a
Organizations are offering training components to enhance already existing skills, such as tailoring.
11
withinthesethreeareasastheirmainobjectivein
their work.
HandinHandAfghanistan,forexample,ar-
guesthatSHGsarepartofcreatingmicro-enterpris-
esattheindividual,householdandcommunitylevels,
whichcontributestoeconomicgrowthatthefurther
regionalandnationallevels.Thiseconomicimpact
alsohasa genderedsocialimpact,contributingto
women’seconomicindependenceandsocialstanding
ashouseholdincomecontributors,leadersandcom-
munitydecision-makers”.3OP-Mercydescribeshow
SHGsnotonlyprovidethepoorsectionofsociety
witha‘voice’,buthowtheirempowermentfeedsinto
a“grassrootsmovementtoempowerAfghanwom-
ensocially,economicallyandpolitically”.4 Kindernot-
hilfe(KNH)5evenframesitfurtherindefiningeco-
nomicdevelopmentandpovertyalleviationthrough
SHGsasa rights-basedapproachinwhichpovertyis
framed“asthedenialofrightsandpovertyalleviation
asa processofreclaimingone’sright”.6
Allthesedifferingdefinitionsseeanintertwin-
ingofeconomicdevelopmentandsocialwell-being
ofcommunities,thatstrengthensespeciallypoorand
vulnerablegroups.
3 See:HandinHandAfghanistan,AnnualReport2016,p.11.
4 See:OPMercy,SelfHelpApproachReport11–2017,p.IVandV.
5 TheapproachofKNHisimportanthereastheyhavesupported
otherorganisationsinAfghanistantoestablishSHGsandtheir
SHGmanualisusedbymanyorganisationsasa guidelinetostart
SHGs.
6 See:Self-HelpGroupApproachManual,2nd Edition,by
Kindernothilfe,p.7.
1.4. Structure
OneofthereasonsthatSHGsbecomeeffectivein
a broadergeographical(regional/national)orso-
cio-politicalsense,apartfromtheirindividualem-
powerment,istheirembeddingintoa largerstructure
ofclustersandfederations.
OnceindividualSelf-HelpGroupsareestab-
lishedwiththeeconomicmechanismsandstrongso-
cialsupportnetworks,severalSHGstogethercanbe
formedintoa cluster.Generally,8–10strongSHGscan
cometogetherintoa ClusterLevelAssociation(CLA)
throughselectingtwomembersofeachSHGtorepre-
senttheirgroupattheCLA. Whilethemaineconomic
focusoftheSelf-HelpGroupsistoenablesavingaswell
asprovidingloanswithinthegroup,thefocusofthe
CLAistomobiliseresourcesfortheneedsoftheover-
allcommunityfrombroadersources,includinggovern-
mentandnon-governmentorganisations.7
ThegreaterthenumberofSHGs,themore
CLAsthatcanbeformed.Theyinturncancometo-
getherontheFederationLevel.WhiletheCLAsarere-
sponsibletoaddresstheissuesina specificcommunity,
thegoaloffederationsistoensure“thattheprinciples
andfeaturesoftheSelf-HelpGroupapproacharerec-
ognisedandfindtheirwaysinlocal,regional,andna-
tionallawsandpolicies”.8Likeinmostothercountries,
Afghanistanalsolegallyregistersfederationsinthe
governmentwithintheMinistryofJustice.9
7 KHNSelf-HelpGroupManual,p.16.
8 KHN,p.15.
9 Interviews,HandinHand(Mazar-eSharif)andOPMercy(Kabul).
Source:http://aeerwanda.rw/stories-from-the-field/playground-or-bust/
1.5. History of SHGs in Afghanistan
TheintroductionoftheconceptofSelf-HelpGroups
canbetracedbacktotheearlypost−2001yearsin
whichinternationalorganisationsbeganworkinginAf-
ghanistan.KNHandOP-Mercyappeartobethepio-
neersoftheconcept(2002),10withothersfollowing
soonafter(AfghanAid2004).11OP-Mercyhasbeenin-
strumentalinsharingitsknowledgewithotherorgani-
sationsandinspiringthemovertheyearstostartSHGs:
10 See:Self-HelpGroupApproachManual,2ndEdition,by
Kindernothilfe,p.7,InterviewwithOPMercy,Kabul2017.
11 Cramer,Sarah,HervéNicolle,andNassimMajidi.“Self-Help
GroupProgrammeEvaluation.”Kabul,Afghanistan:SamuelHall,
2012.
12
“In2002a consultantcamefromIndia,Thom-
asPaul,andheintroducedtheconceptofSelf-Help
Groupstointernationalorganisations.Atthattime,
mostcountrydirectorsandmanagerswhopartic-
ipatedinthetrainingstoldhimthatthisisnotpos-
siblehereinAfghanistan.Butatthattimeouror-
ganisationparticipatedaswellandwesaid,ifitis
workingforotherpoorcountries,itcanworkinAf-
ghanistan,too.Wewerethefirstorganisationto
startSelf-HelpGroupshere.ThetrainerforSelf-
HelpGroupscamefromIndiaandthefirstfunding
camefromGermany.Aftera firstmonthtrainingfor
facilitatorswestartedtoworkintheKarteNawarea
inKabul.”(Khalida,OP-Mercy)
WhiletheformalisationoftheSHGapproach
canbetracedtoinputsfromIndiaandBangla-
desh,wheremostliteraturecanbefound,12saving
groupshavebeenanindigenousconceptwellknown
tomanyAfghans.SavinggroupsexistinsomeAf-
ghancommunitiesamongextendedfamilies,where
a monthlycontributioniscollectedaccordingtoabil-
ity.Thecontributioncanbeeithermoneyormateri-
als,suchastoolsforcommunityuse(includingpots,
crockeryorbricks).Themoneycanberequested
12 Seeforexample:Seibel,HansDieter.“SHGBankinginIndia:The
Evolutionofa RuralFinancialInnovation.” Cologne, Germany:
University of Cologne, Development Research Center, 2005;
Shukla, O P. “ImpactofSelf-HelpGroupsandFlowofCreditto
RuralSectorinUttarPradesh.”Indian Journal of Agricultural
Economics62,no.3(2007):384;Patil,Sandeep,andKiranKokate.
“IdentifyingFactorsGoverningAttitudeofRuralWomentowards
Self-HelpGroupsUsingPrincipalComponentAnalysis.”Journal
of Rural Studies55(2017):157–67;Varman,Mahendra.“Impact
ofSelf-HelpGroupsonFormalBankingHabits.”Economic and
Political Weekly40,no.17(April23,2005):1705–13.
frommembersofthesavinggroupforsocialocca-
sionssuchasfunerals,payinghospitalbillsorbuild-
ingcommunityinfrastructure,andwillberepaidin
agreeduponintervalstothegroup.
Therefore,whiletheoverallconceptofSHGs
assistedbyoutsideorganisationsandtheirextension
tolargerstructuresofassociationsandfederations
mightbea noveltyinAfghanistanpost−2001,thegen-
eralideaofsavinggroupsandactivesocialnetworks
thatsupportfamilyandrelativesinneedhaveexisted
muchlongerandoffera foundationfortheimplemen-
tationofSHGs.
1.5. Differences to other countries
Self-HelpGroupsinothercountriesareofteneither
linkedupwiththeMicrofinancesector,and/orwithgov-
ernmentalentities.SHGsinbothIndiaandBangladesh,
forexample,areregularlylinkedupwiththegeneral
bankingsystemandwithMicrofinanceInstitutions.13
SHGsinIndiaforexample14arelinkedup
withthegovernment,andsince2000/01included
intheannualstrategyofthegovernmentofIndia.15
Thisbringswithitsupportandstreamlining,though
13 See:Fernandez,AloysiusP.“HistoryandSpreadoftheSelf-
HelpAffinityGroupMovementinIndia/TheRolePlayed
byIFAD.”IFAD—InternationalFundforAgricultural
Development,2007.Accessedunder:https://www.ifad.org/
documents/10180/35979b08–2323–487c-a6b6–320a3ddee34c
14 See:”Self-HelpGroups(SHGs)inIndia”,accessedunder:
http://www.ipekpp.com/kp/W%26G/Brief_Paper_SHG_Ethipian_
Delegation_(3rd_Sept)%5B1_new%5D.pdf
15 See:p.8:https://www.ifad.org/documents/10180/35979b08–
2323–487c-a6b6–320a3ddee34c.
alsoguidanceintermsoftheimplementationofthe
SHGs.ItisforexampleprohibitedinSriLankato
givedirectfinancialsupporttoSHGs.Theonlysup-
portthatisgiventotheSHGsistrainingandconnec-
tivitytothelabourmarket.InSriLankatheseSHGs
havehistoricallyalsobeenconnectedtocoopera-
tives.Thismeansthattheydon’tonlyhavetheirown
savingswithintheirgroups,buttheycanalsoexpect
a shareattheendoftheyear.16
Anotherdifferencetosomeothercountriesis
Afghanistan’sspecificreligiouscontext.TheSHGap-
proachaccommodatesinmanyplacesthecharging
ofinterest,whichcancontributetoa bettereffectiv-
ityofthefunctioningofthegroupsthrougha faster
growingcommunalfund.However,mostcommuni-
tiesinAfghanistanrejectthepayingofinterestasitis
seenasun-Islamic.Thereareexceptionstothisrule,
assomegroupsdecidethemselvestolevya‘service
fee’orgivefinancialgiftsasa‘thankyou’gifttothe
groupforenablingthesuccessoftheirsmallbusiness
inthefirstplace.However,mostSHGsthatweresur-
veyedforthisreportrefuseda general,determined
interest.
16 InterviewUN-Habitat,Kabul,December2017.
Illiterate Self-Help Group members participate in the literacy training courses offered by organisations
Illiterate Self-Help Group members participate in the literacy training courses offered by organisations
15
2. METHODOLOGY
2.1. Desk Based Review
ThestudyoftheSelf-HelpGroupapproachbegan
witha desk-basedreviewofexistingsecondaryliter-
ature.Thisreviewincludedacademicsources,offi-
cialreports,relevantgovernmentalpolicydocuments
andstrategies,publishedandunpublishedstudies,
documentarysources,aswellasthetrendsanddevel-
opmentsoftheindicatorsusedintheprogramming
ofPINandotherstakeholders.Thereviewofthein-
ternaldocumentationofPIN,suchasprojectpropos-
als,interimandfinalevaluationreports,interimnar-
rativereports,M&Edataandmanualsprovidedan
understandingofPIN’sstrategyandapproachtothe
concept,whichcouldthenbecontrastedwithexter-
naldocumentationfromotherorganisations.What
emergedfromthereviewwasa frameworkwhiches-
tablisheda baseforlaterdatacollectionandanalysis.
Ithelpedtofine-tunethemethodologicaltoolsand
theanalyticalframeworkforthesurvey,aswellas
showinformationgapsintheexistingliterature.
2.2. Primary Data Collection
2.2.1. Key Informant Interviews
Keyinformantinterviewswerecriticalindevelop-
inganin-depthunderstandingofthesubject,and
toofferingcontextualinformation.Theconceptu-
alframework,whichwasdevelopedintheperiodof
thedesk-basedreview,provideda basisforthein-
terviewguides.Keyinformantinterviewswerequal-
itativeinnature,andsemi-structuredthroughthe
useofinterviewguides,whichoutlinedtopicsandis-
suestobecoveredduringthesession(forInterview
GuidesseeAppendix).Theinterviewerframedthe
actualquestionsduringthecourseoftheinterview
alongthelinesoftheinterviewguide,butwasfreeto
followuponanyrelevantissuesastheyaroseduring
theinterview.Thisflexibilityallowedfortheexplora-
tionofnewideasandissuesthathadnotbeenantici-
patedbutwererelevanttothestudy,especiallyinthe
developmentofsuggestionsandrecommendations.
Aninvestigatorwasabletocarryouttwoorthreein-
terviewsa day,dependingonavailabilityoftheinter-
viewees.Groupsandindividualswhoqualifiedforthe
selectionaskeyinformantswere:
— Humanitarian/DevelopmentActorsimplement-
ingtheSHGapproachintargetcitiessuchaspro-
grammeandprojectmanagers,projectadminis-
trators,SHGcoordinators,SHGfacilitatorsand
community mobilisers
— CDCs,shurasandcommunityleadersincommuni-
tiesinwhichSHGswereimplemented
— GovernmentStakeholdersinrelevantministries
andcorrespondingregionaldepartments17
17 Governmentstakeholderswerereachedouttoasoutlinedinthe
study,forexampleintheMinistryofFinanceandtheMinistry
ofJustice.Unfortunately,asthereiscurrentlyonlyselective
cooperationinprojectpartsbutnooverallembeddingintoany
statestructureforSHGs,noresponsiblepersoncouldbereached
forcomprehensivecomments.
— Community Stakeholders such as community
leaders,keymembersofSHGs,clusterledasso-
ciationleaders,federationledassociationlead-
ers,etc.atthecommunitylevelineachofthetar-
getcities
— Micro-credit/micro-financeinstitutionsinKabul
aswellasintheprovinces
— ScholarsandotherexpertsonMicrofinanceand
Islamic Finance
2.2.2. Focus Group Discussion (FGD)
FocusGroupDiscussionstypicallyinvolve6–12partic-
ipants,withtheidealsizebeing7–8.Though,inprac-
tice,thenumberofFocusGroupparticipantsvaried
from8to30,astheFGDwereconvenedwithintheex-
istingSHGsinfamiliarmeetingplaces.Therefore,of-
tenmorewomenwerepresentthanplannedfor.Ide-
ally,participantsshouldbematchedasa homogenous
grouporganisedalonglinesofgender,ageandsocial
position.Thisallowsforanatmosphereinwhichthe
participantsfeelfreetoexchangeandexpresstheir
genuineopinions.Whileideallyparticipantsshouldnot
knoweachotherbeforehand,associalpressurescan
significantlyskewstudyresults,thiswasnotpossible
intheSHGcontextgiventhesegroupswerealready
establishedandmembersacquaintedwitheachoth-
er.Instead,theFocusGroupsfunctionedasanenvi-
ronmentforreflectiononwhatwasalreadygoingwell
orcoulduseimprovement.A moderator,supportedby
a secondpersonasnotetaker,ledthefocusgroups.
16
Theproposedformatincludedfocusgroups
withSHGsthatwereestablishedbyPIN(min.15)and
SHGsestablishedbyotheractors(25),includingboth
maleandfemaleSHGs(targetratio:70/30female/
male).However,duetoavailabilityandaccess,thera-
tiobetweenFGDswithPINandotherorganisations
offeringsSHGswasratherreversedwith27FGDs
throughPINand11additionalFGDswithotherac-
tors(with76/24female/maleratio).Thefocusgroup
discussionswereconductedindifferentgeographi-
calareaspre-determinedinconsultationwithPIN,to
betterunderstandthefunctionalityofSHGsinvar-
yingsocio-economiccontexts.Theresearchdesign
alsoincludedSHGsatdifferentstagesofdevelop-
ment(newlycreated,stabilised,andSHGslinkedup
withclustersand/orfederations).
TheFocusgroupswererecordedandlateron
translatedandtranscribed.Thenotetakingfunc-
tionedasmarkersforwhospokewhenandtoretain
anoverviewofthediscussion.Thequestionsforthe
focusgroupswereorganisedastohavemainques-
tionsandpossiblefollow-upquestions.Thequestions
weredesignedtobefewerthanintheKIIasmore
participantswereansweringthemanditisdesira-
bleforthefocusgroupnottoexceeda maximumof
twohours.Furthermore,itwashopedthatthefocus
groupquestionswouldbesimpleenoughforevery-
onetoparticipate,butengagingenoughtofoster
meaningfuldiscussionandreflectionamongpartici-
pants.
2.3. Limitations and Problems
— Size of FGD: SizeofFGDsexceededtheenvi-
sionednumbersastheFGDswereconvenedwith-
intheexistingSHGsinfamiliarmeetingplaces.
Therefore,oftenmorewomenwerepresentthan
plannedfor.WhilesmallerFGDsareadvisableto
integrateallparticipantsintothediscussion,wom-
enkeptarrivingandcallingeachothertopartici-
pate,usuallyinthefemaleFGDs.
— Pre-Knowledge: Usually,FGDsareusedingroups
ofpeoplewhodonotknoweachotherbefore-
hand.Inthisresearch,however,FocusGroups
wereusedtoresearchpre-existinggroupssuch
astheSelf-HelpGroups.Therefore,FocusGroups
functionedratherasanenvironmentforreflec-
tiononwhatisalreadygoingwellorcoulduseim-
provement,ratherthanananonymousdiscussion
space.
— Presence of Facilitators: InmostFGDs,facilita-
tors,whoaretheorganisationalcontactpointto
theSHGs,werepresent.Thiscolouredpartici-
pants’responsesinthehopeofgarneringfurther
supportfromtheorganisation,asevidencedin
statementsthatexpressedhopeforcontinuingfi-
nancialsupport.
— Rural/Urban: SomeOrganisationsthatwerein-
terviewedwererunningSHGs,butonlyinruralar-
eas. Theirexperiencewastakenintoaccountto
contrasttheinformation,whereapplicable,tour-
banSHGsandtounderstanddifferingconstraints
betweenthesetwosettings.
The groups are also knowledge hubs in which the women can learn from the trainers and from each other how to build up small enterprises
19
3. EVALUATION / DAC CRITERIA
ThestudyappliedtheDACcriteria18forthedevel-
opmentoftheresearchframeworkandthedifferent
questionnaires,19aswellastheevaluationofthefind-
ings.Thefiveevaluationcriteria(relevance,effective-
ness,efficiency,impact,sustainability)weredevel-
opedbytheOrganisationforEconomicCo-operation
andDevelopment(OECD).Theyhavebeenoneofthe
mostwidelyadoptedcriteriausedforaidevaluation
byinternationalnon-governmentalorganisations(IN-
GOs)aswellasbymostbilateralandmultilateraldo-
noragencies.20
3.1. Relevance
Thecriterionofrelevancemeasures“theextentto
whichtheaidactivityissuitedtotheprioritiesand
policiesofthetargetgroup,recipientanddonor”.21
Thequestionsinthispartfocusonaccessingwheth-
ertheactivitiesandoutputsoftheapproachare
consistentwiththeoverallgoalandtheattainment
ofitsobjectives,aswellaswiththeintendedimpacts
andeffects.
18 Fora critiqueofthecriteriaandsuggestionsforfurther
development,see:Chianca,Tomaz,TheOECD/DACCriteria
forInternationalDevelopmentEvaluations:AnAssessmentand
IdeasforImprovement,accessedat:http://evaluation.wmich.edu/
jmde/
19 See:AppendixQuestionnaires
20 See:Chianca,p.41.
21 See:http://www.oecd.org/dac/evaluation/
daccriteriaforevaluatingdevelopmentassistance.htm
3.1.1. Consistency/Relevance
Mostorganisationsinterviewedforthisresearchsaw
theSelf-HelpGroupapproachasa waytoaffectso-
cialchangethrougheconomicdevelopment.Theyde-
scribedtheideabehindtheSelf-HelpGroupapproach
astacklingpoverty,enablingsocialandeconomicem-
powermentandsupportingtheadvancementofgen-
derequality.Intheirownwords:
“Weworkinthreesectors,namelywomen’sem-
powerment,humanitarianresponse,andadvoca-
cy.Ourmainobjectivesarethedevelopmentof
resilience,genderwork,andsocialaswellaseco-
nomicempowerment.TheSHGapproachofficial-
lyfallsundertheeconomicempowerment,but
itisofcourseconnectedwiththeseothergoals.”
ORG. K., HERAT, INTERVIEW
ThisissimilarlydescribedintheSelf-Help
Groupmanualsandreports,inwhicheconomicim-
pactislinkedwitha genderedsocialimpact,contrib-
uting“directlytoimprovingwomen’seconomicinde-
pendenceandsocialstandingashouseholdincome
contributors,leadersandcommunitydecision-mak-
ers”.22Forsomeorganisations,however,thefocus
thatisperceivedbytheirimplementersmightbein-
itiallyonlytheeconomicimpactwhilegenderissues
emergeasaby-productratherthantheinitialpriority:
22 See:HandinHandAfghanistan,AnnualReport2016,p.11.
“Ourcolleaguesmightnothaveseenitimmediate-
lylikethis,butactually,thisprojectisaboutem-
powerment.Notonlyeconomic.Often,thewom-
eninthegrouponlytalkabouttheirbusinesses,
butitcomesoutthatwomenwiththisindepend-
encecanoftenaddressmanyothersocialissues,
suchasforexamplegender-basedviolence(GBV).
Oncetheyaremobilised,theycanaddressthese
otherissues,too.” ORG. H., INTERVIEW, KABUL
Whileallofthesurveyedorganisationsfocus
oneconomicdevelopmentofthepoorestofthepoor
communities with an inclusive and sometimes exclu-
sivefocusongenderdevelopmentandwomen,PIN’s
approachisuniqueinthattheynotonlyviewtheSHG
approachintermsofsocio-economicempowerment,
butapplyitto“contributetothesustainableeconom-
icandsocialintegrationofuprootedpeopleandhost
communitiesinAfghanurbaninformalsettlements”.23
Whileotherorganisationsfocusonpovertyandgen-
der,PINhasaddedanotherintersectionalcategory
withtheaimofusingtheSHGasanintegrationtool
betweendifferentgroupsinanurbancommunity.
Thecommonthreadthroughoutthesediffer-
ingdefinitionsseeanintertwiningofeconomicde-
velopmentandsocialwell-beingofcommunities,that
strengthensparticularlypoorandvulnerablegroups.
Theinterviewedorganisationsstatednearunanimous-
lythattheirfocuswereespeciallypoorcommunities.
23 See:PINinternaldocumentation,projectapplication.
20
Whileorganisationsvariedinstrictnesscon-
cerningtheeconomicbackgroundandselectioncri-
teriaofbeneficiaries(see3.1.5. fora discussionof
exceptions),allbutonesawtheSelf-HelpGroupap-
proachasa waytoaffectbotheconomicandsocial
advancementforpoorcommunities.Theoneorgani-
sation,whichhadabandonedtheapproachaltogeth-
erwaspessimisticabouttheuseofSelf-HelpGroups
intheworkwithverypoorcommunities,atleastfor
shorttomedium-termoutcomes:
“Youhavetoworkwiththemforatleast2yearsto
makethiswork.Weworkwiththepoorestcom-
munitiesinAfghanistanandI don’tbelieveinthe
Self-HelpGroupapproachanymore.Itisverydif-
ficulttowaitthatlong,tobetoldthatmaybeaf-
ter2 or 3 yearsyouwillhavesomethingforthem.
Theirneedistohavemoneyfortheshortterm.”
ORG. B., HERAT, INTERVIEW
Itneedstobeaddedthatthisorganisationat-
temptedtoestablishSHGswithina (too)shortatime
frameofonly6monthswithoutanyadditionalfinan-
cialincentives.Theyimplementedtheapproachonly
withsupportoftrainings,butsawSHGsdiscontinue
theirworkoncetheorganisationpulledout.Asdis-
cussed in part3.2.2.,timeisofessencefora success-
fulimplementation.
Almostallorganisationsstressedthattheirfo-
cuswaspoororeventhepoorestofthepoorincom-
munities.However,mostalsohadanintersectional
focusonworkingwithwomen,andfelttheapproach
waswellsuitedforwomeninAfghanistan.Rationales
forworkingwithwomenrangedfromeconomictoso-
cialorevenpoliticaljustifications.Economically,one
ofthemainargumentsforworkingwithwomenwas
thattheyareanuntappedworkforceanda morereli-
abletargetgroup.
“Womenaredependentona singlesourceofin-
come,whichtheyaccessthroughthesegroups.
Menarenotsatisfiedwiththis.Theywantto
havemoreincomefromdifferentsources.Some
ofthemleavethegrouptogotoIran,Pakistan,
orwesterncountries,somecometothecityto
searchforanotherjob.That’swhytheydon’tfocus
a lotonthesegroupslikewomendo.”
ORG. E., JALALABAD, INTERVIEW
Socially,organisationsdescribedSelf-Help
Groupsaspowerfulvehiclesofchangeforwomenthat
developedtheirspatialmobilityandsocialcapital:
“Inthebeginningstagewewerefacingmanychal-
lenges.Thewomenofthevillageswerenotal-
lowedtovisitus,evenwithourfemalestaff,be-
causeofthetraditionalcultureintheareaswhere
wework.Aftersometime,inwhichtheygotto
knowtheconceptoftheprogram,theychanged.
Theycametogether,theylistenedtotheobjec-
tiveofourprogram.Nowtheyfreelycontactus
andcometoouroffice.Evenourmalestaffgoes
totheseareas,andthefemalemembersofthe
groupsvisitus.Fromthisperspective,thereis
a hugedifferencethatwecanperceive.”
ORG. E., JALALABAD, INTERVIEW
“Wehada ratioof60%femaleand40%maleSHGs.
Wefoundthatthewomenweremoreattentive
tothegroupsandtheoverallidea.Thismightbe
duetofemalenature,buttheyalsobenefitteda lot
fromtheparticipationintheSHGs.Throughthe
SHGsthewomencoulddeveloptheirownnet-
works.Thisistraditionallymorelimitedforwom-
eninAfghanistanascomparedtomenwhocan
moreeasilygooutandconnecttootherpeople
andmarkets.IntheSHGsthewomenhavea hub,
andtheycandrawonthatintheirdevelopmentof
their own network” ORG. I., KABUL, INTERVIEW
Furthermore,theSelf-HelpGroupswereseen
asa pathtopoliticalempowerment.Atthestageof
developmentwherewomenwerenotonlyactivein
Self-HelpGroups,butalsoinClustersorFederations,
theywereina positiontoadvocateforareasorfor
wholesectionsofthepopulation.Thesegroupswere
describedbytheimplementersasdoorwaysinto
communitydevelopmentinwhichthegroupsthem-
selvesdecidedwhichaspectswerelackingintheir
communitiesandgotengagedina kindofcivilsociety:
“Therearemanychangesinthelivesofwomen.If
younowgo,thewomenhavevoicesintheirhous-
es,theyhaveimprovedeconomically.Atfirstitwas
importanttosave20Afghani,nowtheyhave5000
dollarsintheirsavingboxes,whichtheyareusing
forbusinesses.Inmanycommunitiestheyprovid-
edwaterfortheircommunities.Inothercommuni-
ties,likeinMazar-eSharif,wherewomenbrought
waterintotheirdrycommunities,theybrought
21
3 waterpumps,andotherwomenheardaboutit
andwonderedhowwomencoulddothis.They
thenalsoindividuallycametogetherandalsogot
water in their own community.” ORG. A., KABUL
“WestartintheSHG,butwecarryitonintothe
ClusterLevelAssociation.Thatisimportantbe-
causetheyrepresenta lotoffamiliesinoneClus-
ter.Atthetimewhenthereisanelection,forex-
ample,politiciansarekeentogettheirvotes,and
theClustersareina goodpositiontobargainfor
watersuppliesorforotherthingsandservicesin
their community.” ORG. H., KABUL, INTERVIEW
Someorganisationssolelyfocusedonwomen
intheestablishmentofSHGs,befittingtheirfocuson
women’sempowerment.Otherorganisations,how-
ever,followeda holisticapproachinattemptingtoof-
ferSHGsforbothmenandwomen:
“Wealsohaveprogramswiththemen.Unlessyou
don’tchangetheattitudesofmenyoucannot
changetheattitudewithinthefamily…Withoutfa-
cilitationwiththemenandelders,womencan’tbe
reached.” ORG. K., HERAT, INTERVIEW
EstablishmentofSHGsformenposedparticu-
larchallenges,reportedbyallorganisationswhotried
toimplementtheapproachwithbothgenders,andvis-
ibleinmostFGDscountrywidewithmaleSHGs.Men
demandedmoremoneyfromtheorganisationtostart
theirbusinessesasa topuptotheirownrevolving
fund.Notably,mostorganisationswhosolelyworked
withwomendidnotofferfinancialsupportfortheir
SHGs,whileallorganisationsworkingwithbothmale
andfemaleSHGshadoptedforgivinga monetaryor
materialincentiveforstartingbusinesses.Manyso-
cialorganiserscomplainedthatthemalegroupswere
moredifficulttosuperviseastheirmeetingschedule
wasusuallyafterworkhours,andthereforealsoafter
theirownorganisations’workhours.24
Men’savailabilityandtheirgeneraldemands
forhigherfinancialinputsfromtheorganisations,
bringsintoquestionwhetherthisapproachshouldbe
implementedformeninAfghanistan.Itseemsthat
theapproachcanonlybeimplementedwithmalepar-
ticipantsiftheorganisationsarewillingtoofferfinan-
cialincentives,insomecasespossiblyhigherthanfor
femaleparticipants.Theapproachthereforeseems
tobebettersuitedforwomentobringthemintothe
workforcewithsmallbusinessesandtoenablethem
todevelopa socialandeconomicnetworkthatcan
supporttheirbusinessdevelopment.
Despitethesedifficultiesandshortfalls,most
organisationsintegratedtheSHGapproachseam-
lesslyintotheiroverallportfolioandsawitasa rele-
vanttooltosupportcommunitiesinAfghanistan.
3.1.2. Needs Assessment
Intermsofneedsassessments,itisimportantto
bemindfulofthefactthatmostorganisationsare
fundedthroughprojectcyclesandthereforere-
spondtocallforproposalsfromfundingagencies.
Geographicalareaswheretheydecidetowork,are
24 Asopposedtothewomenwhomeetduringthedaywhensocial
facilitatorscaneasilyjointhemeetingsandsupportthegroups.
thereforeofteninfluencedbythefundingagencies’
interesttoworkina certaingeographicallocation
ofthecountrycombinedwithwherethesecurity
situationisdeemedadequatelysecure.Onlya cou-
pleoforganisationsthatwereinterviewedforthis
research,hadcommunitiesinmindinwhichthey
hadworkedpreviouslyandwheretheyfacedneeds
whichledtheorganisationtoadopttheSHGap-
proach.Thisreverseapproachdoesnotmeanthat
theSHGapproachwouldnotreachtheneediest
partsofa givencommunity,butonlythatthechoice
ofcommunityinthefirstplacemightbeinfluenced
bytheseparameters.
Mostorganisationsconductedvulnerability
and/orpovertyassessmentsintheareaswherethey
hadchosentoworktodecidewhichpartsofthecom-
munitytofocuson.Theneedsassessmentcanbe
conductedwithsimpleindicatorsorthroughmulti-
ple-stageassessments.Anexamplefora cost-effec-
tiveandparticipatoryassessmentisdescribedinthis
interview:
“Weintroduceourselvesandsaythatwehave
somethingtosayaboutissuesonwomen,butwe
donotexplaintheconcept.Weonlyaskthem
tocomeandparticipate.Wetargetonehouse,
whereallwomencancometogether.Thenextday
wehaveoneexercise:weask,whoispoorinyour
community.Thenthewomenthemselvessay,‘she
isreallypoor’andthenthiswomanagainintro-
ducesanotherwoman,forexamplesaying‘shehas
manychildrenandsheislivingina poorhouse’.
Wedrawthreecircles.Rich,middle,poor.And
22
weencouragethemtoselect,intowhichofthese
threecirclestoputher.Wecontinuetodothisand
that’showwecatchtheverypoorwomen.Weare
notallowedtosay,youseempoor.Thepeoplein
thecommunityjustintroducethembythemselves.
Onthisday,wejustsay‘thankyouverymuch’and
wetakethenameofthepoorestwomen.Forthe
otherswejustsaythankyouforyourparticipa-
tion.” ORG. A., KABUL INTERVIEW
Otherorganisationsapplymultiple-stageas-
sessments,includingdata-sourcingfromthirdor-
ganisationsandrankingcommunitymembersac-
cordingtotheirvulnerabilityorresilience.Some
useda ParticipatoryVulnerabilityCommunityAs-
sessment(PWCA),25combinedwithadditionalques-
tionsregardingtheircommunities.Othersbaseiton
availablecommunityinformationandaddanaddi-
tionalassessmentofallidentifiedpossiblecommuni-
tiesandparticipants:
“InitialdatawasreceivedfromUN-Habitat.Based
onthat,beforeapplyingfortheprojectwedidan
assessmentwheretherewassupposedlybeing
hiddenIDPsanduprootedpeople.Afterthepro-
jectwasapprovedbythedonortherewasanother
assessmentin40CDCsineachcity.Thecriterion
wasmainlytheresiliencescore,basedontheresil-
ienceindex.Wefocusedontheareawiththemost
25 Seeforexample:ActionAid,FieldGuideforParticipatory
VulnerabilityAssessment/A stepbystepguideforfieldstaff.
Accessedat:https://www.actionaid.org.uk/sites/default/files/doc_
lib/108_1_participatory_vulnerability_analysis_guide.pdf
vulnerablepeople,whodon’thaveincomeearn-
ers,orhavedisabledpeople,orwhowerenoten-
gagedbeforewithotherorganisations,plushaving
a lowresilience.Outof40CDCs,20wereselect-
ed.” ORG. J., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
Themajorityoforganisationsapproacheda spe-
cificlocalcommunitythroughthecommunityassembly
(shura)orCommunityDevelopmentCouncil,CDC26:
“Wetargetandworkwithfamiliesthathavewid-
ows,orphans,disabled,orfamiliesthatweredis-
placed.Wemadeagreementsintheprojectbe-
tweentheorganisers,thecommunityandthe
shura.Wesittogetheranddevelopedtheagree-
mentwiththem.Themainaspectisthatweselect-
edvulnerablemembersofthecommunitythrough
shuramembers,thecommunityandourproject
staff.” ORG. E., JALALABAD, INTERVIEW
Ifthiscommitteesignalledwillingnesstolet
theorganisationworkina certainplacewiththe
community,thentheorganisationsproceededtoas-
sessit.Economicaswellassocialempowermentwas
seenbyallorganisationsasa desirablegoal,which
anycommunitywouldliketoattain.Ultimately,the
areas that were assessed were the ones in which
localshurasorCDCsgavetheirconsent,andnot
basedonanentirelyobjectiveneedsassessment.
26 CDCstandsforCommunityDevelopmentCouncil.A body
setupinitiallybytheNationalSolidarityProgram(NSP)ofthe
MinistryofRuralRehabilitationandDevelopment(MRRD).The
advantagesanddrawbacksofthisapproacharediscussedinPart
3.2.1,see:Effectiveness,OutsideImpact.
Theneedforthedevelopmentofneweconomicin-
comestrategiesandsocialempowermentwereseen
asa given,withthemainrequirementtoidentifythe
communitymembersmostinneed.However,most
organisationsstressedthatequallyimportantasvul-
nerabilityandpovertyassessmentsweremarketas-
sessmentstotailortheprojectaccordingtothelocal
andregionaldemands:
“Ifyouwanttodoa livelihoodproject,youshould
startwitha marketassessment,otherwiseyouare
imposingvocationsforwhichtheremightbeno
demand.Westartedwiththat,althoughthemar-
ketassessmentconfirmedwhatwealreadyhad
intheproposal,witha couplemore.Thenweap-
proachedgroupstoseewhetherthewomenhad
already some skills and what their interests were.
Mostgroupswantedtailoring,andwetriedtotell
themthatwecan’talldotailoring.Oneoftheskills
that the women were very interested in was knit-
ting,butinthemarketassessmentitshowedthat
therewasnodemand.Sowedida fewofthose,
buttheywereonlyforhouseholdconsumption.”
ORG. L., KABUL, INTERVIEW
“Thentwoorthreemembersamongthe8or10
havesomeideastoinvest,forexampleinbakery,
poultry,livestock.Theyactuallyneedanassess-
ment what actually are the needs and what the
peopleofthisvillagewant.Basedonneeds,wants
anddemandsofthisspecificvillagetheystartto
investintheseideasandwehelpthemwiththat.”
ORG. C., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
23
Overall,thecommunitiesrespondedpositive-
lyduringallFGDsconcerningtheeconomicandsocial
impactoftheSHGsintheirfamiliesandcommunities
(see3.5.Impact).Someoftheresponsesshowhow
especiallypoorcommunitieshavea needfora col-
lateral that enables them to take loans that they oth-
erwisemightnotbeabletotake.Respondentsespe-
ciallystressedthattheyfeltaloneandstressedabout
theireconomicsituationpriortojoiningtheSHGs:
“Ourneedsarecommunicatedthroughconsulta-
tion.Forexample,ifwehaveproblemswecome
togetherandbasedonconsultingeachotherwe
resolveit.BeforegettinginvolvedwithSHGs,we
werealoneandstressedaboutproblems;nowitis
different.Wewanttoimproveoureconomicsit-
uationthroughtheseloans.Ourneedshavenot
changedmuchexceptforthefactthattheSHGs
helpsusresolveourproblemsinstantaneously.
Forexample,ifthereisanurgentsicknessinthe
family,wecancometothesegroupsandaskfor
a loan.Ifwedon’thavemoneyandtrytogeta loan
fromotherindividuals,theywon’tgiveusany
money.ButwiththeSHGwehavea senseofbeing
stable.” FEMALE FGD, KABUL
Someorganisationspointedoutthatneeds
alsohada genderednature:menusuallyalreadyhave
jobsorvocations,whilewomenaremostlyinvolvedin
householdchores.Theirexpectationstowards(addi-
tional)incomegeneratingactivitiesvary,dependingon
theirownexperiencesaswellassocietalexpectations
towardsmenorwomentoprovidefortheirhousehold:
Photo Jan Mrkvička
The record books show how much money was paid into the books in the regular meetings and how
many loans were taken by the members
24
“Theactualdemandandexpectationsfrommen
andwomenaredifferent.Men’sexpectationisto
havea higheramountofcapitalwithwhichthey
should start the business. But with women that is
notthecase.Eveniftheyonlyhave5000or4000
Afghani,andtheybuya tailoringmachine,they
starttheiractivities.Buttherequirementofmen
istohavea car,ora taxi,ora shoptostarttheir
business,whichrequiresa biggeramountofmon-
ey.Theconceptaswearecurrentlyassessingit,is
morerelevanttowomen.Womenarenotveryin-
volvedinbusinessdevelopmentsofar,andthey
don’tgooutmuchyet.ThisiswhatSHGscan
change.” ORG. J., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
Especiallywomenwitha vulnerableback-
ground,suchasorphaned27woman,expressedgrat-
itudefortheSHGsupportingtheirindividualneeds
thatwerenotattendedtopreviously:
“I ama memberofthisgroup,andI havealsoat-
tendedliteracyclasses.Myfatherdied,I have
nobrother,andI supportmyfamilyalone,my
threesistersandmymother.I tooka loanfrom
thebox,andI supportthemthroughtailoring.I’m
thankfulforthisopportunity.Withsomecloth-
ingI canmake1000,2000oreven3000Afghani.
Ina monthit’smaybe10,000or12,000Afghani.
Thishelpsuswheretherewasnoassistancebe-
fore.” FEMALE FGD, JALALABAD
27 InAfghanistan,childrenwhohavelostoneoftheirparentsare
consideredorphaned.
SomeFGDparticipantspointedoutbiggeris-
suesthatwerenotaddressed,suchasschoolsor
clinics.However,thelong-termvisionoftheSHGs
(Clusters,etc.)wouldbeabletoaddressthesemore
structuralneedsinthecommunitythroughlobbying
forthem(see3.4.3. On Clusters and Federations).
OneindicatorofwhethertheSHGapproach
isofrelevancetoa communityandsuitstheirneeds
iswhethermembershaveleftandhowmanySHGs
havedissolvedaftertheirinitialestablishment.Most
oftheSHGsthatweresurveyedinthisreporthave
beenstablesincetheirestablishment,withnomem-
berleavingthegroup.A minorityoforganisationsre-
portedthecollapseofSHGs:
“Wefaceda lotofproblemsinthisonearea.
Therewastensionbetweendifferentfamilies.
Duetotheirowntensionssomegroupmem-
berscametoparticipateandothersdidn’tcome.
That’swhywedecidedtofinishthisgroup.We
havealsosometimesexperiencedthatpeo-
plejoingroups,butduetosomeproblems,they
havetomoveandwehadtofinishthegroup.It’s
nottosaythatallgroupsrunwell.Wealsofaced
problemsindifferentareas.”
ORG. E., JALALABAD, INTERVIEW
Theseexamples,however,weretheexcep-
tion.MostSHGsseemedtoberunningwelloncethey
wereacceptedandestablishedwithinthecommunity,
whichmightalsobeduetothetirelessworkoftheen-
gagedsocialworkersandcommunityfacilitators:
“Sometimeswhenwomenjoinlateron,thenthey
don’tunderstandwhattherationaleofthegroup
is.Theydon’tunderstandthereasonforthegroup
andhowsavingworks.Butwearesocialworkers,
sowegorepeatedlytogivethemtraining.Thisis
a bigproblemforus.Thishappensa lottous.Peo-
plehavetheirownhomes,buttheymove.Many
peopleliveinrentedhomes,whenthetimeisfin-
ishedoftheircontractstheymoveandleavethe
area.Therefore,theyalsoleavethegroups.
FEMALE FACILITATOR, JALALABAD
Theexamplesofgroupinconsistencythatwere
givenbyfacilitatorsorevenwithintheFGDswere
usuallyduetopeople’sdecisiontomovetoanoth-
erpartofthecityortomovefromonecitytoanother.
Thoughtheydidnotindicatedisagreementwithinthe
communitiesaboutthegeneralestablishmentofthe
SHGs.OnlyoneSHGreportedthattheyhadreplaced
memberswithotherparticipantsbecausethelatter
werenotabletopaybacktheirloansandhadtaken
advantageoftheSelf-HelpGroup.
3.1.3. Comparison of Alternatives
TheabilityofSelf-HelpGroupstoreachandempow-
erpoorsegmentsoftheAfghansocietyisuniqueinthat
ithelpsthemtoestablishandstrengtheninterdepend-
entcommunitiesoftrustwhichcanalsobeconverted
intocollateral.Askedforalternativestothisapproach
inaccessingloans,participantsunilaterallyanswered
thatloansfrombankswouldtakeinterest,whichthey
judgedun-Islamic.AlternativessuchasMicrofinance
loanswereeithernotwellknowninthecommunity(for
25
anexplorationofthisoption,see3.4. Sustainability)or
judgedtobeequallyun-Islamicasotherbankingoptions.
IntheabsenceofanyviablealternativesforAf-
ghanstoaccessinterest-freeloans,ithastobepoint-
edoutthatsavinggroupshavebeenanindigenous
conceptwellknowntomanyAfghans.Asmentioned
intheintroduction,savinggroupshavea longhisto-
ryinAfghanistan,whereextendedfamiliespoolre-
sources—monetaryaswellasmaterial—fortheben-
efitofthecommunity.Themoneycanbeusedfor
a varietyofpurposes,fromfundingweddingstocov-
eringemergencymedicalexpensestoprovidingloans
forsmallbusinessventures.
“Thegroupinmyfamilymeetstwicepermonth.In
themeetingtheydecidetogetherontheloanis-
sues.Eachloanisfortheindividualgroupmem-
bers,notfamilyunits.Bothmenandwomencan
takeloans.Thegroupmostlygivesloansbetween
6000to15000AFN. Therepaymentisininstal-
ments,forinstance500or1000AFNperweek.
Mostlypeoplegetloansfortheirmedicaltreat-
ment,purchasingnewmachinesintheirshopsor
tostarta smallbusinesslikesellingcreditcards.”28
Theseculturally-embeddedgroupsoffer
a pre-existingfoundationuponwhichtheSHGconcept,
anditsClusterandFederationsextensions,canbegraft-
ed.Thelimitationsofindigenousstructures—servic-
ingonlyextendedfamilymembers—providesanarea
ofopportunity.TheSelf-HelpGroupapproachismuch
28 InterviewRafiRasuli,Herat,December2017.
vasterinitsscopeinthatitreachespeoplefromdiffer-
entethnicgroupsandbuildssocialnetworksoftrustbe-
tweenthem,whichalsoofferfinancialsafetynetworks.
TheexistenceofsavinggroupsintraditionalAfghan
frameofreferenceunderscoresthatitisa conceptthat
isacceptabletotheAfghancontext,and,asotherac-
ceptablealternativesarelacking,clearlyneeded.
3.1.4. Inclusion/Internally Displaced People
and Returnees
OneaspectforassessingwhetherSHGscanbe
a meaningfultoolofeconomicandsocialinterven-
tionintheurbanAfghancontext,isthequestionon
howtheapproachisaffectedbytheinclusionofIDPs
and returnees. AccordingtotheInternalDisplacement
MonitoringCentre,75%ofallAfghanshaveexperi-
enceddisplacementatleastonceintheirlifetime,with
400Afghansonaverageperdayleavingtheirhomes
since2006,29andwitha currentestimateofmorethan
1‚553‚000IDPsinAfghanistan,outofwhichmorethan
653‚000weredisplacedin2016alone.30
Thefindingsofthisreportshowregionaldiffer-
encesintermsofinternalmigrationandreturneeex-
periences.Whileallcitiesinthisstudyaremarkedby
internalmigrationfromprovincesintotheprovincial
centresandintoKabul,thecapital’spatternismark-
edlydifferentfromotherareasduetoitsspecificin-
tertwiningofpoliticsandaid.
29 See:InternalDisplacementMonitoringCentre(IDMC):
“Afghanistan/Durablesolutionsfarfromreachamidescalating
conflict”.
30 Bothnumbers:http://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/
afghanistan.
AccordingtotheUNHCR,Kabulalonehas51
recognisedIDPcampsorKabulInformalSettlements
(KIS).TheKIShousesover7‚892families31ona mixture
ofprivatelyandgovernment-ownedland.32Thepeo-
plelivingintheseinformalsettlementsareclassified
asa mixtureofIDPsandreturnees.33Whilea number
ofIDPs“haveresettledwithfriendsorfamilies”34 and
arethereforenotpresentinofficialcounts.TheKISre-
ceivessupportfromdifferentaidagenciestargeting
a varietyofneeds.Whilethissupportwasnecessaryat
theinitialemergencystagesofneedsithasnowturned
inmanyofthecampsintoanaiddependency,reflect-
edinanattitudinalchangeintheinhabitants.Theex-
pectationofaidfromoutsidehasledsomeoftheinter-
viewedorganisationstoshunworkwiththem:
“Thisisoneofthebiggestproblemthatweface,
thatthepeoplegetsupportfromallsides,hand-
outs.Thefirstthingtheyaskiswhatthey’llget
fromus.That’sthehardestpart,whenwesaythat
31 See:KabulInformalSettlement(KIS)WinterNeedsAssessment
November2015,accessedunder:https://reliefweb.int/report/
afghanistan/kabul-informal-settlement-kis-winter-needs-assessment-
november−2015-final-report
32 Governmentalincludesherebymunicipallyandministerially
owned land.
33 See:UNHCR“returnees”:http://www.unhcr.org/
pages/49c3646c1ca.html,also:IRIN2008,AFGHANISTAN:
Returneesmaybecomerefugeesagain—ministry:http://www.
irinnews.org/report/78822/afghanistan-returnees- may-become-
refugees-again-ministry;IRIN2012,AFGHANISTAN:Towards
moresustainablesolutionsforreturnees:http://www.irinnews.
org/report/94965/afghanistan-towards-more-sustainable-solutions-
for-returnees.
34 http://www.internal-displacement.org/assets/library/Asia/
Afghanistan/pdf/Afghanistan+July+2003.pdf
26
wewillsupportthembutnotwithmoneyorpre-
sents.That’swhyit’scalledSelf-HelpGroup.In
Kabul,thereareforexampletheInformalSettle-
mentsandthereyouhavewinterisation,35 there’s
alwayssomething.Therewetried(towork)with-
outsuccess.Theysaidtheywouldn’tgainanything
fromit,theywanteda minimumofmoneyfrom
us.So,wedecidednottoworkthere.Everything
isvoluntary,buttoparticipatemeansthatyou
needtocometothemeetingsandtogivea cer-
tainamount.Thatisnewforthestaffaswell.They
also say that maybe it would be easier to make
Self-HelpGroupswhenwewouldoffereachone
ofthema sackofrice.36ButasI said,it’sa nogo.”
ORG. H., KABUL, INTERVIEW
ThisstatementwasmirroredbyotherKa-
bul-basedorganisationswhoarguedthattheSHG
approachgenerallywouldnotbeproblematicinap-
plicationwithmixedhostandmigrantcommunities,
however,notpossiblewithintheKIS. Thereason
forthisseemstobemorecloselyconnectedtothe
cultureofaidand‘handouts’fosteredbythecom-
parativelyhigherdensityofKabul-basedaidagen-
ciesthanbythephenomenonofIDPsorreturnees
themselves.
35 Manyaidorganisationshaveparticipatedpost−2011inso-called
winterisationprograms,inwhichinhabitantsoftheKISwere
equippedwithmaterialtobetterwithstandthewintertime,after
anespeciallyharshwinter2011inwhichseveralchildrendiedin
thecamps.
36 Thesackofricereferstoa commonpracticeamongaidagencies
to‘pay’participantsforcomingtoworkshopswithfoodorother
items.
Inotherprovinces,thepresenceofIDPsand
returneeswithinthecommunities,whowerepartic-
ipantsintheSHGs,wasnotseenasproblematic.The
numbersweredescribedascomparativelylowand
thereforethehostcommunitieswereabletoabsorb
thearrivalseasierintotheexistingsocialstructures:
“IDPsandreturneesarenota realproblem.There
arenotthatmany.Whentheycome,theycangetin-
tegrated.Andthentheystay.Eveniftheyleavethe
group,theycanstillhavecontactwitheachother.
Wetoldthemthattheycanstillcome,evenifthey
areinanotherplace.Theycanhavecontactwith
theiroldSHGs.” FEMALE FACILITATOR, MAZAR-E SHARIF
Sometimestheestablishmentofthesemixed
IDP/hostcommunitygroupstakesmoreeffortthanes-
tablishingothergroups,asoneSHGcoordinatorex-
plains:“thetargetistheintegrationofIDPsintothe
hostcommunity,tobringthembothtogether.InGulba-
hartheysaidthattheydon’tsupportthisbecausethese
peoplewerenotfromtheirarea.Ittooktwotothree
visitsandtalkswiththehostcommunitytopersuade
them.”(Herat,Interview).A casestudyfromHeratillus-
tratestheimpactofSHGsinthelifeofanIDPfamilyand
theirintegrationintothelocalhostcommunity:
Example of Integration, Herat
Shugufa37hascome12yearsearlierfromRobat
Sangi,westernProvince,toHeratcity.Herhusband
isa driver,butthemoneyheearnsisnotenough
37 NameChanged
tofeedthefamily.SoShugufastarteda homebu-
sinessofherown.Shemakesflowerdecorations
forthehome,forweddingsandbirthdays.Bitby
bit,thewholefamilybecameinvolved.Herfather
bringsthematerialfroma townclosetotheAf-
ghan-Pakistaniborder,Shugufamanufacturesat
home,andsometimesevenwiththehelpofher
daughterandhusband.Theproductsgetsoldfrom
herhousedirectly,aswellasthroughshopsinHe-
ratandinKabul.Theamountsthatshemakesvary,
dependingontheitemssoldandthemarket:custo-
mersinKabulpaymorethaninHerat.Thesame
itemthatmightbring150–300AFNinHeratcou-
ldsellinKabulfor400–600AFN. Shugufaestima-
testhatsheusuallymakes2000AFNsurplusper
month.Themoneygetssharedinthefamilyforex-
pensessuchasschoolneedsofthechildren.This
homebusinesswasmadepossiblebyShugufa’spar-
ticipationina localSelf-HelpGroup.Whileaninitial
smallloanestablishedShugufa’scapacitytobuythe
materialtostartthebusiness,consecutiveloans
keepthebusinessgoingandstableinthefaceoffi-
nancialfluctuations.Furthermore,thegroupismi-
xedbetweenIDPsandhostcommunity.Thecashi-
erisa womanwhoistheheadofthefemaleCDCin
thearea,fromthehostcommunity,whileShugufa
andherfamilyhavefoundsupportandconnection
throughparticipationintheSelf-HelpGroup.
Onbothendsofthecountry,HeratandJala-
labadrespectively,theissueofinternallydisplaced
populationsiseclipsedbytheexperienceofre-
turneesfromIranandPakistan.However,issuesof
27
whetherandhowtointegratethereturneesintothe
SHGsvariedbythevariousorganisations.Someor-
ganisationsmadetheirworkwithIDPsandreturn-
eesdependentontheirgeneralbeneficiarycriteria.
TheyincludedIDPsandreturneeswhentheyfitthe
standardizedselectioncriteriathatweresetforthe
project,however,thesegroupswerenotspecifical-
lytargetedforrecruitment.Mostfacilitatorspoint-
edoutthatthereturneesespeciallycomebackto
Afghanistaneitherwithbetterfinancialbackingor
withalreadymorerefinedskillsets.Theirsocio-eco-
nomicstatuspositionedthembettertoestablish
businessesinthenewplace,however,theystillof-
tenlackedthebackingofsocialnetworksthattheir
host community could draw on more easily. Some
highlightedthatthereturneesfromIranwerenotin
needofVocationaltrainings,duetotheireducation
abroad,buttheyneededloansandtheembedding
intothesocialstructure.Theirneedsthereforedif-
ferfromthehostcommunities.
However,visitingseveralSHGsduringthe
FGDsinJalalabadandHeratshowedthattheintegra-
tionofIDPsandreturneesintothehostcommunities
workedwellandwassupportedbytheestablishment
ofSHGs.Whilemovementmightfluctuateinoth-
ercountriesmorestronglyamongIDPsandmigrants,
themigrationflowwithinthecitiesseemtosupport
a morestablemigrationpatterninwhich,afterinitial
movement,a familyremainsinthesameplaceforpro-
longedperiodsoftime.MostSHGmemberswhohad
migratedarenottobeconsideredasshort-termdis-
placed;theyratherlookedtosettleintheurbanset-
tingmorepermanentlyastheydidnotseea chance
tosafelyreturntotheirplaceoforiginintheshort-to
mediumterm.Thisoutlookenablestheirparticipa-
tioninSHGsasnormalmembers,whocancontribute
justasanyothermember.
“Basedonourassessments,themainfactorsarese-
curity,employmentandaccesstoservices.That
means,iftheycomefromtheruralareasinHerat
totheurbanareas,mostofthemsaythattheywill
stayinthecity,becausetheywanttohaveaccess
tobetterservices,theywanttobesecureandhave
accesstoemployment.Initially,theideawassome-
howdifferenttowardsIDPs,that’swhywearefo-
cusingonintegration.Theythoughtthattheyare
justcomingfor3–4yearsandtheywillbegoing
back.Buttheyarenotgoingback.Theideaofthe
projectisthattheseIDPsarenowlivinginthiscity
andtheyshouldbeconsideredasHeratipeople.It
wastheideainitiallytohavemixedgroupssothey
cangettoknoweachother.Theservicestheypro-
videarenowvisibleandtheymeeteachother,so
thatpeoplecanseethattheyarebringingsome-
thingpositivetothecommunityandtheyarenot
onlya burden.Theycanbringskills,products,ser-
vices.” ORG. J., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
Whilethemovementpatterndoesnotseemto
harmtheestablishmentofmixedIDP/hostcommuni-
tygroups,thegroupsconverselyenabletheIDPfam-
ilies to establish social connections to their new sur-
roundingcommunity.Thisoffersthemstabilityand
a supportnetwork,whichtheyotherwisewouldhave
lacked:
“TherearesomeIDPsinourgroup,withpeo-
plewhocamefromotherdistrictsorprovinc-
es.I camefromKunar,wherethesituationwasn’t
good.TherewasfightingbetweenANAandthe
Taliban.I came2yearsagowithmyyoungerbroth-
er.I startedstudyingatuniversityhere.Before
comingI didn’tknowanyoneinJalalabadcity.But
nowI knowthegroupandwesupporteachother.”
MALE FGD, JALALABAD
Overall,onlyoneorganisationinthisstudyhas
usedtheSHGapproachtonotonlyaddressquestions
ofpovertyandgender,butalsoofmigrationdirectly.
ThefindingsfromthemixedgroupsconsistingofIDP/
returneepopulationsandpermanentresidentsare
encouragingandshowhowtheapproachcanbeused
asanintegrativetool.Whiletheestablishmentof
mixedIDP/hostcommunitygroupssometimestook
moreeffortinitially,theoutcomeshowsviablesocial
andeconomicsupportnetworksandintegrationbe-
tweenbothgroups.
3.1.5. National Policies and Government Structure
Afghanistanhasatpresentnogovernmentalstruc-
turetoeffectivelydealorinterfacewithSHGs.Un-
likeothercountries,whichofferpoliciesandguide-
linestodealwithSelf-HelpGroups,Afghanistan
lacksanynationalpolicy,guidelineordepartment
withcontactpersonstooversee,streamlineorguide
theprocessofSHGestablishment.Organisations
complainedaboutthislackasitwouldsupportthe
sustainabilityofexistingSHGsafterthepull-outof
anorganisation:
28
“Usually,wealwaysdoanofficialhandoverto
a governmentministryorgovernmentbodyto
makesurethattheprogramissustainableand
willbemaintainedinthefuture.Wehavepartner-
shipswiththegovernmentandlineministries.But
inAfghanistan,thereisnodepartmentandnoen-
titytotakethisoffer.Welacka structuretodeal
withthis.Wewantedtoadditina governmental
ministry,buttherewasnointerestfromtheirside.”
ORG. I., KABUL, INTERVIEW
“TheSHGsarea newconcept.Itwouldbegreat
ifwehadsomegovernmentalinstitution,where
theywouldhavesomesectorialmeetingwith
theNGOsatthecentralorprovinciallevel.Orif
theycouldprovidesomematerialsforrunningor
sustainingSHGs,thatwouldbegreat,too.This
wouldalsomeanthataftertheprojectisfinished,
thereshouldbeatleastthegovernmentthat
theycanrelyon.Iftheyneedsomethingorthey
wantsomeconsultation,iftheywanttobelinked
withMicrofinanceInstitutions,iftheywantliter-
acycourses,thereshouldbea governmentchan-
nelthroughwhichtheycanaccesssuchservices.
Thiscouldbethemaingoalofthegovernment,to
supporttheSHGs’sustainability.”
ORG. J., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
Whilethereseemstobenooverallstrategy
withintheAfghangovernmentconcerningthein-
tegrationofSHGs,thereareseveralgovernment
policiesthatapplytopartsandaspectsoftheSHG
implementation,suchastheAfghanistanNation-
alDevelopmentStrategyfor2008–2013,38 the Na-
tionalActionPlanfortheWomenofAfghanistan
2007–2017,39andtheAfghanistan’sNationalAction
PlanonUNSCR1325—Women,Peace,andSecuri-
tyfor2015–2022.40Thesepolicesaimatthedevel-
opmentofpoorandmarginalisedpartsofsociety,
withanemphasisonpoorhouseholdsandwomen.
IntheimplementationofSHGssurveyedbythisre-
port,mostorganisationsfocusedonfemaleSHGs
andontheimplementationofSHGswithinpoor
communitiesorwiththepoorestsectionofa com-
munity.Onecouldthereforeargue,thattheiref-
fortsareinlinewiththesepoliciestoa considera-
bleextent.Howeverduetothedifferentfociofthe
organisationsthatareimplementingtheapproach,
relevancecouldmeandifferentthings:relevance
in economic terms could be overshadowed by rel-
evanceasa socio-politicalempowermenttool.Not
allorganisationschosetoworkexclusivelywiththe
poorestofthecommunitiesthattheyentered,but
tosupporttheoneswhoweremostsusceptibleto
theidea,asthisexampleshows:
38 Withkeyprioritiessuchasreducingpovertythroughgenerating
employmentopportunitiesandincreasingincome,aswellas
buildinga strongandrapidlyexpandingeconomythatenables
theprivatesectortodevelop.
39 Withkeyprioritiessuchaseliminatingallformsofdiscrimination
againstwomen,developingwomen’shumancapitalandensuring
women’sfullparticipationandleadershipinallaspectsoflife.
40 Thisplanprioritiseswomen’sactiveparticipationinpolitics,
women’saccesstoanaccountablejusticesystem,increase
ofeconomicsecurityforvulnerablewomenandincreasein
accesstoeducationforgirlsandwomen,especiallyforIDPsand
returnees.
“Therearerichwomenthatareoppressedand
therearepoorwomenthatarequiteindependent.
Youcouldsay,youcaneatthreetimesa dayand
nowyoucan’tgetintotheSelf-HelpGroup.But
theyalsohavetheirownsocialproblems.We
thereforesaid,ok,let’snotonlyfocusonthepoor-
est;butwedon’twanttoexcludesomeonewho
hasa bettereconomicbackground.”
ORG. H., KABUL, INTERVIEW
Theeconomicassessmentwiththegoalof
reachingthepoorestsegmentofa communityandyet
offeringsocialadvancementforallcommunitymem-
bers,canthereforesometimesseematoddswith
eachother.Organisationsvariedinstrictnesscon-
cerningtheeconomicbackgroundandselectioncri-
teriaofbeneficiaries(see 3.1.1. fordifferentfociand
criteria),butmostsawtheSelf-HelpGroupapproach
asa waytoaffectbotheconomicandsocialadvance-
mentforpooranddisadvantagedcommunities.
Intermsofinstitutionalembeddingorganisa-
tions,whichestablishedassociationsandfederations
areabletoregisterthelatterintheMinistryofJustice.
Mostorganisationsworkedselectivelywithdifferent
ministries,dependingontheprogramcomponentthat
thesedepartmentswereresponsiblefor.Thevocation-
altrainingcomponentwasusuallyalignedwiththeMin-
istryofLabour,SocialAffairs,MartyrsandDisabled
(MoLSAMD)andorganisationsreceivedsupportfrom
theMinistryofWomen’sAffairsandtheMinistryofAg-
riculture.OntheFederationLevelongoingcooperation
withtheLiteracyDepartmentforliteracycourseswere
reported,orexamplesofcontractingtheMinistryofAg-
29
riculturetofundwomen’sbusinessesingardening.The
groupthencollectedservicechargesperperson,which
inturnfinancedotheractivitiesoftheFederation.
Theseselectivecollaborationsareencourag-
ingintermsoffutureengagementbetweengrass-
rootslevelorganisations’workandpossiblefuture
linkstogovernmentagencies.However,itcouldbe
advisabletolobbyfortheestablishmentofa respon-
sibledepartmentdealingwithMicrofinanceorspe-
cificallywithsavinggroupssuchastheSelf-Help
Groups.ThiscouldbepossibleintheMinistryofFi-
nance(whichmightoverseemicrofinanceinthefu-
ture),MinistryofJustice(wherefederationscanget
registered),MinistryofLabour,SocialAffairs,Mar-
tyrsandDisabled(MoLSAMD)(whichoverseesvo-
cationaltrainings)orMinistryofEducation(which
wouldalignwithothergoalsoftheSHGs).
Thisresearchisalsoidentifiedpreliminarypro-
gresstowardsthesedevelopmentsinthisdirection,at
leastintermsofformalisationofguidelines,asanin-
terviewwiththeheadoftheAMAshows:
“Themicrofinancesectorisnotregulated,that’s
whynotmoreofthemarelinkedwiththegov-
ernment.Thereareregulationsforcommercial
banks,theyareusingtheguidanceandpoliciesof
thegovernment.ThesamewillhappenforMicro-
financeInstitutionsanditwillextendtoSHGsas
well,becausewewillbepartofthosediscussions
and we will tell them that not only MFIs are our
members,butwehaveNGOsworkingonSHGs,
sotheywilltakethemintoaccountaswell.The
timeframeofthisisunknown.Inthelastfewyears
theyaretalkingaboutit,andnowitseemsmore
serious.Theyarequitehopefulthatwewillhave
regulationsin2018.” INTERVIEW AMA, KABUL
AnembeddingofSHGsinthegovernmental
structurebringsthepossibleriskofa formalizationin
bureaucraticstructuresthatcanmaketheimplemen-
tationinflexible.Instructively,governmentalsupport
wasgenerallyrequestedbyorganisationseitherin
thefunctionofgivinginitialguidanceandinformation,
orforthefinalhandoverofexistingSHGs,Clusters
andFederations,tooffera counterpart.Governmen-
talsupportwasnotthoughtofasrunning,regulating,
orlimitingSHGs,butratherasa pointofcontactto
provideinformationanda networkingpointforSHG
implementersandSHGsthemselves.
3.2. Effectiveness
Thecriterionofeffectivenessmeasures“theextent
towhichanaidactivityattainsitsobjectives”.41The
questionsinthispartfocusonassessingtowhatex-
tenttheobjectiveswereachievedorarelikelytobe
achievedinutilizingthisapproach.Furthermore,itis
anattempttoevaluatewhatthemajorfactorsinflu-
encingtheachievementornon-achievementofthe
objectiveswere.
3.2.1. Outside Impact
CDC and community connection/relations
TheeffectivenessoftheSelf-HelpGroupapproach
41 See:http://www.oecd.org/dac/evaluation/
daccriteriaforevaluatingdevelopmentassistance.htm
liespartlyinitsgrassrootsengagementwithlocal
communities. Only when the communities them-
selvesembracetheapproachashelpfulandaccept-
ablecanithaveanyviableeconomicorsocialimpact.
However,howdoesanorganisationaccesslocalcom-
munitiesinwhich,forthemostpart,theyhavenever
workedbefore?
Mostorganisationschoosetoenterlocal
communitiesthroughvillageelders,traditionalvil-
lageassemblies(shuras)ortheCommunityDevelop-
mentCouncil(CDC).42 CDCs are councils that were
mainlyestablishedthroughtheNationalSolidarity
Program,locatedattheMinistryofRuralRehabilita-
tionandDevelopment.43Thesecouncilswereintro-
ducedtodraft“community-developmentplansand
develop…proposalsforvillage-leveldevelopment
projectswhich,subjecttobasiccriteriabeingmet,
havebeenfundedbyNSPthroughthedisbursement
ofblockgrants”.44WhileCDCsaredistinctfromtra-
ditionalshurasinthattheysupposedlycreategen-
42 “NSPhascreatedgender-balancedCommunityDevelopment
Councils(CDC)throughsecret-ballot,universalsuffrage
elections.Onceconstituted,CDCshavedraftedcommunity-
developmentplansanddevelopedproposalsforvillage-level
developmentprojectswhich,subjecttobasiccriteriabeingmet,
havebeenfundedbyNSPthroughthedisbursementofblock
grants.”See:Beath,Fotini,Enikolopov,2015.
43 MansuriandRaoevaluateintheirbookdecentralization
attemptswitha specificfocusonparticipatorydevelopment
projects,suchastheWorldBankfundedCDCsinAfghanistan.
Theyrefertobothaspectsofcommunityparticipationand
governmentstructure/donorinputs,pointingespeciallytothe
differencesinorganicversusinducedparticipation.See:Mansuri,
Ghazala/Rao,Vijayendra.2013.LocalizingDevelopment:dies
participationwork?TheWorldBank,WashingtonD.C.
44 Ibid.
30
der-balancedthroughsecret-ballotandestablished
a newinterfacewiththevillages,inmostcasesthe
interviewedorganisationsusedthetermsvillage
shuraandCDCinterchangeablyandsawthemasso
closelyconnectedthatitmadenodifferencewhich
onetoapproach.Thismirrorsthefindingofa recent
NSPevaluationreportthat“thereisnoevidence
thatNSPchangesthecompositionoflocalleader-
shiporintroducesnewleadersintothecoregroupof
villagedecisionmakers”.45
“Mostofthetimewewentthroughthemaliks
(leaders)orCDCs,theyareidentical.Wetell
themabouttheapproachandweaskthemfor
permission,becauseotherwiseitbringsprob-
lemsifyoudon’tgothroughthem.”
ORG. H., KABUL, INTERVIEW
SomeorganisationscontactedtheCDCs
throughtheregionalgovernororthroughthedistrict
governmenttoachievea favourableintroduction.
Somefoundithelpfultoconductaninceptionwork-
shopwithdifferentstakeholdersfromthegovern-
mentandotherregionallyactiveNGOs:
“Itstartsfromthemobilizationstage,whereweget
anofficialletterfromthegovernor’sofficetothe
CDC. TheCDCsconsistoffamilymembers,most-
lymen.Whenthefacilitatorsgoandtalkwiththe
CDC,theycarrythismessageabouttheprogram
totheirfamilymembers,bothmaleandfemale.
45 See:Beath,Fotini,Enikolopov,2015,p.7.
Andaftermobilizationandmanymeetingswith
theCDCstheyacceptandagreetotheprogram.“
ORG. C., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
WorkingthroughtheCDCsorlocalshuraswas
mainlyseenasamiableandsupportive,astheCDCis
embedded within the community and knows the com-
munitymembers,theirneedsandcapacities.Howev-
er,itwasalsobelievedbymanyorganisationsasthe
onlywaytoproperlyentera community:
“I reallybelievethatifyoudon’tworkwiththe
CDC,youcannotworkinthevillage,becauseyou
willhavenosupportinthecommunity.TheCDC
hastheirownlistofwhoisvulnerableinthecom-
munity.Weaskedthemtoprovidethelistand
comparedwithourlistofcriteriawhetherthey
wereeligible.” ORG. L., KABUL, INTERVIEW
Whilethiswastheopinionthatwassupported
bythemajorityofinterviewees,oneorganisationdecid-
ed to circumvent the shuras/CDCs and went directly to
families,askingthemwhetherthewomenlivingonone
streetcouldgatherinoneofthehouses.Theorganisa-
tion,whichchampionedthisapproachexperiencedno
negativeeffectsincircumventingthecommunitylead-
ership.Accordingtotheirnationalcoordinator:
“Westarta surveyinonestreetwitharound30–
40houses.Butthisisnotofficial.Wedonotgive
penorpaper,nothing,justknockingonthedoor
andaskingtoparticipate.Weintroduceourselves
andsaythatwehavesomethingtosayaboutis-
sues on women and we would like to come tomor-
rowandtalk.Butwedonotexplaintheconcept.
Weonlyaskthemtocomeandparticipate.We
alsotargetonehouse,whereallwomencancome
together…Onthethirddayweproposeourcon-
ceptandaskthemtogohomeandtalkwiththeir
husbandsandfamiliestogetpermissiontopartici-
pate.” ORG. A., KABUL, INTERVIEW
Whilethisorganisation’sapproachappearsto
betheexception,thesizeoftheirSHGprogramsand
thelengthoftimetheyhavebeenimplementingthem
(morethana decade)suggeststheapproachisworka-
ble.Itthereforeseemsthattherearemultiplewaysto
approacha community,eitherthroughthelocalshu-
ra/CDC,ordirectlybyaddressingthetargetgroup
(forbeneficiaryselection,see3.1.2. Relevance/Needs
Assessment).
Interestingly,thoughitisthemostpopularap-
proach,workingthroughthelocalshuras/CDCsap-
peartohavesomeseriousdrawbacks.Sometimes,
theCDCswereseenasdomineeringtheselection
ofbeneficiaries.Anopendiscussionaboutthedomi-
nanceofleadersorCDCswasseenasa difficultbal-
ancingact,whichwasnotalwayspossibletoachieve:
“Oneoftheproblemsiswheneverwewenttothe
communities,theheadofshurawillselecttwo
peopleofthisfamily,twoofthisfamily.Thiswill
createa problem,becausethesepeopledonot
trusteachother.Itwouldbebetteriftheselec-
tionoftheSHGwouldbedonebyus.Ifwewereto
chooseourselves,thenwecouldseewhoneeds
31
Photo Annika Schm
eding
Supply material for decorations that are made at home and sold in the bazaar in Herat and Kabul
32
thisprogramandwhohastheabilitytoimple-
mentit.Butunfortunately,itistheheadofshura
whochoosesandthiscreatesproblems.Ifwesay
somethingagainstthatselection,thenmaybeoth-
ersfromthecommunitywon’tcomeandthepro-
jectwillcollapseinthiscommunity.Themostim-
portantthingistheselectionofgoodbeneficiaries.
Theproblemisthattheinterferenceoftheshu-
raandthecommunitywillarrest(bind)ourhands
andwillnotallowustodogoodwork.”
ORG. B., HERAT, INTERVIEW
“Ofcourse,therewereinstanceswhentheCDCs
werepushingfortheirownpeople.Butweexperi-
encedthatfromthegovernmentaswell.Therewas
a headofdepartment,whotoldus,‘gotothisone
villageandhereisa listof20womenandyoucan
workwiththem.’Peoplewereintervening,butwe
triedtominimizeit.I reallybelievethatifyoudon’t
workwiththemyoucannotworkinthevillage.”
ORG. L., KABUL, INTERVIEW
Someintervieweestracedproblemsinwork-
ingwiththelocalshuras/CDCstoa cultureofaid
dependencyinwhichCDCswereusedtoreceiv-
ingcashormachineryfromorganisationsorgovern-
mentagencieswithwhichtheyinterface.Pastexpe-
rienceofsupportbyinternationalorganisationscan
makeworkingthroughlocalCDCs,aswellaswork-
ingmoregenerallywithlocalcommunities,morecom-
plex.Managingexpectationsmeanstheimplement-
ingorganisationswillneedtofocusmorestronglyon
a goodmobilizationphaseinwhichtheyexplainthe
projectanditsbenefitswell.Someorganisationsex-
periencedinitialresistanceinsomecommunitiesas
theydidnotbringwiththemfinancialsupport(espe-
ciallyinthepureapproachwheretheorganisation
givesneitherfinancialnormaterialinputs).Butlater,
uponseeingthepositiveimpactinneighbouringcom-
munities,somecommunitiesreturnedtotheorgani-
sationoftheirownvolition:
“Aftera longmobilizationprocessandaftermany
discussions,theyacceptedwhatwehadtoof-
ferthem.Ourprogramdidn’thaveanythingphys-
icaltogivetothem,justtheformationofthesav-
inggroup.Aftersometime,somepeopleleftthe
groupbecausetheysaidthatitdoesn’thaveany
benefitforourpeople.Butsomeothersaccepted
toworkwithus.Nowafter4years,theyhavecome
andrequestedbylettertostarttheprogramin
theirvillage,too,becausetheyhadseeninanoth-
ervillagehowitworked.Itneededthesuccessthat
theycouldseeforthemtorealizewhattheycould
winfromthis.” ORG. C., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
Oneofthekeyelementsincommunicatingsuc-
cessfullywiththeshura/CDCseemstobeclarityinvi-
sionfortheprojectanda willingnesstopulloutandim-
plementitina differentcommunity.Inthisway,the
communitycanlearnabouttheadvantagesofthepro-
jectandweighwhethertheeffortisworththeirwhile.
“Wefirstcompleteourinformationgatheringand
thenwesitwiththem.Wegettheirideas,butwe
keepallourworkinourhand.Itdoesn’tbelong
totheCDCorthevillageshura.Weworkclosely
withthembecauseinthefutureweneedtowork
throughthem…Wekeepallourworkaccordingto
ourcriteriainourhands.Insomeareas,thereare
districtgovernorsorCDCsthatarecreatinga mo-
nopoly.Everythingwillbeundertheircontrol.In
sucha situation,I cannotwork.Weclearlyneed
toexplaintherulesandregulationsandourmain
goaltothem.Iftheyagree,weworkintheirsector,
iftheydon’tagree,wegoandworkina different
place.Therefore,itisimportanttoclearlyexplain
theprojecttothem.” ORG. E., JALALABAD, INTERVIEW
Problemsininterfacingwiththevillageshu-
ra/CDCwereonlyreportedintheKIIs,butnotin
theFGDs,whereallparticipantswerepositive
aboutthesupporttheyreceivedfromtheircommu-
nityshuras/CDCs:
“WedidnotfaceanyoppositionfromtheCDC. In
fact,theyhelpeduswhenwefacedproblems.
Womenwereharassedandcouldn’tcometothe
weeklymeetings.Theyspokewiththemenand
supportedus.” FEMALE FGD, JALALABAD
“WeliketheSHGsinourneighbourhood.Theysup-
portthewomenandtheirfamilies.I thinkthere
shouldbemoreofthem.” FEMALE CDC, HERAT
Whilethisflawless,positiveimagemirrors
manyplaceswhereSHGsweresuccessfullyestab-
lishedwiththehelpofCDCs,itisclearlyduetoa se-
lectionbias:theFGDswereconductedwithinfunc-
33
tioningSHGs,whichmeansthatinmostofthecases
the community shuras/CDCs would have had to
besupportiveforthecreationandfunctioningof
theSHGinthefirstplace,whichwouldhavebeen
achievedthroughanorganisationnegotiatingwith
theshura/CDCfirst.ThisissimilarfortheCDCs,
whichwereinterviewedinareaswheretheyhadsup-
portedtheestablishmentofSHGs.
Thisresearchshowsthatalthoughaddress-
inga communitythroughtheshura/CDCisportrayed
throughmostorganisationsasthebestway,itisnot
theonlyviableaccesspoint,anditcanalsoofferseri-
ousdrawbacksasevidencedintheexamplesabove.
Theotherwayofgoingdirectlytothecommunityis
possibleaswell.However,circumventingexisting
powerstructuresdoesnotcomewithoutrisks,andit
seemsbestfeasiblewhena whole-communityinclu-
siveprocesscanleadtoanendresult.
Community Acceptance of Women’s Participation
OneofthemainpointsforworkingthroughtheCDC/
shuras that was stressed by the interviewees was to
gainthetrustofthecommunitysoastolettheorgan-
isationworkwiththewomeninthecommunity.The
community leaders and the CDC were thereby seen
asthegatekeeperswhoenableanorganisationtoac-
cessthepossiblefemaleSHGparticipants:
“Atthecommunitylevelwefirstneedtotalkwith
themullah,withthearbab,toconvincethem,that
thewomenshouldhavetheirownproject.Ifyou
don’tchangetheattitudesofmenyoucannot
changetheattitudeswithinthefamily.Yousee
thatinthecommunity,evenwhenyouworkwith
theSHG,theylooktowardstheshuraforguid-
ance.Theytakecaretoprotecttheircommunity.
Sotheywillbetheonetofacilitatemeetingswith
thecommunity.Withoutfacilitationwiththemen
andelders,womencan’tbereached.”
ORG. K., HERAT, INTERVIEW
Inothercases,theshurasthemselvesactedas
overallconservativebarriers,preventingorganisations
fromenteringtheircommunities.Thisseemstohave
beenespeciallyconnectedtoorganisations’attemptsto
focustheirworkonwomeninthecommunity:
“Firstwetalkwithleadersandthevillageshura,
thenweneedthefamiliestoagreewithwomen
goingtothemarket.A lotoftimesthereisa neg-
ativeresponsefromthem,butin15–20%there
isa positiveresponsefromthem[theshura],and
thenwecanselectthatarea.Forexamplea month
agowewantedtocoveronemoreprovince.There
theysaid,ifmywomancomesintoyourbenefi-
ciarylist,I willshootyou.Wereceiveda lotofneg-
ativeresponsesthere.Sowewillnotworkthere.
Theysaidthattheyareworking,noneedforthe
womentowork.Wedon’twantthemtogotothe
market.” ORG. D., KABUL, INTERVIEW
Theimpactofexistinggenderrolesthere-
bymanifestsinthedecisionofNGOstoaccesswom-
enintherespectivecommunitiesthroughthe(mostly
male)CDCsorthroughgainingapprovaltoworkwith
thewomenfirstfrommalefamilymembersandrel-
atives.NGOsstatedthattheywerenotabletowork
withthewomenofa givencommunitywithouttheex-
plicitsupportofthemalemembersofthatcommunity,
a statementthatwasmirroredunanimouslybyFGD
participantsinthatallofthemhadtoobtainmalefam-
ilymemberapprovalbeforewomenwereabletoat-
tendtheregularSHGmeetings.
“Inthepast,thewomendidn’tgooutofthehouse.
Itwasa goodwaytogetthewomentocomeout-
sideoftheirhouses.Brothersandfathersfirst
didn’tallowthis,butwhentheylearntaboutthe
project,theyagreedandnowtheyaregladabout
theproject.” FEMALE FACILITATOR, JALALABAD
Furthermore,occasionalthreatsagainstSHG
participantswerealsoreported.However,eachex-
ampleshowedthatmostlylocalcommunityengage-
ment was able to overcome the threats that were
made,whichmightalsobeduetothefactthatthese
threatswereusuallylinkedtolocals’disagreement
withtheprogramandnotwithanoverallassaultfrom
insurgents:
“Sometimesithashappenedthattheyhavebeaten
womenofthegroups.Sometimesmenhavegiv-
enwarningstocommunityfacilitators.Sometimes
theydon’thaveanyopinionaboutbusinessesand
women are not allowed to start businesses. It de-
pendsonthecommunity.ButnowtheCLAwom-
en work in many communities and they are do-
inga greatjobinthecommunitythatevenI cannot
believe it.” ORG. A., KABUL, INTERVIEW
34
“WehavecontactwiththelocalfemaleCDChere.
Theymeet3timesinthemonthandwecango
thereaswelltoshareproblemswiththem,ifthey
occur.Sometimestherewereproblemswhen
womenwantedtocometobringmoneytothebox,
menweredisturbingthem,tellingthemnottogo
tothegroup,wonderingwhattheyaredoingthere.
Thesekindsofproblemswithrelativesweshared
withtheCDC. Theythenhelpedusandtoldthe
men that they should let the women attend the
gatherings.” FEMALE FGD, JALALABAD
Organisationsstatedthatthemainingredient
toovercomecommunityreservationswaspersistent
communityengagement,andshowingsuccessfulpro-
jectsinwhichwomenhadbeenempoweredina way
thatwasseenasculturallyacceptable.
Security
Anotheraspectthatcanseriouslyaffectthesuc-
cessofanSHGproject,ortobefair,anyprojectin
Afghanistan,isthequestionofsecurity.Somein-
tervieweespositedthatsecuritywasa determin-
ingfactorinhowwelltheywereabletosupervise
thegroups,andthatthelackofsupervisiondueto
securitydiminishedtheeffectiveestablishmentof
well-functioninggroups:
“ThemodelworkedbetterinMazar-eSharifand
HeratthanininsecureareassuchasFarahand
Kunduz.I wouldalsosaythatinsecurityaffect-
edtheimplementationoftheprojectasproject
staffcouldnotsoeasilygorepeatedlyintoin-
secureareastocheckonthegroupsandtogive
themguidance.” ORG. I., KABUL, INTERVIEW
Oneorganisationdetailedhowtheychanged
theircommunityengagementstrategyandwhom
theyemployedduetopracticabilityandsecuritycon-
cerns.Theyoptedforexclusivelyemployinglocalsas
SHGfacilitators,astheywouldknowtheareabest
inwhichtheywouldwork,andtheywouldbeableto
navigatesecurityrisksmoredelicately:
“OurfacilitatorsallcamefromMazar-eSharifbe-
fore.Butthatwasnotpracticalwiththetravel
backandforth.Sowestartedhiringthemfromthe
community.That’salsobetterbecausetheyknow
the security situation and the community well.”
ORG. F., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
Generally,however,organisationsseemedto
workwithoutseriousthreats,whichmightbedueto
thefactthattheychosetoworkinurbanareas,where
theyaregenerallymoreprotected,andtoengage
closelywiththecommunity,whichgiveslocalsupport
insecurityconcernsaswell.Onlya veryfeworganisa-
tionsworkingoutsideofregionalcapitalsinruralare-
asreportedincidentssuchasthisinterviewee:
“WehavecontactwiththeTalibanandweeven
workinareaswheretheTalibanareincontrol.
Theythreateneduswitha threatletterbecause
wewereworkingwiththewomen.ButthenI re-
spondedtothisandtoldthemthatwearecom-
ingtoexplainabouthygiene,abouthealth,howto
regulatenumbersofchildren.AfghanistanisanIs-
lamicandreligiouscountry.Thesearesensitiveis-
sues.Wejusttoldthemthatwereceivedfund-
ingfromthepeopleandthat’showweworkinthe
community.” ORG. B., HERAT, INTERVIEW
Theorganisationwasultimatelygivenpermis-
sion to continue its work.
3.2.2. Influencing Factors
Oncetheseoutsidefactorsaretakencareofwithes-
tablishinga supportiverelationshipwiththecommu-
nitycouncilorthecommunityoverall,andthecom-
munityissituatedina geographicallocationthatcan
besupervisedsafelybytheorganisation,otherpro-
ject-internalaspectscomeintoviewfora successful
implementationoftheSHGapproach.Thefourmost
relevantinfluencingfactorstoaneffectiveimplemen-
tationaretime,financial/materialsupport,training
componentsandviablemarketlinkages.
Time
OneofthemaincharacteristicsthatsetstheSHGap-
proachapartfromotherdevelopmentapproachesis
thetimeframenecessarytomakeSelf-HelpGroups
successfulandsustainable.Inadditiontoeffective
trainingcomponentsanda well-definedexitstrategy
linkedtoa viablefuturemarketforparticipants’prod-
ucts,timewasseenastheAchillesheeloftheSHGap-
proach,whichcanmakeorbreaktheproject,asexpe-
riencedinthisexample:
35
“It’sdifficulttomakea Self-HelpGroupina short
time.First,wehad8SHGs,establishedin2009/10.
Wesupportedthem.Theyhadsomesavings.Af-
tertheystartedsomesmallbusinesses.Wetrained
them.Whenwestoppedsupportingthem,these
SHGsbecameweakanddisappeared,becausewe
stoppedtosupportthem.Whydiditdisappear?
ThereasonisthatthoseSHGswereinremotear-
eas,thepeopleareilliterate.Secondly,thereisno
trustamongthesepeople,soitisdifficulttokeep
theSHG. Furthermore,thesavingisverylowifyou
onlycollect20AFNperweek.Howlongshould
theycollectthemoneyuntiltheycanuseitfortheir
businesses?That’swhywhentheorganisationdid
notsupportthem,theydisappeared.Ifyouwantto
makea Self-HelpGroup,thesupportshouldbelong
term.Ifyoutryitinshortterm,thentheywilldis-
appearwhenyoupullout.Whenyousupportthem
forlonger,thentheywillhavemoresaving,they
canhavebusinessplansandwiththeirsmallbusi-
nessestheirproblemscanbesolved.Wesupport-
edthemfor6months.Thatwasnotenough.We
had15 workshopsessionswiththem,butnowthey
don’t exist.” ORG. B., HERAT, INTERVIEW
Carefuldiscussionwithallparticipatingparties
showsthattimeisofessenceastheSHGapproachis
notonlygivingouta materialgoodsuchasloans,but
isaimingateffectingbehaviouralchangeinitsmem-
bers:toseethemselvesaspartofa socialsupportnet-
workthatcanhelpitselfthroughitsowncapacity
withoutbeingdependentonanoutsideorganisation
(see 3.5.2.SafetyNetworkand3.5.3.SocialImpact).
Twodifferenttimeframesweresuggestedby
theinterviewedorganisations:thetimenecessaryto
establisha strong,independentSelf-HelpGroup,and
a longertimeframenecessarytoestablishbroader
structuresthatcansupportSHGsinthefuturesuch
asClustersandFederations,andmaketheSHGssus-
tainablethroughtheembeddingintoa widerregion-
alandstructuralnetwork.Generally,mostorganisa-
tionsthoughtthat3yearswasa feasibletimeframe
forestablishingstrong,independentSHGs.
Someintervieweessuggestedthattheneces-
sarytimedependedonthelevelofexposureofben-
eficiariestoeducation,literacyorfinancialtransac-
tions.Thiswasseensometimesincontrasttoother
countrieswhereorganisationswereimplementing
theSHGapproach.Itwasfurthermorealsoseenasan
obstaclethattheorganisationsattemptedtoaddress
withadditionaltrainings:
“Everyyearwehavemeetingswithourdonors.
Ourdonorsareinvitingusandsaythatoneyearis
enough.Whenyouwanttotalkaboutsustainable
work,ifyouarethinkingthatthisisa long-termpro-
ject,youshouldthinkatleast3years.For3 years,
wecandoitinAfghanistan.Wecanestablish
a strongSHG. Oneyearisnotworkingwiththiscon-
cept.Andtheyacceptit.Inothercountriesitiseasy
because the women are literate. But here are illiter-
atewomen,thereareculturalbarriers,hereiswar
andconflict,it’sdifficult.” ORG. A., KABUL, INTERVIEW
“Thetimeframeisdifferentfromeachgroup,de-
pendingontheirliteracy.Youcanseethatinthe
bookkeeping.Whenyousay,1,000,writesaving,
writeloan,andtheyarenotable,thentheyneed
moretime.Wehaveonthejobtrainingforthis.And
eachtimefacilitatorscomes,theycheckinwith
themandhelpsthem.Wevisitthemmore.Literate
groupswevisitonceina monthandilliterateones
wevisitonceina week,wheneveryoneinthegroup
is illiterate.” ORG. C., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
Whilethe3-yeartimeframestillfitsintonor-
malprojectcycles,mostintervieweessuggestedthat
theSHGapproachneededa long-termcommitment
oforganisationsanddonorstofullysucceed,which
liesratherina 6to10-yeardevelopmentframework.
Manypositivesocialimpactsarevisibleinthefirst
yearsofimplementation,suchasthedevelopmentof
groupsolidarityandsocialaswellaseconomicnet-
worksthatcansupportindividualsandfamilies.How-
ever,toguaranteethelong-termsustainabilityofthe
Self-HelpGroups,especiallywithscalingupinClus-
tersandFederationstohavea broadercivilsociety
impact,a longertimeframeisdesirable:
“TheSelf-HelpGroupsarenota quickfix.Itis
nota targetorientedbuta process-orientedap-
proach.Stepbystepwehandovertheresponsi-
bilitiesandtasksforthemtobeself-sustainable.
7–8yearsisa goodtimeframe,butthatdepends
on whether you are in urban or rural areas.”
ORG. H., KABUL, INTERVIEW
“Thisapproachneedstime,becausethegoalsthat
areenvisionedtaketimetomaterialize.5yearsis
36
maybenotenoughtoreallysuccessfullyestablish
it.Itmaybetakes10yearstosetthisupsustaina-
bly.I feelbadfortheoneswhobecameorganised
andthentherewasnofollowuporfurthersup-
portforthem.Thereshouldhavebeeneitheran
organisationorgovernmententitytotakeonthe
facilitationandsupportofthisotherwiseverysuc-
cessfulapproach.” ORG. I., KABUL, INTERVIEW
SHGsinthemselvescanbesetupratherquick-
ly.However,toachievetheneededbehavioural
changes,toembedthesavingstructurewiththecom-
munitiesandtoofferthema viablefutureoutlookin
regionalconnectivitythroughCLAsandFederations
takeslongertime.Thiscomparativelylongtimeframe
of6–10yearsmirrorswhatoneintervieweedis-
cussedasa generalshiftintheoutlookofhisorgani-
sationfroma projecttoa program-basedperspective
ondevelopment:
“In2007,weshiftedfromprojecttoprogram,
whichmeansina projecttheywoulddig10wells
andthengoout.Ina program,wegotoa commu-
nityandidentifyalltherisks,lookatthebudget
andthendesigntheprogram.Forexample,wesay
thatwewillestablisha livestockprogramorsilk
productioncompanyonlyafterestablishinga Self-
HelpGroup.” ORG. K., HERAT, INTERVIEW
Funding
Oneofthemainpointsofdisagreementamonginter-
vieweesinthisstudyhasbeenwhethertheorganisa-
tion,whichsupportstheSHGs,shouldpayadditional
fundingtothegroupswhichtheycanthenuseasa re-
volvingfund.
Thedefendersofa‘pure’SHGapproachal-
legethatpayinganykindofmoneytothegroupswill
leadtoincreaseddependenceandexpectationsfrom
thebeneficiaries.Theyadvocateforplayingthelong
game,andtoworkwithwhatevercommunityre-
sourcesareavailableinbuildingupthefinancialbase
inthesavingbox.Thismightinvolvethefacilitationof
contactstosellersandmarkets,offeringinformation
concerningthepurchaseofmaterialandskilltraining,
butthentrustinginthecommunities’abilitytohelp
themselvesinrunningsustainablesmallbusinesses.
Inthisview,thepaymentoftop-upsorfinancialaddi-
tionstothecommunity-internfundingdiminishesthe
community’sintrinsicfeelingofownershipandmoti-
vationtosafemoney:
“Weprovidedthetraining.Weprovidedthefacil-
ities.Weareresponsibleforthis,providingthe
transportationcostorotheraspectsofthis.That
belongstous,wesupportthis.Butwhenthey
starttheirownbusiness,it’stheirownmoney,and
itwillbetheirownincomethattheyget…Wejust
transfertheskills,butthenitistheirjob.Afterthat
they can run by themselves.”
ORG. E., JALALABAD, INTERVIEW
“Wedon’tgivethemmoney.Ifwegiveevenone
penforanSHG,thenwesendthemthemes-
sage‘youareverypoor’.Eventhoughweprovide
somenotebooksatthebeginning,wetellthem
thatthisisa giftfromtheorganisation,andafter-
wardsyouwillberesponsible.OurSHGsarebuy-
ingtheirownbooks.” ORG. A., KABUL, INTERVIEW
Ontheotherendofthespectrumaretheor-
ganisationsthathavedecidedtogivemoneytothe
self-establishedrevolvingfundofthegroup,whichen-
ablesbeneficiariestotakebiggerloansfasterthanthey
wouldhavebeenabletodowithoutthefunding.The
moneyisusuallygivenbytheorganisationsintheform
ofa one-timegrantora multiple-timetop-upoftheex-
istingcommunity-fund.Allinterviewedorganisations
statedthattheygavethemonetaryinputafterthe
groupshadshowntheabilitytosavetheirownmoney
forseveralmonths.Inthisway,theSHGshadalready
demonstrateda feelingofownershipandcompetence
torepaytheloansthatindividualshadtaken.
“Theyarepoorpeople,andtheywanttostartbig
businesses,too.Withtheirownmoney,theycanonly
startsmallbusinesses.Onceourorganisationgave
themmoney,theywereabletostartbiggerbusi-
nessesthathavea strongerimpact.I thinkit’sgood
tohavethefinancialsupportbyourorganisation
becausethebusinessestheycanestablish,change.
Theystillhavethesameprojects,butwiththebigger
loans,theirbusinessesgrow.Oneofourbeneficiar-
iesiscalledKazima.Shehasa smallbusinessinher
house to make clothes and sell in the city. Now with
a biggerloanherhusbandmadea shopinthecity.
Shehasbigmachinesandshesellsclothesnotonly
throughherhusbandbutalsotoothershops.”
SOCIAL ORGANISERS, JALALABAD, GROUP INTERVIEW
37
However,thegivingofmoneywasunanimous-
lyreflectedinbeneficiaries’demandsformoremon-
ey—whichcontrastswiththeFGDsconductedin
SHGsthatdidnotreceiveadditionalfunding.46
“Itwouldbegoodiftheamountofmoney
fromtheorganisationwouldbemore.Maybe
60,000AFN. It’snotgoodthatwewantsomething
fromanorganisation,butwhatwewantistohave
a sustainableeconomicsystem.Ifwehavevoca-
tionaltrainingandthenecessarytoolsthenwe
can sustain ourselves.” MALE FGD, JALALABAD
“Weneedsupport.WeneedmoreVocation-
alTrainingCourses,suchassewing,carpetweav-
ingandconfectionaryforthewomen.Butwealso
needmorefundsinourtreasuryboxtoexpand
ourbusiness.Ifwehavemoremoneywecanhave
a goodbusiness.” MALE FGD, HERAT
A feworganisationstakethemiddleground
betweena‘pure’approachandthedecisiontogive
money,byofferingpackagesthatcontainthenec-
essarymaterialfortheskillsthattheytaughtinthe
trainings.Thiscaneithertaketheformofsched-
uledsharingofmaterialthatanorganisationprovides
amonga groupofseveralparticipants,orinreceiving
individualtoolkits:
46 Thelatterdidnotvoiceanyexpectationfromtheorganisations
toprovidethemwithadditionalfunds,butunderscoredtheirown
independence.
“Wegiveinformation,trainingandprimarygoods.
Theydon’thavethemoneytobuythose.To5
womenwegive1carpetloom,andthentheycan
workinshiftsonit.3inthemorning,3intheafter-
noon.Itdependsonthecultureofthecommunity
as well.” ORG. K., HERAT, INTERVIEW
“Creditgivingwastriedoutbutthatdidn’twork.
Nowwearegivingouttoolkitsdependingonthe
enterprise.Includedinthetoolkitsareforexam-
plemachines,butnotconsumableitems.”
ORG. F., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
Eithercamphastheirrationalefordecidingto
giveorwithholdfunding:Thesupportersofa‘pure’
approachsuggestonlygivingtrainingandinsome
casesmaterialsupport,butnofinancialsupport,as
thiswouldperpetuatea hand-outculturethatleads
todependencies.Supportersofgivingloansor‘top-
ups’maintainthatthiswouldenablea fasterbusi-
nessdevelopmentasthebiggerrevolvingfundsen-
ablebiggerloans.Thedecisionforeitherapproach
mightliewitheitheranethicalconvictionorthetime
horizonthatanorganisationchoosesforpursuing
theSHGapproach.
Trainings
WhilethequestionofoutsidefundingfortheSHGs
hasbeena contentiousissue,allorganisationswere
ofthesameopinionwhenitcomestoofferingtrain-
ingstotheSHGs.ThebasicconceptofSHGsistosave
moneyandtoofferloanstotheirmemberswhichcan
berepaidininstalmentswithoutaddedinterest.The
economicrationaleforofferingthesesmall(andwith
time,increasing)loansistoestablishsmalltomedium
enterprisesforpartsofthepopulationthatwerepre-
viouslyjobless.Thetrainingsareprovidedmainlyto
women,whomighthavea marketableskillbutnoex-
pertiseinrunninga business,marketingtheirprod-
uctsorconnectingtoa customerbase.Itisnecessary
toteachtheseskillstothebeneficiariestoeffectively
supportthesuccessofthesebuddingbusinesses:
“Itwasnotonlyaboutmakinga savinggroup,but
alsoaboutthetechnicalskills,aswellastheenter-
priseandmarketingskillsweprovided,thesenet-
worksthatofferedinputs.”
ORG. L., KABUL, INTERVIEW
“WhenI wenta fewdaysagotothecommuni-
ty,a womanhadtakena loanfromtheboxbut
she didn’t understand how to contact the mar-
ketandreachcustomers,howtostarta business.
Bothmeandthegroupmembersgaveheride-
asonhowtodoit.Nowsheisstartinga business
ina lowstage,butsheisonherway.Shedoestai-
loringbutshedidn’tknowwheretobuythema-
chine,howtoconnectwithcustomers.Nowshe
understandsit.Itisnecessarytogivebusiness
training,butatthetimewhenwegaveit,shewas
absentinthegroup.That’swhywehadtogiveher
extratraining.”
SOCIAL FACILITATOR, JALALABAD, INTERVIEW
Someorganisationsnotonlyofferedbusiness
trainingsbutwentwitha moreholisticapproachthat
38
includedtrainingsonwater,sanitation,andhealth
aswell,orwhichtaughtthetechnicalskillswhichare
marketablethemselves:
“Weorganisedtrainingsforwomenandmenin
WASHandalsohealtheducation,birthandsafethe
lifeskills,andalsobusinessdevelopmenttraining.
Wearrangedtechnicaltrainingsaboutembroidery
andbeadworking.Thatgivesthemwhattheyneed
to succeed.” ORG. E., JALALABAD, INTERVIEW
This,however,hasbeena questionamongor-
ganisations:whetherandhowmanyvocationalcours-
estooffer.Whilethereisa greatnumberofwomen
who already have marketable skills that can be en-
hancedorusedforproduction,othersneedcourses
inwhichtolearnskills.Offeringvocationalcoursesis
a financialquestionasboththetrainingsthemselves
andtheprovisionofmaterialareexpensive.Theinter-
viewedorganisationshavedealtverydifferentlywith
thisquestion.Somedecidedtosetstrictselectioncri-
teriatofocusonthemostvulnerablehouseholdsand
onlytraina smallpercentageoftheiroverallbeneficiar-
iesintheskills,whowillbeabletobenefitthemostand
who will be able to establish additional income streams
fortheirfamilythroughparticipationinthesecourses.
However,theinterviewedbeneficiariesof
thisorganisationgenerallydemandeda higherper-
centageoftheirmemberstobetakenintovocation-
alcourses,a pointofcritiquevoicedbothwithinthe
FGDsaswellasinindividualinterviews:
“TheneedsinourcommunitiesareVocation-
alTrainingCoursesformenandwomen.Wehad
sometrainingcoursethatwereveryuseful.Un-
fortunately,thetrainingcoursesfinishedandwe
wanttheofficetorestartthetrainingcoursesin
our community.” MALE FGD PARTICIPANT, HERAT
Otherorganisationshaveattemptedtoap-
proachthisproblemindifferentways.Twoofthe
interviewedorganisationsdecidedtoformsav-
inggroupsbasedonunderlyingvocationaltraining
themes:eachsavinggrouphadtodecidefora specif-
icskillthattheywoulddevelopandthenpracticethis
skilleitherindividuallyorasa group:
“Thesavinggroupswerebasedonthevocation-
altrainingsthatwewereproviding:savinggroup
inconfectionary,savinggroupinembroidery,sav-
inggroupintailoring.Butwedidn’tpushthemto
worktogether.Theycouldbuttheydidnothaveto.
Whiletheyweredoingthesavingtogether,they
alsosharedknowledgewitheachother,whichwas
reallyhelping.” ORG. L., KABUL, INTERVIEW
Alternatively,anorganisationcouldidentify
oneortwopeopleduringtrainingsessions,whoshow
specialskillsandthenlaterofferthemextratrain-
ingsotheycaneventuallytakeoverthetrainingrole.
Thentheycancontinuethetrainingthemselvesand
thetrainerscouldreceivea littlemoneyaspayment
forconductingtrainingsessions.
“Thankstoyouroffice,nowweknow,nowwehave
learntit.Wetookthesmallbusinesstrainingaswell
andnowweknowhowtostartsucha smallbusi-
ness.I’mthankfultomyteachers.I wanttohave
sucha groupindifferenthouses.NowI amgoodin
myprofessionallife.I’dliketoworkasa teachermy-
self,iftheorganisationgavemetheopportunity.
I wouldcreatea grouplikethisinmyhouseandsup-
portit.” FEMALE FGD PARTICIPANT, JALALABAD
Anotherorganisationdidnotoffervocation-
altrainings,butorganisedexposurevisitstodiffer-
entsmallbusinesses,inwhichthespecificideasofthe
businesswerediscussedandinwhichallparticipants
couldlearna skillthatwastransferrableintoa pos-
siblehomebusiness,suchasmakingjam,orpickling.
Overall,beneficiarieswereoverallthankfulforboth
thebusinessandvocationaltrainingsthattheyre-
ceivedandfoundthattheseenabledthemtosetup
andleadtheirbusinesseseffectively:
“Wehavebeenofferedtrainingsthroughtheor-
ganisationasoneofthenewinitiatives.Wehave
gottentrainingonhowtomakesoaps.Wethinkit
wouldhelpusiftherewasmoretraining.Trainings
suchas:tailoring,sewing,beadsewing,preserv-
ingfood,pickling,anda bitmarketingtofindmar-
ketforourproducts.Someofthechangesthatwe
experiencedthroughthegroupsandtrainingsare:
Wehavea stablesavingprocedure,weareableto
savemoney,andwearealsofeelingmorestable,
that we have money here.”
FEMALE FGD PARTICIPANT, KABUL
39
“Mydaughtergraduatedfromthevocationaltrain-
ing.Shetooka loanfromtheboxandshehas
a smallbusinessathomewithembroiderywith
which she can make money. She makes clothes
andsellsthemtoneighboursandinthemarket.
Oureconomicsituationisimproving.”
FEMALE FGD PARTICIPANT, JALALABAD
Market Linkage
Lastbutnotleast,a viablelinktoa targetmarket,
whereproductsfromSHGbeneficiariescanbesold,
wasseenasa majorcomponentininfluencingtheef-
fectiveness,successandultimately,sustainabilityof
Self-HelpGroups.Oneaspectofestablishingthemar-
ketlinkageisa marketassessmentthatshouldhave
takenplacebeforethestartoftheprojectandbefore
beneficiarieswereadvisedabouttheproductionof
certainitemswithintheirbusinesses(see 3.1.2. Rele-
vance/NeedsAssessment).Anotheraspectisthehu-
mantohumancomponent—introductiontotraders
ortopeopleintheprivatesectorwherebeneficiar-
iescanselltheirproducts.Someorganisationslinked
theproducerstosupermarkets,otherstocompanies,
whichcollecttheproducefromthem:
“Accordingtoourlessonslearnt,afterphasingout
after2to3years,wehavelearntthatinsomear-
easwhentheprojectfinishes,theSHGcollapses,
whenthereisnostrategywiththecommunityto
preparea phaseoutstrategy.Meaning,whenthis
projectgoesout,howcanitbesustainable?Saving
box,training,andmarketing,especiallya linkage
tothemarket,a linkagetothecooperativeinthe
district,anda linktotheprivatesector,thoseare
important.Ifyoufollowtheseimportantpoints,
thenyourSHGwillbesustainable.Ifyoujustes-
tablisha Self-HelpGroupandthenlikea blindper-
son,whodoesn’tknow,goout,thenitwillcol-
lapse.” ORG. K., HERAT, INTERVIEW
Lackingtoestablishsuchmarketlinkageswas
pointedoutascontra-productivetotheoverallpro-
jectandapproach.Notonlyaretheproducersnot
abletoselltheirproductsandmakea profit,itcanfur-
thermoreaffecthowtheprojectisseenbythecom-
munityandotherneighbouringcommunities.Ifmem-
bersiftheSHGssavemoneyandestablishbusinesses,
butarenotabletoreacha market,theywilllosemon-
eyandmightnotbeabletopaybacktheirloans.Fur-
thermore,assuccessfulimplementationofSHGsis
alsolinkedtotheoverallperceptionofSHGsandsuc-
cessfulimplementationhasbeenshowninthisre-
porttobelinkedtocommunities’opennesstotheap-
proachoverall.
“It’snotonlyimportanttotransfertheskills,butalso
todevelopthechainofmarketingfromtheirprod-
ucts,tothebazaar.Wehelpthemtosignagree-
mentswithtradersinthebazaarinJalalabadcity.
Theyprovidematerial,andbeads,theyhavetheir
owntechniqueandplan,theycanorderthetchador
orclothes,andthebenefitbelongstothem.They
needspecifictrainingstoincreasetheircapacity
andtoletthemunderstandthemarket.Ifthereis
nomarketforwhattheyproduce,theirmainwork,
itwillhavea negativeimpactontheirwork,be-
causetheyspendtheirmoney[withoutreceiving
anythinginreturn].Themarketinglinkisimportant.
Theyneedtorecognizeandanalysethemarketand
thedemandofthepeople.Afterwards,theycan
usetheircapacityandtheirskillstomarkettheir
products.” ORG. E., JALALABAD, INTERVIEW
Whileallofthesepartsindividuallysupport
aneffectiveimplementationoftheSHGapproach,
oneoftheintervieweesunderlinedthatthesediffer-
entaspectsalsoneedtobeconsideredfroma holistic
perspectivetoensurethesuccessofanSHGproject.
Itwasneitherthesavingitself,northetrainingcom-
ponentsinisolation,butratherthewholeengage-
mentandlearningexperiencewithintheSHGcontext,
whichmadetheapproachsuccessful:
“Formeit’slikea puzzle.Youneedallthosepiec-
estoputittogethersoitworks.I haveanimpres-
sionthatsomeorganisationsareonlydoingitfor
thesavinggroups,butweweregivingthemthose
technicalskills,onenterprisedevelopment,etc.
Sooverthetimetheyfounditusefultosharein-
formationnotonlyontechnicalskills,butwe
foundthatithada hugeimpactonthereduc-
tionofdomesticviolence.Theevaluationreport
showedthatithada hugeimpactonself-confi-
dence…Butforthat,youneedtodomorethan
establishsavinggroups,youneedtheotherlay-
ers,thesupport,thetrainings,that’swhatmakes
itsuccessful.Youneedthewholepackageto
makeitsuccessful. ORG. L., KABUL, INTERVIEW
41
3.2.3. Financial Processes
TheresearchsurveyedSHGsindifferentstagesof
maturation,fromrecentlyestablishedSHGsthathad
justbeenrunningfora fewmonthstoestablished
SHGsthatwerewellnetworkedwithCLAsandFed-
erations.Howwellthefinancialprocesses(loans,sav-
ings,investments,etc.)wereestablisheddepended
bothonthetimetheyhadbeenrunning,theatten-
tionandsupporttheyhadreceivedfromtherespec-
tiveorganisationaswellthecommunity’sowndrive
toparticipate.
TheamountsthatwereusedbytheSHGsei-
therforsocialorforeconomicinvestmentsvaried
vastlybetweenthesurveyedorganisations.Some
organisationsarrangedagreementswiththeirben-
eficiariesinwhichthemoneythattheparticipating
membersputintothesavingboxwouldbefreetouse
eitherforsocialoreconomiccauses,whilethemon-
eygivenfromtheorganisationscouldonlybeusedfor
businesses.Otherorganisationshaveseta specific
amountoftheSHGssavingsitselfwhichneedstobe
utilisedforbusinesspurposes,whileagainotheror-
ganisationsleftitcompletelyuptotheSHGstodeter-
minewhattousethemoneyfor:
“TheSelf-HelpGrouphasmonthlymeetings.And
aftereachmeeting,theytransfer40%oftheirsav-
ingstothecommunitybankandthisisonlyfor
businesspurposes.Theremaining60%ismostly
usedforsocialwelfare,whensomeonebecomes
ill,theygetmoneyfortreatmentfromthesaving
groupsandtheypayitbackaftera whilewithout
interest.” ORG. C., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
Generally,financialprocessesseemedwelles-
tablishedintheSHGsthatwerevisitedandinwhich
theFGDswereconductedwithonlya sparseminority
oftheFGDsreportinganyproblemsinrepaymentof
loans or in the loan cycle overall.
“Wedon’tfaceanyproblemswiththis.Wecanpay
itback.Onewomantookmoneyforthetreatment
ofherfather,butnowheisfineagainandthey
paidbackthemoneythatshetookforhismedical
expenses.” FEMALE FGD, JALALABAD
“Theprocessofloangivingandsavingisgoodand
wehaven’tfacedanyproblemsyet.SomeofSHG
memberswhohavetakenloansrepaidwithout
anyproblemsbutsomeotherrepaidwithdifficul-
ties.Theydidn’tbringthemoneyontime.They
claimedthattheyforgotorthattheydidnothave
money.” FEMALE FGD, HERAT
ThefewFGDsthatdidreportproblemsinloan
repaymentnotedtheproblemwasusuallysolvedby
givingmoretimetotheborrowertorepaytheloan.
Insomecases,especiallywhentheeconomicbase
oftheloanrepaymenthadbeendamaged(forexam-
plethroughthedeathofananimal),thegroupdecid-
edtoextenda secondloantoenablethegroupmem-
bertorepaytheloanamount.Theestablishedtrustin
thegrouptherebyhelpedtoovercomeadversitythat
inothercases,forexamplewithconventionalloans,
mighthaveledintoa loanspiralfromwhichitmight
bedifficulttorecover.Loanrepaymentproblems
seems to have only led in very rare cases to the re-
movalofparticipantsfromthegroups,whichinthese
caseswasa decisiontakenbythegroupitself:
“Theyextendthetimeifsomeoneislateinpay-
ingback.Extensiondependsonthesector.Ifthey
workinagriculture,thenwegivethemtimetosell
theirproductsbeforetheypayback.Forexample,
ifthecowdied,andtheycannotgetthemilktosell
inthemarket,thentheygivemoretimeorthey
mightgiveanotherloanforbuyinganotheranimal.
Ifwepressurethemand,forexample,theyhave
boughtonekilogram[ofa good],thentheywillsell
thisonekilogramunderpriceandthatwillnotbe
goodforthem.Weworkoneconomicdevelop-
ment,andifwepressurethem,thenwearenotgo-
ingtoseeanydevelopment.”
ORG. C., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
“Theyareverypoor,that’swhysometimesthey
takelongertime.Theirbusinessmightnotalways
improvedirectly.Sometimesittakeslonger,6or8
months.Afterwardstheypayback.”
FEMALE FACILITATORS, HERAT, INTERVIEW
Oneofthechallengestotheefficacyoffinan-
cialprocessesisliteracy.Afghanistanhasanover-
allliteracyrateaslowas39%,accordingtoWHO.47
Inurbanareas,however,theliteracyrateishigher,
around53.5%forurbanresidents,68.7%formales
47 See:WHOCountryCooperationStrategyAfghanistan,2017,
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/136852/1/ccsbrief_afg_
en.pdf
42
and37.9%forfemales.48Thegenderdisparityinthe
literacyrateisreflectedinmanyorganisations’ex-
periences.Howtheyrespondtotheoverwhelming
numberofwomenintheirgroupswhocannotreador
write,differsfromorganisationtoorganisation.Some
decidetocoupletheirgeneralSHGtrainingswithlit-
eracytraining,whileothersdecidedtogivemoredi-
rectlyfacilitatedsupport:
“Thetimeframeisdifferentfromeachgroup,de-
pendingontheirliteracy.Literategroupswevisit
onceina monthandilliterateoneswevisitoncein
a week.” ORG. C., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
“I seethreekindsofbenefitsthatI getfromat-
tendingthisgroup.OneisthatI didn’tknowhow
towriteandlearn.NowI know,becauseI attend-
edtheliteracyclassesprovidedhere.Thesecond
profitisthatI didn’tknowhowtosowsomething,
likedresses,butnowI knowitandI candoit.And
thethirdprofitisthatnowI cantakea loan.”
FEMALE FGD, JALALABAD
Otherorganisationsdecidedagainstprovid-
ingliteracytrainingstotheirSHGs.Ontheonehand
itwasseenasa hugefinancialinvestment.Onthe
otherhand,someorganisationsarguedthateven
theilliterateSHGswereabletofindsolutionsto
theseproblemsiftheyweregiventheopportuni-
tytoapproachitcreativelythroughactivatingfam-
ilyresourcessuchasliteratesonsordaughtersof
48 See:NationalRiskandVulnerabilityAssessment2011(NRVA
2011),p.78.
SHGparticipants.Thiswasfurthermoreportrayed
byorganisationsasoneoftheaspectsinwhichSHGs
showedtheirownproblem-solvingskillsandinde-
pendenceasa group:
“Wesometimeshavetrouble.Therateofliteracy
isverylowinAfghanistanandmostofthewomen
areilliterate.Butweencouragethewomentoask
forhelpfromtheirownchildren,daughterswho
cometothegroupstovolunteer.Somegroups
saytheirchildrenaretoobusy,butthenthey
givesmallmoneytoboysandgirlstocometothe
groupsandhelpthem.Theyfindtheirownway.”
ORG. A., KABUL, INTERVIEW
Anotherdevelopmentthatwasfoundespecial-
lyamongfemaleSHGsinJalalabadwasthatwhilefi-
nancialprocessesweregenerallystableandworked,
however,loanswerenotusedbythewomenthem-
selvesbutbytheirmalefamilymembersandrelatives.
Whilethisissuesurfacedinothercitiesaswell,49 the
frequencywithwhichitoccurredwassubstantially
higherinJalalabad.Whilethehigherfrequencymight
beduetoa samplingbiasoftheFGDs,facilitatorsalso
supportedtheimpressionthatwomenoftentookthe
loanfortheirmalefamilymembers,orifnotdirectly
forthem,thenfora familybusinessinwhichthemen
wereinvolvedtoa substantialdegreeintheproduc-
tionormarketlinkage:
49 ExamplessurfacedalsointheFGDsinKabulforexamplewith
womentakingloansfortheirsonsandhusbands.
“I tookloansforcreditcardsformybrotherto
sell.Shegota loanforhersonstosellvegetables
intheirshops.Thisothermembertooka loanfor
hersonsfora newbusiness.Shecooksriceinthe
houseandthesonsellsitinthebazaar.”
FEMALE FGD, JALALABAD
“I tookitformyselftomakemilk,andthenmysons
sellitinthemarket.Theloanwas20,000AFN.” FE-
MALE FGD, JALALABAD
“Myfatherisverypoorandweak.I helpedhim
throughbuyinga rickshawwiththeloan.Wetook
moneyfromtheloantogetherwithothersavings
inourfamily.” FEMALE FGD, JALALABAD
Projectorganiserswithlong-termexperience
inimplementingSHGs,however,arguedthatwhile
theyhadexperiencedthisphenomenoninthepast
themselves(inKabulandMazar-eSharif),theysaw
itasa stageintheempowermentofwomen,which
willbesurpassedwithsufficienttimeoncethefami-
lyhasestablisheda betterfinancialbase.Thewomen
arethenalreadyimplicatedinthebusinessesthrough
takingtheloansandthroughparticipatinginin-
come-generatingactivities,sothatfurtherstepsofin-
volvingthemastheproducersareeasiertotakethan
fromthestart:
“Anotherdilemmathatwehavehadwasthatthe
womensaid,forexample,thattheirhusbands
wereshoemakersandhewantedtoopena shop,
they’dneeda machineforhim.Sothenthewoman
43
wouldgettheloanfortheman.Ontheonehand,
itistheirmoney.Ontheotherhand,theyshould
startbusinessesthemselves.Youcancriticize
both.Inthelongrun,thewomenshouldgetactive
themselves.” ORG. H., KABUL, INTERVIEW
3.3. Efficiency
Thecriterionofefficiencymeasuresthequalitative
andquantitativeoutputsinrelationtotheinputs:“Itis
aneconomictermwhichsignifiesthattheaidusesthe
leastcostlyresourcespossibleinordertoachievethe
desiredresults”.50Thequestionsinthispartfocused
onassessingwhethertheactivitieswerecost-effi-
cient,whetherobjectiveswereachievedontime,and
lastly,whethertheapproachwasimplementedinthe
mostefficientwaycomparedtoalternatives.
Oneofthedifficultiesinevaluatingwhetherthe
SHGapproachiscosteffectiveistheunevennessof
fundinginvestedintoSHGs.Someorganisationssup-
porting‘pure’SHGapproachesarguethattheyare
cost-effectivesolutionstowide-spreadfinancialand
socialproblems.Otherorganisations,whichdealwith
a combinationmodelofthegroups’ownsavingsto-
getherwithfinancialormaterialinputbytheorgani-
sationitself,pointoutthatboththeadditionalfunding
andthetrainingcomponentsareexpensiveadditions
toanotherwisesimplefinancialprogram.However,
theystillevaluatetheseadditionsasimportant,worth-
whileandcomparedwithotherprojects,cost-effective.
50 See:http://www.oecd.org/dac/evaluation/
daccriteriaforevaluatingdevelopmentassistance.htm
ThecostforsettingupSHGscanbeconceptu-
alisedindifferentcategories:communitymaterialfor
savingandrecordkeeping(cashbox,passbooks,re-
cordkeepingbook),salariesforcommunityfacilita-
tors,salariesandmaterialfortrainings,costofaddi-
tionalfundingfromtheorganisation(alsocalledtop
up,additionalrevolvingfund,grant,capitalseed),and
generaladministrativecosts.
Thecostofthephysicalinputs(cashbox,pass-
books,recordkeepingbook)arerelativelysmallin
termsofset-up.Thecashboxwithlocksisonlya one-
timeinvestment,andthecostofthepassbooksandre-
cordkeepingbookarenegligible.Inmostcases,organ-
isationsboughtthefirstonesfortheSHGsasa starter
giftwiththeclearunderstandingthattheSHGswould
havetobuytheirownbooksinthefuture.
Thesalariesforcommunityfacilitatorsvaried
markedlyduetocompletelydifferentsalaryscales,
dependingonwhethertheywereemployedbya lo-
cally-basedNGO(firsttwoexamples)orpartofa gov-
ernmentorUN-facilitatedproject(lastexample).This
makesthem,unfortunately,incomparable:
“Thewholeapproachbecomesveryefficientmon-
eywise,becausethefacilitatorsget5000AFNto
6000AFN(equalling71–86USD)andtheyhave
15–20groupswhomtheyfacilitate.”
LOCAL NGO, ORG. H., KABUL, INTERVIEW
“Formanycommunityfacilitators,nowtheirsalary
isaround8000AFN. Inthebeginningitwas2000
or3000AFN.” LOCAL NGO, ORG. A., KABUL, INTERVIEW
“Wehavea provincialfacilitatoranda villagefacil-
itator,trainers,M&E,MIS,CED,Islamicbanking
trainer,accesstofinancestaff.Andthenwegive
themonaverage50,000AFNpermonth.Wepay
around40,000AFNforourcommunityfacilita-
tors.” ORG. C., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
Whiletheaforementionedcostsvariedwidely,
sodidthebudgetsforeachorganisationtoimplement
theSHGapproach.Oneorganisation,whichhasa more
than10-yearsofexperienceinsettingupSHGsinAf-
ghanistan,pointedoutthat,astheprojectgrew,their
overallbudgetforimplementingSHGshaschanged
markedly.Theyinitiallyonlyemployeda coupleofcoor-
dinatorsandcommunityfacilitators,butwitha marked
increaseofoverallSHGs(around1000currentlyrun-
ning),theyarenowemploying16coordinators,a gender
anda childrenspecialist,andtheoveralladministration.
Otherorganisationsmentionedinthelitera-
turethatwassurveyedforthisreporthaddeveloped
cost-sharingagreementswiththeSHGsthattheyset
up,inwhichresponsibilityisconsecutivelyshifted
fromimplementingorganisationtotheSHGgroups,
whichtakeonsharesinthesalarypayment.51Noneof
theorganisationsinterviewedforthisreporthadde-
velopedcost-sharingagreementslikethis.
51 See:Cramer,Sarah,HervéNicolle,andNassimMajidi.“Self-
HelpGroupProgrammeEvaluation.”Kabul,Afghanistan:Samuel
Hall,2012,p.25:“(Theyhave)anestablishedpaymentsharing
structureforthesalariesofCommunityFacilitators(CF)that
graduallyshiftsresponsibilityforCFsalariesfromMissionEast
totheSHGs…Itisstructuredinsucha waythatgroupsbeginby
makingsmallcontributionstotheCF’smonthlysalary(2‚000
AFN/40 USD),andeverysixmonthsthesharethatgroups
contributeincreasesandMissionEast’ssharedecreases.”
44
Thecostforsalariesoftrainers,material
fortrainingsaswellasthecostofadditionalfund-
ingfromtheorganisationfortherevolvingfundof
theSHGs,varieddependingonthetrainingsgiven,
theneededmaterialandtheamountofthegrant.52
Noneoftheinterviewedorganisationshadmadeany
costbenefitanalysisperSHG,usuallyduetothefact
thattheyreceivedanoverallbudgetfortheproject
inwhichtheindividualprojectitems(suchassalaries
ortrainings)werespecified,butnotbrokendown
tothecostofeachSHG. However,allorganisations
thatwerestillrunningSHGscurrentlywereofthe
opinionthattheSHGswerea cost-effectivechoice
toaffectsocialandeconomicdevelopmentintheir
partnercommunities:
“SHGsarecomparativelycosteffective.Youonly
needa projectcoordinator,a fewfacilitatorsand
youcanstart.Ifyoualreadyhaveotherprojects
andyouhaveanofficesetup,thenitissomething
easytoaddtoyourrunningprojects.”
ORG. H., KABUL, INTERVIEW
3.4. Sustainability
Sustainabilitymeasures“whetherthebenefitsofan
activityarelikelytocontinueafterdonorfundinghas
beenwithdrawn”.53Sustainabilityisthoughtofhere
52 Forananalysisofthesedifferingchoices,see3.2.2.
Effectiveness/InfluencingFactors.
53 See:http://www.oecd.org/dac/evaluation/
daccriteriaforevaluatingdevelopmentassistance.htm
bothintermsofinstitutionalstabilityaswellasfinan-
cialsustainability.Partoftheevaluationwastode-
terminewhichfactorsinfluencedtheachievement,
ornon-achievement,ofsustainabilityofprogrammes
designedwiththeSHGapproach.
3.4.1. Continuation and Independence
vs. Dependencies
Oneofthemainquestionsintermsofsustainability
iswhethertheproject-based,grant-dependentbusi-
nessmodelsthatmostNGOsfunctionunder,allowfor
long-termself-sustainabilityoftheSHGsthattheyes-
tablish.Thegeneralperceptionoforganisations’staff
suchasorganisersandmanagersofSHGswasthat
theyarea sustainablemodelthatsupportstheinde-
pendenceofbeneficiaries,becausetheyprovidetools
toorganisethemselvesintheircommunitiesandto
buildsupportsystemsovertime.
“I learnedinprojectsbeforethatpeoplebecomede-
pendentonprojectsandmoney.Theydidn’tcare
aboutwhattheyspenditon.Butwedecidedhere
thatit’simportantwhatwillhappenafterphaseout.
Weknowthatinthefuture,moneywillnotalways
beavailable,andtohavemoneyisjustoncechance.
Buthowcanyouusethisopportunitytomakeyour
communitysustainable?ThatisthroughSelf-Help
Groups!” ORG. K., HERAT, INTERVIEW
Onemajorweaknessintheperceptionthat
SHGswereself-sufficientwasanassumptionamong
organisationsthathavehadSHGsinthepast,butare
currentlynotestablishingoroverseeingthem,that
theirSHGswerestillrunning.Inallbutonecasethere
wasnofollow-uptoverifytheassumption:
“Thedesignoftheprojectitselfwasperfect,but
theimplementationfacedchallenges,depend-
ingonwherewetriedtoimplementit.Forexam-
ple,aftertheconclusion,after5years,therewas
nofollowup,thatwasoneoftheflaws,andthatof
courseaffectswhetherthiskindofsystemstays.
Ourorganisationcontracteda localNGOtocon-
tinuefollowingupwiththegroupsandtheydid
thatfora while.Webelievethattherearestill
somepeoplewhodothesavingsandwhohave
continued” ORG. I., KABUL, INTERVIEW
“Itwasnicetoseethatmostofthegroupstookown-
ershipanddevelopedtheserulesanddecisionson
theirown.Afterthefirstphasetheevaluatorsaid
thatthesavinggroupshadreachedtheirmaturi-
tyandthefinalevaluatorsaidtherewasnoneedto
talkaboutthesavinggroupsastheywereworking.
Thesesavinggroupsaresupposedtogoon.Every
nowandthenI checkwiththem,ourformercol-
leagueswhoarestillthere,andtheytellusthatthey
arestillmeeting.” ORG. L., KABUL, INTERVIEW
Indeed,theSHGsthatwerevisitedespecial-
lyinMazar-eSharifandKabul,whichdidnotreceive
supportfromanyorganisationanymore,werestill
activeandrunningbythemselves.Thewomenwere
meeting,puttingmoneyasideforsavingsandsup-
portingeachother’sbusinessventures.Italsoap-
pearsthatwhenthereisa certaingroupspiritestab-
45
lished,thattheeffectmightspread:notonlywere
groupsinMazar-eSharifstillactiveafterphase-out,
buttheyalsogavetheirknowledgefurthertooth-
erwomenandsupportedneighboursinestablishing
theirownSHGswithoutanyorganisation’sinput.This
spiritofownershipwasevidentinonewoman’sstate-
mentfromanSHGinJalalabad:
“Eveniftheorganisationwouldnotgivemoney
anymore,wewouldstillmeetwitheachotherand
helpeachother.Weareonefamilynow.Weare
closefriends.” FEMALE FGD, JALALABAD
Otherorganisations,however,maintainthat
itisimportanttostayincontactwiththeSHGsand
tosupportthem,alsotolearnforfutureimplementa-
tionsoftheapproach.
“WestoppedtheformationofsavinggroupsinJan-
uary2015.Wefirstwanttogettheresultofthe
SHGgroupsandthenwewillstartinthenextphase
oftheprogramwiththeformationofnewSHGs.
From2011to2016weprovidedsavingbooks,loan
booksandnowtheybuyitthemselves.Oneofour
indicesistransactions.Iftheydo8–10transac-
tionssuccessfully,thenweknowthattheyknow
howtodoit.Therearegroupsthattellus,nomatter
whetheryoucomeoryoudon’tcome,wewillmeet
and save.” ORG. C., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
Assessingsustainabilityisfurthercomplicat-
edbytherelationshipbetweenfacilitatorsandhost
community.Someorganisationspointedoutthatthis
relationshipcandevelopintoa dependencyinitself,
especiallywhenthefacilitatortakesontheroleofthe
community’sbookkeeperintheabsenceofliterate
SHGmembers.
“Wehadgroupsestablishedbutthenitshowed
upthatthefacilitatorsweredoingthebooks.The
booksweredonenicely,buttheyweredepend-
entonthem.Weaskedandtherewere4–5wom-
enwhocouldreadandwritesowetoldthefacili-
tatorthatsheneededtoteachthemhowtokeep
thebooks.Thentheycandoitthemselves.Ourfa-
cilitatorssometimesfeltthattheymightlosetheir
jobsiftheytraintheotherstoowell.Maybethat’s
alsoa problemwithusthatwehavenotseta time
targetonhowlongtheprojectwilllast.Theymight
wanttheprojecttogoonforeverandever,like
a governmentjob.Butthereshouldbea time-
frame,5or6years.That’swhatweinitiallymissed.”
ORG. H., KABUL, INTERVIEW
Asmentionedinthisexample,theimplemen-
tationoftheSHGapproachnotonlynecessitates
a changeinthethinkingofbeneficiariesbutalso
inthestaffoftheimplementingorganisation.This
hasbeena constantthemeinonewayoranother
ofthisresearch,emphasisingthatSHGmovesboth
communitiesandorganisationsawayfromanen-
trenched‘handout’culture,inwhichorganisations
providefinancesormaterialtoneedycommunities.
“Theimplementationcanbedifficultaswellwith
thestaff.Usuallytheremightbetheestablishment
ofshelterorhandoutsandeveryoneishappy.But
thisisa totallydifferentapproach.Whatwefight
with,thestaffmightthinkthattheyarethefacil-
itatorsforthegroups,buttheymakethegroups
dependentonthem.That’swhatwearecurrently
fightingagainst.” ORG. H., KABUL, INTERVIEW
3.4.2. Exit Plan
Mostorganisationspointedoutthata clearlydefined
exitstrategyisa majorcomponentofestablishing
SHGsassustainableentitiesafterphasingoutexter-
nalinputsandassistance.Thisstrategyshouldfur-
thermore be communicated clearly with the commu-
nityinwhichtheSHGsarebeingimplementedsothat
thecommunityisawareofthescopeandtimeframe
andendingoftheproject,aswellashowtocontinue
aftertheorganisationhasleft:
“Whenwetalkedwiththecommunityweclari-
fiedintheagreementwhatisourresponsibilityis
andwhatistheirresponsibility.Wementionedthe
phaseoutplanrightthenatthebeginningaswell,
becausewecannotstayforeverinthecommunity.
Attheverybeginning,wediscussedwiththemthe
duration,afterwhichthecommunitycanaccept
ownership.” ORG. E., JALALABAD, INTERVIEW
Twomainpointsemergedduringinterviewsas
vitaltoa successfulexitstrategy.Thefirstaspectisthe
establishmentofa viableaccesstoa markettoensure
thattheproduceofthebeneficiariesreachescustom-
ers.Thewaystoestablishthisconnectiontothemar-
46
ketsvaried(seealsopart3.2.2. Effectiveness/Influenc-
ingFactors).Someorganisationsdevelopedcollection
centreswheretheproducewascollectedforredis-
tributiontoshops(suchasdairycentresandmilkcol-
lectionpoints).Someotherorganisationsconnected
producersandtradersdirectlytoestablisha business
relationship.Oneorganisationopenedshopsinwhich
theproductsfromdifferentSHGscouldbesoldcollec-
tively,puttingonewomaninchargewhoisa memberof
anSHGgroup.Theorganisationorganisedexitwork-
shopsinwhichshopkeeperswereinvitedtolinkthem
withtheproducinggroups.
Thesecondaspectthatemergedasa vitalcom-
ponentofa successfulexitstrategywastheestablish-
mentofoverarchingstructuressuchasCLAsand/or
FederationsthatcansupporttheSHGsintheirweek-
lyfunctioningevenwhentheimplementingorganisa-
tionhaspulledout.
WhiletheestablishmentofClustersoroverar-
chingfederationswasseenbyintervieweesasanim-
portantpart,onlya handfuloftheorganisationshad
successfullyestablishedthesestructuressofar.This
mightbeduetothefactthattheClustersandFeder-
ationsarethenextlevelinthedevelopmentafterthe
establishmentofmature,self-sufficientSHGs,which
byitselfalreadytakesa considerableamountoftime.
Clusters are not immediately stable institutions with-
inthemselves,butrequiretrainingandsupporttoget
themintoa stablepositiontosupporttheSHGs.
“Iftherewasanotherfunding,I wouldfocuson
that,butthetimingwastooshort.Ittook3years
tobuildupthegroupsandmakethemsustainable.
Youdon’twanttoconfusethemandbuildthemup
intosomethingelsebeforeyouhavethemina sta-
blephase.I knowmanyorganisationsdoit,but
with the women you need twice as much time as
withmenandit’sa longprocessbecauseofthe
mobility and illiteracy.” ORG. L., KABUL, INTERVIEW
WhileCLAsandFederationshavea stabilising
forceontheirunderlyingstructuresontowhichthey
arebuilt,theytaketimeandefforttoestablish,and
shouldbefactoredintotheinitialprojectplanning
with time and resources.
3.4.3. Link to Clusters and Federations
OnceindividualSelf-HelpGroupsareestablished
withtheirrespectiveeconomicmechanismsandas
strongsocialsupportgroups,severalSHGstogeth-
ercanbeformedintoa cluster.Generally,8–10strong
SHGscancometogetherintoa ClusterLevelAssoci-
ation(CLA)throughselectingtwomembersofeach
SHGtorepresenttheirgroupattheCLA. Whilethe
maineconomicfocusoftheSelf-HelpGroupsistoen-
ablesavingaswellasgivingofloanswithinthegroup,
thefocusoftheCLAistomobiliseresourcesforthe
needsoftheoverallcommunityfromgovernmentand
non-governmentsources.54
Withthedevelopmentofa greaternumber
ofSHGs,moreCLAsbegintoform.Theyinturncan
cometogetherontheFederationlevel.Whilethe
CLAsaddresstheissuesina specificcommunity,the
goaloffederationsistoensure“thattheprinciplesand
54 KHNSelf-HelpGroupManual,p.16.
featuresofSHGarerecognisedandfindtheirwayto
local,regional,andnationallawsandpolicies”.55 Like
inmostothercountries,Afghanistanalsolegallyreg-
istersfederationsinthegovernmentwithintheMinis-
tryofJustice.56
“Ourprojectis36months,whichisenoughtimeto
workwiththeCDCsandestablishtheSHGs.We
alsostartedestablishingassociations57(e.g.:fed-
erations)lastyearbutthatwastoolate.Register-
ingeachassociationwiththeMinistryofJustice
takesabout3months.Wewouldadvisetomaybe
establish the associations earlier.”
ORG. F., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
JustlikewiththefirstlevelofSHGs,thecon-
secutivelevelsofClustersandFederationsshouldbe
approachedwithseveralcaveatsinmind.
Thefirstaspectisthatindividualswhoen-
terClustersandFederationsneedtheirownspecif-
ictraininginadditiontotrainingprovidedattheSHG
stage.Duetothedifferentrationalesfortheirexist-
enceandhowtheyfunction,eachlevelisnotself-ex-
planatory.Itwasfound,thatSHGmemberswhohad
notbeenconnectedwitha Clusteryetweregeneral-
ly less aware or articulate about their wider communi-
55 KHN,p.15.
56 Interviews,HandinHand(Mazar-eSharif)andOPMercy(Kabul).
57 HandinHandregisteredwhattheycalled‘associations’,while
allotherorganisationsthatregisteredanyoftheirgroups,
registeredtheir‘federations’.HandinHanddidnothaveany
otherlevelofinstitutionsabovetheassociationlevel,andbytheir
functiontheycanbeequatedwithfederations.
47
ties’problemsthanwomenwhohadbeenintroduced
totheideaofClustersandFederations.Thisintroduc-
tioncanthereforebeconceptualisednotonlyasedu-
cational,butalsoasawarenessraisingandultimately
as(socio-)political.WhilethefocusofSHGs’engage-
mentarethefamilyneeds,theCLAsattempttotackle
communityproblemssuchaswatershortages,forex-
ample.WhiletheCLAisfocusedonitsparticularcom-
munity,theFederationlevelisfocusedonbroaderad-
vocacywiththegovernment.
Inadditiontothetrainingsthataregearedto-
wardsbuildingtheunderstandingofthemembersas
totheirresponsibilityinparticipatinginClustersand
Federations,organisationsoftendecidetoofferaddi-
tionalskills-buildingtrainingsandexposurevisitsfor
Clusters.Thisdoesnotonlyenablethemembersof
theClusterstolearnnewtechniques,butalsotorelay
thesebacktotheirownSHGsandtospreadinforma-
tiontoa wideraudience:
“Itdependsontheparticipationandthemixof
womenwhoareengagedinit,howlongittakesfor
a Clustertomature.Everyweektheyhavemeet-
ingsandtrainings,andthenweorganiseexposure
visits,forexampletocompanies,howtomake
soymilkontheirown,howtomarketandpack-
agethings.Smallinformation,justpracticalthings.”
ORG. H., KABUL, INTERVIEW
AnotheraspectofestablishingClusterLev-
elAssociationsisthatnotallSHGsmightbeinterest-
edingettingengagedintheadditionalvolunteerwork
thata ClusterorFederationlevelmembershipentails:
“FirstitwaseasytoestablishSHGs.Thenwesaidwe
wantedtostartCLAstoo.Let’sselecta representa-
tive. But then we realised that the women had no in-
terestinthiskindofwork.Somanytimesweworked
withthemandthendissolvedtheCLA. Itisimpor-
tantthatthewomenfeelthattheCLAisimportant
forthem.Theownershipfromthebeginningisvital.
Ownershipiskey.” ORG. A., KABUL, INTERVIEW
Whileitcannotbewholesalefabricatedand
needstocomefromthewomenthemselves,ownership
canalsobeenhancedthroughsupportivemeasuresby
theorganisationthatestablishestheCLAsandFeder-
ations.Tofurthertheestablishmentofa groupidentity,
organisationstooktheirClusterandFederationmem-
bersouttocelebrateimportantmilestonesandtoexpe-
rienceeachotherina supportivegroupsetting.
Conversely,womencanbeinterestedinjoin-
inga Cluster,thoughtheSHGlevelhasnotmatured
enoughtomerittheadditionalestablishmentofClus-
terLevelAssociations.
Clearly,CLAsandFederationsarepartofanim-
portantevolutionaryprocessoftheSHGconceptbut
justasimportantisensuringthesuccessfulcompletion
oftheSHGphase,inwhichCLAscanhavea stabilis-
ingforceontheirunderlyingstructures.Allstagestake
timeandefforttoestablish,andshouldbefactored
intotheinitialprojectplanningwithtimeandresources.
3.4.4. Link to Microfinance Institutions
Thinkingaboutsustainabilitybringsupthequestion
ofembeddingofSelf-HelpGroupsintootheroverar-
chingstructuresofsupportandfinance.Othercoun-
tries,especiallyIndiaandBangladesh,wheretheSelf-
HelpGroupapproachhasblossomed,showlinkages
ofSelf-HelpGroupswithlargerfinancialbankingsys-
temsandespeciallyanintertwiningwithMicrofi-
nanceInstitutions.Thisbringsupthequestionofthe
definitionofMicrofinancegenerally,andinparticular
intheAfghancontext,aswellasitsviabilityinlinking
SHGswiththissectorinthefuture.Toassessthislink
itiscrucialnotonlytounderstandwhatMicrofinance
standsfor,butalsohowMicrofinanceoverlapswith
IslamicFinanceinAfghanistan.
Microfinance
InDecember2006theBangladeshieconomist,Mo-
hammad Yunus was awarded with the Nobel Peace
PrizetogetherwithhiscreationtheGrameenBank
“fortheireffortstocreateeconomicandsocialdevel-
opmentfrombelow”.58Hisinnovationwasto“find
a waytolendtothepoorestofthepoorwhohave
nocollateral—nohouse,nocar,notangibleasset
againstwhichtoborrow.Peoplewhoseonlynomi-
nalpersonalwealthwouldprobablybeintheformof
land,wherethecollateralisundocumentedandle-
gallyunenforceable.”59Thefoundationalideawasto
taketheselocalcommunitiesofinterdependence
andtrustandtoconverttrustintocollateral.Accord-
ingtotheGrameenbank,theyarecurrentlyservic-
ing8.92millionborrowersin81‚399villagesallover
58 see:TheNobelPeacePrize2006,Website,
https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2006/.
59 See:Moyo,Dambisa.2009.DeadAid.p.126.
48
Bangladesh.60Manycountriesworldwidehaveadopt-
edtheMicrofinanceapproachsinceitsinceptionin
1983.Since1995,theGrameenBankitselfdecided
nottoreceiveanymoredonorfunds,andtodayfunds
itself100%throughitsowndeposits.61
ThewaytheGrameenmodelofMicrofinance
functionsisrathersimple:Thebanklends100USDto
a groupoftraders.Thefirsttradergetsthemoneyfor
oneyearandpaysbackthemoneyusuallywithinoraf-
teroneyearwithaninterest(between8–12%).This
firsttraderissolelyresponsibletopaybacktheloan.
Whentheloanispaidback,thenextloanismadetothe
grouptothenexttrader.Ifthefirsttraderdoesnotre-
pay,thenthebankdoesnotgivefurtherloansforthe
group.62ThebasemodelofMicrofinancedoesnoten-
taila jointgroupliability,wherethegroupasa whole
wouldberesponsiblefortherepaymentofonemem-
ber’sloan.However,asthebehaviourofonemember
affectsthegroup’sfutureabilitytoreceiveloans,the
grouphasa self-interesttokeeptheloancycleactive.
Inpractice,groupmembersmightcontributefortheir
groupmemberswhendifficultiesarisewiththeinten-
tion to collect the money later.63
60 See:GrameenBankWebsite,numbersfromSeptember2017:
http://www.grameen.com/introduction/.
61 See:Moyo,Dambisa.Dead Aid/Why Aid Is Not Working and How
There Is Another Way for Africa.London:PenguinBooks,2009,p.128.
62 Exampleadoptedinsimplifiedformfrom:Moyo,p.126f.
63 However,astheMicrofinancemodelhasbeenadoptedinother
countries,jointliabilityhasbecomeoneofthetoolsthatisbeing
usedbyfinancialinstitutions:“InZambia,asinotherAfrican
countrieswheremicro-financehasstartedtoblossom,theriskof
lendingtothemostriskyisoftenreducedthroughjointliability—
thenotionthatmembersofa groupofborrowersareallliablefor
anyloansthata micro-financelendermakestothem”(Moyo,p.129).
Thiswayofthinkingaboutlendingprocedures
revolutionisedthinkingonhowtolendtothepoorest
insociety,andhasenabledmanypoorcommunities,
especiallywomen,totakeloansandstartbusinesses.
Microfinance in Afghanistan
MicrofinancehasexistedinAfghanistansince2003,
withaninitiallywidearrayofMicrofinanceInstitu-
tionsthatwereofferingservices.Overtheyears,the
numberofinstitutionshasshrunktohalfa dozen.64
Anumbrellaorganisation,the‘AfghanistanMicrofi-
nanceAssociation’(AMA),establishedin2005,65pro-
videsservicessuchascoordinationandnetworking
betweendifferentMicrofinanceInstitutions(MFIs)
andorganisationssupportingSHGs,66 as well as advo-
cacy,lobbying,capacitydevelopmentandknowledge
sharingbetweendifferentactors.ThesectorofMi-
crofinancewas“initiallystartedwiththehelpofthe
government,throughtheMinistryorRuralRehabili-
tationandDevelopment,andthentheresponsibility
washandedfromMRRDtotheMinistryofFinance”.67
64 Forexample:FirstMicrofinanceBank,Finca,Mutahid,Oxus,
IIFC. Whilethereweremanymoreinstitutionsinthebeginning,
someclosed,othersmergedtogether.AccordingtotheAMA,
themicrofinancemarkethasnowstabilisedwiththesefinancial
institutions.
65 WhiletheAMAwasestablishedearly,itwasrelativelyinactive
andlaydormantuntilitsrejuvenationpost−2010.See:AMA
AnnualReport2016.
66 NotonlySHGsthough,butgenerallycommunity-based
financemodels,whichcanrangefromVillageSavings&Loan
Associations(VSLAs),Self-HelpGroups(SHG),Community-
BasedSavingsGroups(CBSGs),toSavingsandCreditGroups
(SCG).
67 Interview,AMA,Kabul.
TheinitialfluctuationinthequantityofMicrofinance
Institutionsandtheirqualityofservicedeliverymight
havebeenduetothefactthatthesectorhasnotbeen
regulatedyet,whichisalsoevidencedinthelackof
anycentralgovernmentauthorityorguidinglawsfor
MicrofinanceInstitutionsinAfghanistan.68
Asoftheendof2016,themicrofinancesec-
torinAfghanistanhada grossloanportfolioof
9‚898.2millionAFN,with227‚429activeborrow-
ers,and11‚826.2millionAFNloandisbursement
duringtheyear2016.69Togeta loan,anindividu-
alneedstoprovidea physicalguarantee,whichisan-
otherperson,whocanguaranteerepayment.Incase
ofhighamounts(morethan1millionAFN),titledeeds
ofpropertyarealsoneeded.Furthermore,clients
whoalreadyhavea businessareusuallypreferred.
Intermsofexistingcapital,“theircapitalshouldbe
twicetheloanamountthattheyareasking,iftheyal-
readyhavea business.ButsomeMFIshavestartedto
giveloanstostart-upbusinessesaswell.”70Theloan
amountsofMicrofinanceInstitutionscanvarybe-
tween100 USDto200,000 USD. Loanscanbetaken
eitherindividuallyoringroups.
68 TheAMAwasoptimisticthatthesediscussionsaboutregulating
themicrofinancesectormightalsoextendtoSHGsaswellinthe
future:“ItwillextendtoSHGsaswell,becausewewillbepartof
those discussions and we will tell them that not only MFIs are our
members,butwehaveNGObasedworkingonSHGsaswell,so
theywilltakethemintoaccountaswell.”InterviewwithAMA,
Kabul,December2017.
69 See:AMAAnnualReport2016.Attimeofwritingthe2016
AnnualReportwasthelatestavailable.
70 InformationinthisparagrapharebasedoninterviewwithAMA
inKabul,December2017.
49
“Oneloancategoryisindividualloans.Theoth-
eroneiswhentheycomeasa group,like10or
15ofthem(morethan10),entrepreneurs,ei-
thermenorwomen.Iftheycometogether,then
guarantorsarenotneeded.Becauseinthegroup
loan,everyoneisguaranteeingeachother.Inthat
concept,everyonecanreceive10,000,15,000,
30,000AFN.” INTERVIEW, AMA, KABUL
“Wegiveindividualloansortogroups.Therecan
beforexample3women,whoforma groupwith
eachothertoreceivea loan.Inthatcase,noguar-
antorisneeded.Theirwakil-eguzarorheadof
theshuraconfirmswheretheylive,andthehead
oftheirfamily,forexampletheirhusband,gives
a photoofhisIDcard(tazkera)andoftheheadof
thehousehold.Theydon’tneeda bankaccount.”
FINCA, MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
“Ourgoalistoimprovetheeconomyoftheso-
cietythroughsupportingsmallandmedium
enterprises.Wehaveindividualloansfrom
50,000–500,000AFN,andgrouplendingwith
10,000–50,000AFN. Thecriterionisthatthe
personshouldbea businesswomanorbusiness-
manwitha fixedincome.Werequireguaran-
tors,butnobankaccountisneededaswegive
chequesthatworkwithmobilebanking.”
MUTAHID, MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
Many income-generating projects, such as custom-made tailoring, are the outcome of the support
of the Self-Help Groups
50
Oneofthemaincritiquesthatmicrofinance
facesinAfghanistan,71andwhichhaspreventedmost
interviewedbeneficiariesofSHGprojectstoreach
outtoMicrofinanceInstitutionstodeveloptheirbusi-
nesses,isthequestionofinterest.Thischargeislev-
elledagainstnormalbanksasmuchasagainstMicrof-
inanceInstitutions:
“Ifwetakeloansfrombanks,thentheywantinter-
estandyouneedproperty.Ifyoudon’thaveprop-
erty,thenyoucannotgetanything.Wehavenot
approachedmicrofinancebanks.Theyalsoaskfor
interest,justliketheotherbanks!”
MALE FGD, JALALABAD
“Whenweneedtohavemoneyurgentlyeitherfor
medicaltreatmentorotherimportanteconomic
issues,wehadtotakea loanfromthebankandre-
payitbyinstalmentswiththeextrainterests.And
ofcourse,thisinterestwasagainstIslam.Butsince
theSHGwasestablished,weneverreferredback
to the banks.” MALE FGD, HERAT
MicrofinanceInstitutionshave,however,start-
edtoreacttothiscritiqueandareofferingalterna-
tives,especiallythroughdiversifyingtheirfinancial
productsthroughtheinclusionofShariahcompliant
products.
71 NotonlyinAfghanistanhasthiscritiquebeenlevelled,butalso
byMuslimsinothercountriessuchasIndia,see:Sabi,Manijeh.
“AwarenessandPerceptionsofIslamicMicrofinanceamong
MicrofinanceClientsinKyrgyzstanandTajikistan.”Central Asian
Survey35,no.1(2016):27.
“Wearestrugglingwiththatcritique.Thereare
scholarsagainstmicrofinance,becausetheysayit
isinterestbasedanditisillegal,basedonIslamit
shouldn’tbeallowed.ThesedaysMFIsarereact-
ingtothisandtheyareprovidingIslamicloansas
well.TheystartedofferingtheIslamicloansinthe
last7years.Theyhavea paletteofproductslike
Mudarabah,Musharaka,andotherones.Tosome
extentthishaschangedfromthefirstdaysofMi-
crofinancetonowinAfghanistan.”
AMA INTERVIEW, KABUL
“WestartedtoofferIslamicloansabout1.5years
ago.Wehaveabout1000clientsbynowwhoare
financingtheirbusinessesthroughthisway.”
MUTAHID, MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
Islamic Finance
IslamicFinancedifferentiatesitselffromconven-
tionalbankingattheconceptualandsocio-religious
level,intheirbusinessmodelandgoverningframe-
work72aswellasontheproductlevel.73 Conventional
banksofferloansbasedoninterestandallindustries
arefinanced,withexceptionofbusinessesdeemedil-
legalbytherespectivelawsinthecountrieswhere
theyfunction.Islamicbanks,however,aredescribed
72 Islamicbanksusuallyhavea Shariahgoverningframeworkin
termsofa shariahadvisorand/orShariahSupervisoryBoard,
whichapprovesthetransactionsandproductsinaccordanceto
Shariahrulingssee:Usmani,MohammadImranAshraf.Islamic
Finance.Karachi:MaktabaMa’arifulQuran(QuranicStudies
Publishers),2015,p.212).
73 Usmani,p.212.
attheconceptuallevelastrading/investmenthous-
esthat“workunderthesocio-religiousguidelinesthat
prohibitchargingandpayinginterestandavoidallim-
permissibletransactionslikegambling,speculation,
shortselling,…saleofdebtsandreceivables”.74They
arefurthermorenotpermittedtofinance“industries
thatcauseharmtothesocietysuchasalcohol,tobac-
coetc.”75Whileconventionalbanks“treatmoneyas
a commodityandlenditagainstinterestasitscom-
pensation”,76Islamicfinanceproductsareusuallyas-
setbackedandalloftheirgivenloansmustbeinter-
estfree.77
The question of interest (Riba)
“One of the forms of capitalism, that has been flour-
ishing in non-Islamic societies of the world is the inter-
est-based investment. There are normally two partic-
ipants in such transactions. One is the Investor who
provides capital as on loan against interest and the oth-
er is the Manager who runs the business. The investor
has no concern whether the business runs into profit
or loss, he automatically gets an interest (Riba) in both
outcomes at a fixed or variable rate on his capital.”
USMANI: 21
74 Ibid.
75 Ibid.
76 Ibid.
77 ThoughcriticsoftheIslamicfinancearchitecturehave
pointedoutthat“nowadaysribāisanessentialfactorintheIslamiceconomicandbankingsystem”andthatthisfinancial
architecturedoesnotescapetheembeddingwithinthelarger
globalfinancialarchitecture.See:Dagestani,2017,PhDthesis,
p.105.
51
Oneofthemainaspectsthatsetconvention-
albanksandIslamicbanksapartistheirviewonand
(non)usageof“interest”.Indeed,someanalystshave
setthe“verystrongdislikeofinterestbyitsexpo-
nents”asthestartingpointof“theenterprisecalled
Islamiceconomics”.78InIslamicfinance,theArabic
termthatisusedforinterestis“riba”,whichmeansex-
cess,increase,oraddition.79 Riba “should be under-
stoodasanyinterestchargedona loan,regardlessof
thewillingnessoftheborrowertoenterintoanagree-
mentbywhichheorshewillhavetorepayinterestas
wellasprincipal”.80
RibaismentionedbothintheQur’anandHa-
dith,81andhasgenerateda livelydebateamongIs-
lamic scholars.82Althoughnospecificreasonhas
beenpointedoutintheQuranorintheHadithfor
theprohibitionofRiba,83“itsnegationliesatthevery
78 See:Azhar,2010,p.279:“Itperhapswillnotbelostonany
studentofIslamandeconomics,orIslamiceconomy,thatthe
enterprisecalledIslamiceconomicsbeganasa resultofa very
strongdislikeoftheinstitutionofinterestbyitsexponentsonthe
presumptionthatitwaspreciselythesamethingasribā. So much
sothatonecanevenconcludethattheenterprisestandsorfalls
onthevalidityorotherwiseofthatpresumption.”
79 Usmani,p.61.TherearetwotypesgoRiba,called‘RibaAn
Nasiyah’and‘RibaAlFadl’:“‘RibaAnNasiyah’isdefinedasexcess,
whichresultsfrompredeterminedinterest(sood)whicha lender
receivesoverandabovetheprincipal(RasulMaal)inanyloan
transaction.ThisistherealandprimaryformofRiba.”
80 See:Tripp,Charles.Islam and the Moral Economy/The Challenge of
Capitalism.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2006,p.126.
81 See:Usmani,chapter4,p.49–59
82 See:discussiononchangesininterpretationwhatinterestisand
whenitshouldbeforbidden:Tripp,128–133,Also:Azhar,2010,
chapter9.
83 See:Usmani,p.65
heartofIslamicviewsofa moraleconomy—justas
itloomslargeintheideasofmanyMuslimintellectu-
alsconcerningthefundamentalinjusticeofcapital-
ism”.84ClassicalscholarsofIslamperceivedeconom-
icbehaviouraspartofmoralbehaviour,whichwas
embeddedina moralcosmologyinhowtobea good
human.85Inthisview,interestisanexpressionof
“animbalanceinpowerandwealthbetweenthelend-
erandtheborrower”,which“allowedthelenderto
exploittheneedsoftheborrowerandtodictatethe
rateofreturn,maximisingprofitsbyfurtherimpov-
erishingtheborrower.”86Thisexploitationofanother
person’sneedsormisfortunewasthereforereject-
ed.87Ribaisforbiddenduetoitsassociateddistri-
butionofwealth,asit“causeswealthtoaccumulate
amonga handfulofpeopleanditresultsinevitablyin
creatingmonopolies,openingdoorsforselfishness,
greed,injusticeandoppression”.88
WhileRibameansliterallyincrease,thereis
a cleardistinctionbetweenaninterestchargeandthe
profitsthatwouldaccruefromaneconomictransac-
tion.89Whilethefirsttype,interest,isforbiddenand
84 See:Tripp,p.126
85 SkypeInterviewwithIslamiceconomicsexpertSamiDagestani,
January 2018.
86 See:Tripp,p.127.
87 Usmani,p.65.
88 See:Usmani,22.
89 See:Tripp,126.
renderedharam,thesecondtypeispermissible.90
ThisisanimportantpointinunderstandingIslamicfi-
nancesystemsandproducts,andthedifferentiation
madebetweendifferenttypesofmonetaryadditions.
Islamic Microfinance
AsalreadypointedoutbytheAMA:theMicrofinance
landscapeinAfghanistanhasbeenchanging,especial-
lyintermsofincludingIslamicfinancialproducts.This
isanalogoustoa growingtrendthatseestheinclu-
sionofIslamicfinanceinstrumentsintoMicrofinance,
nowadaysalsosometimestermedIslamicMicrofi-
nance.A recentarticledetailsthisnewdevelopment
anditsimpacteveninnon-Muslimcountries:
“IslamicMicrofinanceisa confluenceofMicrofi-
nanceandIslamicFinance.Microfinance,byitsveryna-
ture,isperceivedtobecompatiblewithIslamicFinance
principles;bothareaimedatempoweringthemar-
ginalized…ThefeaturesofIslamicMicrofinancemake
it attractive even to those who do not insist in Shar-
iacomplianceoftheMicrofinanceproductstheyuse.
Profit—andloss—sharingproductsavailableinIslamic
Microfinancearebeneficialtothosewhocannotafford
thefixedinterestproductsoftraditionalmicrofinance.”91
ThephenomenonofIslamicMicrofinanceisrath-
ernewintheMicrofinanceliterature,justasthemarket
90 See:Usmani,62.Seealsoforthis:Dagestani,PhDthesis,
p.102. mentioningforthisdistinction:Qur’an2:275.Sealsosūra
2(al-Baqarah)verses275,276,278,sūra3(‘Ali‘Imrān)verse130,sūra4(al-Nisā’)verse161,sūra30(al-Rūm)verse39.
91 See:“WhyNon-MuslimNationsareAdoptingIslamic
MicrofinanceInstitutions”,October23,2014,https://www.
technavio.com/blog/why-non-muslim-nations-are-adopting-islamic-
microfinance-institutions.
52
ofIslamicMicrofinanceisstillcomparativelysmall:itis
estimated that there were only 1.28 million Islamic Mi-
crofinanceclientsin2013,andabout82%ofthemlived
inthreecountries:Bangladesh,Indonesia,andSudan.92
Types of Islamic microfinance
AdoptedfromKhan(2008)andUsmani(2015)
Term Description
Murabaha Cost-plus-markup sale contract: as-
set-based sale transaction used to fi-
nance goods needed as working capital
Musharaka Equity participation in a business
venture, in which the parties share
the profits or losses according to
a predetermined ratio. Musharaka
can be used for assets or for working
capital
Ijarah Leasing contract typically used for fi-
nancing equipment, such as small
machinery.
Mudaraba Trustee financing, in which one par-
ty acts as financier by providing the
funds, while the other party provides
the managerial expertise in execut-
ing the project.
Qard-hassan Interest-free,‘benevolent’ loans, of-
ten offered as a form of charity rather
than supporting a business from one
person to another
92 See:Riecke,J.2015.“SetToGrowIn2015:IslamicMicrofinance.”
CenterforFinancialInclusionBlog,January12. https://cfi-blog.
org/2015/01/12/set-to-grow-in−2015-islamic-microfinance/.
Whilethereisa wealthofdifferentIslamicfinancing
toolsthathavebeendevelopedandrefinedoverthe
pastdecades,onlya fewofthemhavetakenrootso
farintheproductpaletteofbanksandMicrofinance
InstitutionsinAfghanistan:
“InIslamicbasedloans,therearemanydifferent
financialproducts.ThisoneiscalledMurabaha.
There’salsoMushabaka,whichislikea partner-
shipbetweenclientandMFI. Whateverbene-
fitordeficittheyaregettingfromthatbusinessis
sharedbetweenthetwo,thebankandtheclient.
Thepercentageisbasedontheirnegotiationand
a contract.ButthisisnotpopularinAfghanistan.
Murabahaisthemostpopular,especiallyinthe
provinces.” AMA, INTERVIEW, KABUL
Indeed,Murabahaisgenerallyoneofthe
mostcommonlyusedmodesoffinancingbyIslamic
banksandfinancialinstitutionsoverallwithapprox-
imately66%ofallinvestmenttransactions.93 Mu-
rabahaisinthedirectsensenota loanwithinter-
est,buta particularkindofsale.Inthiskindofsale,
thesellerdisclosesthecostofthecommodityand
theaddedprofitmargin.Commoditypriceinclud-
ingprofitmarginarepayedbackbythebuyerinde-
ferredpayment/instalments.94However,thebuyer
doesnotreceivethemoneyitself,butthecommodi-
tythathewantstopurchase:
93 See:Usmani,p.145.
94 InterviewIslamicFinanceExpertJalalKhan,January2018.
“Murabahainbanksinvolvesthepurchaseof
a commoditybya bankonbehalfofa clientandits
resaletothelatteroncostplus-profitbasis.Under
thisarrangement,thebankdisclosesitscostand
profitmargintotheclient.Inotherwords,rather
thanadvancingmoneytoa borrower,whichishow
thesystemwouldworkina conventionalbank-
ingagreement,theIslamicbankwillbuythegoods
froma thirdpartyandsellthosegoodstothecus-
tomerata pre-agreedprice.” USMANI: 145
Evaluation of Microfinance Offer for SHGs
Onlysomeorganisationsthatwereinterviewedfor
thisresearchhadexperienceswithMicrofinanceIn-
stitutionsandbanks.However,mostunequivocal-
lysawMicrofinancenotasa viableoption.Somehad
contemplatedlinkingtheirSHGswithMicrofinance
Institutions,butshiedawayfromitduetothepractice
withinMicrofinancetoworkwithanaddedinterest.
However,recentdevelopmentswithintheMi-
crofinancesectorinAfghanistanandgloballyhave
seentheintroductionofIslamicfinancingtools,which
createda sub-sectorofIslamicMicrofinance.This
sectorhasestablisheditselfinAfghanistan’surban
areasandoffers,especiallywiththeMurabahasales
transaction,a viableoptiontoextendsmallbudding
businessesina Shariahcompliantway.
ApartfromtheconcernsofShariah-compli-
ance,communitiesthatsofarbenefitfromSHGsare
usuallylargelyilliterateandhavenopriorexperience
inevenopeningbankaccounts.Forthemitisdiffi-
culttoevaluatethedifferentcontractsonofferandto
53
navigatethelandscapeofdifferentoffersfromMicro-
financeInstitutionsandbanks.Anorganisationthat
wantstolinktheirbeneficiarieswithanyoftheseop-
tionsinthefutureshouldkeepinmindthatthispro-
cessmightneedmorethana formalintroductiontofi-
nancial institutions.
A feworganisations,thataresupportingSHGs
inAfghanistan,arealreadylinkedupina network
throughtheAfghanistanMicrofinanceAssociation
(AMA),whichofferspossibilitiestoexchangeinfor-
mationwitheachother,notonlyabouttheMicrofi-
nanceoptionitself,butalsoaboutexperiencesines-
tablishingandsupportingSHGs.
MicrofinanceInstitutionsseemtobegeneral-
lypositiveabouttheoutlookofhavingSHGmembers
asfutureclients:
“ItispossibletolinkSHGswithMicrofinance,we
havedoneitbefore.MFIsarehappywiththose
clients,becausetheyarewelltrained,theyknow
abouttheloans,abouttherepaymentsandlotsof
othermechanisms.It’sa pieceofcakeforthem.”
AMA INTERVIEW, KABUL
WhiletherearepossibilitiestoconnectSHGs,
especiallywiththebuddingIslamicMicrofinancesec-
tor,manycommunitiesaresuspiciousnotonlyofMi-
crofinance,butofbankingingeneral.Afghanistan
hasexperienceda numberofbankingscandalsinthe
lastdecade,mostnotabletheembezzlementof1bil-
lionUSDoffundsintheKabulBankalone.Asa result,
thereisa generalmistrustofthebankingsector.This
willbeanadditionalhurdletoovercomeifanorgan-
isationwantstosuccessfullyconnectSHGswiththe
IslamicMicrofinancesector.
3.5. Impact
Thecriterionofimpactmeasures“thepositiveand
negativechangesproducedbya developmentinter-
vention,directlyorindirectly,intendedorunintend-
ed”.95Impactrelatestherebytopositiveandnegative
outcomesinthesocial,economic,orenvironmental
areas.Thequestionsinthispartfocusonaccessingon
whathashappenedasa resultoftheimplementation
oftheapproachandwhatrealdifferencehastheac-
tivitymadetothebeneficiaries’lives.
3.5.1. Economic Impact
TheSHGapproachsetsouttosupporteconomicde-
velopmentandsocialwell-beingofcommunities,that
strengthensespeciallypoorandvulnerablegroups.
Theeconomicimpactwasfeltdifferentially,
dependingonhowlongtheSHGshadbeenoperating,
howmuchcapitalhadbeenbuildingupandcouldbe
usedintherespectivegroups.Inthebeginnergroups
whichhadonlybeenoperatingfora fewmonths,the
amounts that the members could borrow were com-
parativelysmall.Somegroupsthereforedecidedthat
onlya fewgroupmemberswouldtakea loanand
otherswouldwaituntiltheirloanwasrepaidorun-
tilmoremoneyhadaccumulatedthroughtheweekly
andmonthlysaving.Thisreflectsthelogicalprocess
howtheSHGsystemworksanditalsointerlinkswith
95 See:http://www.oecd.org/dac/evaluation/
daccriteriaforevaluatingdevelopmentassistance.htm
thequestionoftimeneededbefore“change”isvisi-
ble-firstmemberscantakesmallloansalreadywith-
infewmonthssincetheinceptionofthegroup(e.g.
theoneswhohavealreadya businessideatakesthe
loan,othersapproveofit)-therestwaits.Thisalso
fuelsthesharedresponsibilityandinherentcontrol
mechanisms,asitiseveryone’sinterestthattheloans
aretakenforviablebusinessideas,whichenablesthe
loantoberepaid:oncethemoneyisbackinthecash-
boxthenextpersoncantakea loanforhis/herbusi-
nessidea:
“TheSHGisveryhelpfulforus.Myhusbandisvery
old.ThroughtheSHGI cansupportmyfamily.”
FEMALE FGD, HERAT
“Mostofourproblemshavebeenresolvedthrough
SHGs.Thebeautyoftheseisthattheproblems
areresolvedthroughus;byus.Nota lotofushave
beenusingthesefundsforbusiness;mostofus
havebeenusingitforpersonalissuesbutthere
arealsosomeofuswhoaredoingbusinessbut
theyareless.Wearemuchmorecomfortablein
termsoflivingnow,wheneverwehavea prob-
lemandareeconomicallystressed,weareableto
comeandresolveourproblems.”
NEWLY ESTABLISHED, KABUL, ORG. H.
“Yes,itimprovedourlivesa lot,bothinoureconom-
icandsociallife.Everyoneofusknowssomething
inwhichweareprofessionals,buthowcanwestart
a businesswithoutmoney?Throughourgroups,we
cantakeloansfromthesavingboxandcanstart
54
a smallbusiness.Thisishowweimprovedoureco-
nomic situation.” JALALABAD, FEMALE FGD
AllFGDparticipantsspokeofa diverserange
ofjobsandoccupationsthattheyhadstarteddueto
theinterest-freeloansthatthememberscouldbor-
rowfromtheSHGs.Thelistofoccupationsthatwere
takenonbybeneficiarieswasclearlygendered.
Womenwereengagedinfoodproductionsuch
asyoghurt,picklesorjamproduction.Somewomen
had businesses in which they made bolani or soy milk.
Manywerefurthermoreengagedinrunningbeauty
parlours,producinghandicrafts,tailoring,orcarpet
weaving.Therewasanoverlapwithmalecorrespond-
ents’occupationsintailoring,livestockandsaffron
production(thelatterhoweveronlyinHerat,andalso
embeddedina cooperativestructurethatexceed-
edtheinitialSHGgroups).Menwerefurthermoreen-
gagedinmotorbike,carormobilephonerepair,and
workedasgeneralmechanics.
“Webringthematerialfromthecityfroma bulk
producerandthenwemakethehandicraftand
giveitbacktothem.Eachoneofusknowssome-
thingeithersewingsleeves,tailoring,ordifferent
things.” MAZAR-E SHARIF, FEMALE FGD
“Somepeopletookloansfromthegroup.Onetook
a loanof5000AFNtostarta smallbusinesstosell
creditcardsinthecity,dependingwhetherI sell
theminAfghaniorPakistanirupees,I canmake
moremoneyifI selltheminPakistanirupees.”
MALE FGD, JALALABAD
“I havestartedtailoring,a lotofpeoplehavestart-
edtailoring.Bytailoring,I havebeensewingcloths
andgettheprofitforsewingthecloths.Somehave
startedbeadsewing.Shehasstarteda Beauty
parlourhere.” MAZAR-E SHARIF, FEMALE FGD
“Wehavegottentheloanandhaveboughta cow
andtheentirevillageisusingthemilkproducts.
Wehaveboughtanimalsforlivestockandthe
neighboursarebuyingtheproducts.”
MAZAR-E SHARIF, FEMALE FGD
ThedifferencesinfemaleandmaleSHGswas
perceptibleintheeconomicrealmespeciallyconcern-
ingexpectationsthatmenexpressedtowardsorgan-
isations’supportfortheirgroups.Mostwomenwere
satisfiedwiththelevelofsupportthattheyreceived
throughtheorganisation,becausetheywereable
to establish small businesses that they could mainly
runfromhome.Occasionally,FGDsbroughtoutdis-
cussionsonwhethermoremoneyshouldbegiven
bytheorganisation,andwomenweregenerallyinfa-
vourofthat.However,moreoftenthannotthewom-
en also said that they would meet no matter whether
theywouldgetfurtherfinancialinputs,andthatthey
themselvesweretheirgreatestresource.
Men,however,expressedgreaterlevelsofdis-
satisfactionwiththeSHGapproach,demandingmore
moneyfromtheorganisationtostarttheirbusinesses
asa topuptotheirownsavedrevolvingfund.Notably,
mostorganisationswhosolelyworkedwithwomen
didnotofferfinancialsupportfortheirSHGs,while
allorganisationsworkingwithbothmaleandfemale
SHGshadoptedforgivinga monetaryincentivefor
startingbusinesses.
Asalreadydiscussedin3.2.3.(Effectiveness/
FinancialProcedures),financesthattheSHGssaved
wereusedbytheSHGseitherforsocialorforeco-
nomicinvestments.Thepercentagesusedforeither,
however,variedvastlybetweenthesurveyedorgan-
isations.Someorganisationsarrangedagreements
withtheirbeneficiariesinwhichthemoneythatthe
participatingmembersputintothesavingboxwould
befreetouseeitherforsocialoreconomiccauses,
whilethemoneygivenfromtheorganisationscould
onlybeusedforbusinesses.Otherorganisationshave
seta specificamountoftheSHGssavingsitselfwhich
needstobeutilisedforbusinesspurposes,while
againotherorganisationsleftitcompletelyuptothe
SHGstodeterminewhattousethemoneyfor.
Themoneythatwasusedforinvestmentsoth-
erthanbusinessdevelopment,however,alsohada sta-
bilisingfactor.Someintervieweesstatedthattheyhad
usedthemoneytobuildhouses,payrentortofinance
medicalsupportfortheirfamily.Whilethesearenotdi-
rectlyeconomicinvestments,theyenablethebenefi-
ciaries to stay stable with their businesses and to use
theSHGfundsasfall-backplansintimesofcrisis:
“I tooka landtomakea buildingonit.I amwor-
riedifI don’tbuilda buildingtheywilltakethe
landfromus,therefore,I neededmoneyforthat”
MAZAR-E SHARIF, FEMALE FGD
“Anothercriterionthatwassoftenedoverthe
years:theideawasthatthemoneyisonlyforbusi-
55
nessinvestments.Womenweresayingwhatdoes
therepairofmysewingmachinehelpmewhen
mychildisillandneedsmedicinerightnow?We
discussedit,anddecidedtoput10%foranemer-
gencyfund,whichalsoneedspayingback.Inthe
pastitwasnotpossible,butwechangedthis.One
needstobepracticaltoimplementitsuccessfully.”
ORG. H., KABUL, INTERVIEW
“Forexample,I hadtodoa surgeryformydaughter,
I havebeenabletotakecareofthisthroughthis
loansystem.Whenthereisnocashathome,then
we come here.” MAZAR-E SHARIF, FEMALE FGD
Whilealloftheseaspectspointtoa positiveim-
pactintheeconomicrealm,oneneedstobecautious
aboutover-emphasisingtheabilityofSHGstotake
careofcommunities’needs.Ontheonehand,thees-
tablishmentofa sufficientrevolvingfund(especially
withoutinputfromanorganisation)takestime,andthe
businessesthatcanbesetupinthefirstyearsarerath-
ersmall.A possibilitytoextendthefundingplatform
forthesebuddingbusinessesmightbeIslamicmicro-
financeloans(see 3.4.4. Sustainability/Link to Micro-
financeInstitutions).However,manybeneficiariesof
SHGsareilliterateandfaceconsiderabledifficultiesin
accessingthebankingsectororunderstandingthedif-
ferentloansystemsthatareonoffer.
3.5.2. Safety Network and Trust
OneofthemainimpactfulaspectsoftheSHGs,which
combineseconomicandsocialimpact,isthecreation
ofa safetynetwork.Thesafetynetworkwithina Self-
HelpGroupoperatesontwodifferentlevels:group
membersgettoknoweachotherandbuildupknowl-
edgeofeachother’ssocialandeconomicsituation
aswellasofeachother’sbehaviour.Thisknowledge
whichisgeneratedthroughinteractionandexchange,
andthroughseeingeachotherbehavingresponsi-
blywitheveryone’sfinancialinputscreatestrust.This
communityoftrustandinterconnectednesssupports
eachindividualperson’seconomicventuressocial-
lyandeconomically.Incasetheindividualexperienc-
esdifficultiesintheirbusiness,theyhavetheability
toaskforsupportfromthegroup—eitherinmone-
tarytermsthroughaskingfordeferredpaymentor
anadditionalloan,orinsocialtermsofknowledgeex-
changetosupporteachotherwithinsightshowtoad-
dressa specificdifficulty.
Usually,SHGmembersdidnotknoweachother
beforejoiningtheSelf-HelpGroups,eventhoughthey
hadlivedinclosevicinitytoeachother.Thismightbe
duetotheurbancontextinwhichneighbourlytiesare
muchweakerthaninruralareas,andinsomecasesas
wellconnectedtolimitedfemalemobility:
“ByparticipationintheSHGwehavebecomeaware
ofeachother.Wegotknowledgeofeachmember’s
economicalsituation.Throughthatinformation,we
couldhelpmemberbymemberofthisSHGbygiv-
ingloanstothemfromthetreasurybox.”
HERAT, MALE FGD
“Beforethegroupstarted,wedidnotknoweach
other.Weknoweachotherthroughthisorgani-
sationandthisgroup.Nowweevenmeetoutside
ofthegroup,whenwearefree.Wework,butin
theeveningoronweekends,wemeeteachother.”
JALALABAD, FEMALE FGD
Thedevelopmentoftrustwasrepeated-
lybroughtupasa positivedevelopmentthroughthe
establishmentoftheSHGs.Trustistherebydefined
bothasdirecttrustinparticipatingintheloan-cy-
clethatwasestablishedbytheSHG,aswellasbroad-
ercommunitytrust,whichenabledthereciprocalreli-
anceinemergencysituations.Somegroupsdecidedly
emphasisedthatthistrustdidnotexistbeforegroup
establishmentandthattheywereevensceptical
whethersucha bondcoulddevelopinsucha group
thatwascreatedbyanoutsideactor:
“Wedon’tliehere,wetrust.Wearenotgivingany
moneytoanyoneoutsideofthegroupbecausewe
don’t trust them.” MAZAR-E SHARIF, FEMALE FGD
“Thegoodthingthatwelearntistotrusteach
other.Forstance,ifoneoftheSHGmemberbe-
comessickduringthelatenight,andifherefers
totheleaderorcashierofthegrouptogeta loan
formedicaltreatment,theytrusthimandsolvehis
problemduringthenight.Thisisa positiveaspect
thatwehavelearntthroughtheparticipationin
thisSHG.” HERAT, MALE FGD
“Oneyearago,wewerenotsosureaboutthis
group.Wewerewonderingifthiswillgowellor
not but now we are here and we trust each other
andwearea team.Wecanresolveourdailyprob-
56
lems,oursmallproblems,andwearesatisfied.We
aremoresocialandweknowthesociety,weknow
theneighbourhood,andtherea strongsenseof
trustbetweenus.Weareoneteambothinhappi-
nessandsadness,weareonebodynow.”
FEMALE FGD, KABUL
Thisdevelopmentoftrustwasseenasa major
assetinaddressingpersonalproblemsthatthemem-
bersfacedintheirdailylives.Livinga lifeinpovertyat
thebarefinancialminimumalsomeansinAfghanistan
thatfamiliesfinditdifficulttoaddressproblemssuch
ashealthcare.Asthereisnoestablishedorwell-func-
tioninghealthinsurancesysteminAfghanistan,fam-
iliesareleftontheirowntofindthefinancialsupport
topayformedicalexaminations.Thisisoneofthe
pointsinwhichSHGshavebecomeanadditionalsafe-
tynetwhenevera medicalemergencyhits:
“Somekneweachotherbeforethegroupforma-
tion,butnowweknoweachotherbetter.And
somewedidn’tknowatall.Mysmallsonisa new-
bornbutheissick.Wedon’thavemoneyforthe
examination,butallgroupmemberscollected
moneyformybaby.WewentwithmybabytoPa-
kistanandnowheisfine.Wecoulddiscussthis
inourweeklymeetingsandI amhappyfromour
groupmembersthattheyhelpedmewiththis.We
areclosefriends.Weareonefamilynow.”
JALALABAD, FEMALE FGD
MembersreportedintheFGDsthattheywere
abletoaskthegroupforsupportandfavoursevenout-
sideofthenormalmeetingtimesifnecessary.Thiswas
seenasanindicatorofa developedsocialnetwork,
whichextendsitssupportoutsidethenormalgrouppa-
rametersinwhichmembersmeetandengage.Thissup-
portnetworkstabilizeseconomictransactionsandso-
cialaswellaseconomicstandingofindividualfamilies:
“TheSHGisaddressingourneeds,forexample,
I neededmoneyduringtheweekandwasable
togeta loanwithoutthegroupmeeting.I didnot
havetowait:I cameandgotthemoney.I gathered
all the members and took the money in the middle
oftheweekandI solvedmyproblem.”
FEMALE FGD, MAZAR-E SHARIF
“TheSelf-HelpGroupshelpustoresolveourprob-
lemsonaninstantbasis.Forexample,ifthereisan
urgentsicknessinthefamily,wewouldcometo
thisgroupandaskfora loan,samegoesforprob-
lemsandchallenges.Wehavea senseofbeingsta-
ble,becauseifwedon’thavemoneyandtrytoget
loanfromotherindividuals,theywon’tgiveusany
money.” KABUL, FEMALE FGD
3.5.3. Social Impact
TheimpactoftheestablishmentofSelf-HelpGroups
cannotonlybemeasuredineconomicterms.Asal-
readypointedtoinpart3.5.2.(SafetyNetwork)the
socialaspectofSHGsontheonehandsupportsthe
economicventuresoftheSHGmembers.Ontheoth-
erhandtherearefurthersocialchangesperceptible
inthecommunitiesinwhichtheSHGsoperate.
Somechangesaredirectbehaviouralchang-
es,suchaslearningabouttheimpactofsavingandim-
plementingsavingproceduresnotonlyforthegroups
butwithintheirgenerallives.MostoftheAfghans
reachedwiththisapproachhadneverhada bankac-
countintheirlivesandwereusingasmuchmoneyas
theyhadatanygiventime.Theyhoweverremarked
thatthelearningexperienceinthegroupenabled
themtoseethepositiveimpactthatsavingcanhave
andtorealisethatwhiletheywerepoor,theyhad
withinthoselimitedfinancialmeansstillsomere-
sources that they could mobilise.
“ThepositiveimpactoftheSHGisthatwepay50
AFNperweekwhichisnota bigmoney.Andnow
afteralmost2years,eachofusaretheownerof
5000AFN. Thisisa positiveimpact.Welearnt
howtosavemoneyandgettheknowledgehowto
increase our money.” HERAT, FEMALE FGD
“ThroughparticipationtothisSHGwelearntto
be more economic and learnt how to do our dai-
lyexpenses.Forstanceinthepast,whenwegot
20‚000AFNsalary,weusedtospenditall.But
now we think economically and use the money in
the best economic way where needed.”
HERAT, MALE FGD
Furthermore,someparticipantsreported
thattherehadbeena collectiveshiftinwhatgroup
membersfocuson.A newfocusonlearning,work
anddevelopmenthasemerged.Theyseethegroup
asa placetoexchangeknowledgeandlearnfrom
57
eachother,orevenasa placetogaincouragetomake
changesintheirsurrounding:
“Thesegroupscanbringsocialchangeintoour
lives.Weseedifferentpeopleandlearnaboutvar-
yingideas.Wesitwiththemandgetdifferentide-
asaboutbusinessoraboutoursociety.Before
westartedcomingtothegroup,wedidn’tknow
each other. Now we meet and we talk with each
other.Weusedtositonthestreetwithoutwork,
butwhenwejoinedthisgroup,wefocusonbusi-
nessandeducation,andhowtoinviteothersto
thisgrouportojoinourgroup.Beforewewerenot
working,andwhenfamilymembersaskedusfor
help,wecouldn’thelpthem.Butnowweareable
tohelp.” FEMALE FGD, JALALABAD
“Someofthepeopledidnotallowgirlstogoto
school.Forexample,myself,mybrotherdidnot
letmestudyandwastellingthattill9thgradeis
enoughfora girl.Thenmymomjoinedthisgroup
and was able to convince my brother and now we
arealmostgraduatingHighSchoolandeventhink-
ingofgoingtotheuniversity.” KABUL, FEMALE FGD
Thegrouphasbecomeformanymembers
a knowledgehub,wheretheycanbringtheirquestions
andgetsupportfromotherswhomighthavethenec-
essaryexpertisethattheyarestilllacking.Somepar-
ticipantshadpriorknowledgeofrunningbusinesses
orhowtoconnecttodifferentcustomerbases.Meet-
ingregularlyandexchangingwitheachotherabout
theideasforthebuddingbusinessesopensupnotonly
a platformtoexchangewitheachotheraboutthefi-
nancialtransactionssuchastakingloans,butalso
aboutquestionsandproblemsfacedintheprocess.
Thispeer-to-peerknowledgetransferenableslearn-
ingnotonlyfromoutsideactorssuchasNGOsbutalso
withintheirowngroups,whichbecomesa resourcein
itself.OnemalegroupinJalalabaddescribedthemost
importantimpactofthegroupas“becomingunited”as
a group,whichcangivesupportbothwithinandout-
sidethegroupandactasa nodepointforinformation
andexchange.OtherFGDsphraseditinthisway:
“Wesittogethereveryweek,weshareourideas.
Forexample,I havethemoneyandI studieda lit-
tle,butI don’tknow,howI cancontactanddeal
withthecustomers,howcanI connecttothemar-
ket?Butthegroupmembersgaveideasforme,
andI followeduptheirideasandnowI’ma good
seller.I knowhowtodealwiththecustomerand
I’mincontactwiththemarkets.Thisisa social
profitforme.” JALALABAD, FEMALE FGD
“Wehelpeachothertosolveourproblems.When
someoneneedssomething,anotherpersonor
weasa group,help.Thatisoursociallifenow.We
areexpertsonthisnow,weknowhowtorunthe
groupandtoshareproblemsandideastosolve
theproblems,too.” HERAT, FEMALE FGD
TheSHGgroupsfurthermorehavea gendered
impact.First,visitingtheSHGmeetingsextendsthe
movementradiusofmanywomen.Mostwomenwho
arebeingreachedwiththeSHGapproachdon’thave
a jobforwhichtheyleavetheirhomes,andinmore
conservativecommunities,womenmainlystayat
hometolookafterthechildrenandthehousehold.
TheassociationwiththeSelf-HelpGroupsandtheir
regularmeetingsthereforealreadyexposethewom-
entoanextendednetworkofotherwomenintheirvi-
cinity.Thisnetworkalsoledtomeetingsofwomen
outsideoftheSHGcontext,throughmutualinvita-
tions to social occasions.
“Previouslywedidnowhavepermissiontogetout
ofthehouse,nowweareabletocomehereandgo
toneighboursandactuallygetoutofthehouse.”
KABUL, FEMALE FGD
“Sometimesit’sdifficulttoseethechange,but
whenothersfromtheoutsidepointitout,then
wesee,howfarwehavecomewiththisapproach.
Onemanasked‘whathappenedinthisarea?In
thebeginning,nowomancouldwalkandnowitis
a crowdofwomenhere!’Hesaid,‘youknowhere
area lotofwomen,andtheorganisationstarted
thisprogram.Thesewomenareveryclevernow.
You cannot deceive them.’” ORG. A., KABUL, INTERVIEW
“Beforeourinterventionintotheruralareas,the
womenwerenotallowedtogotothesociety,togo
tomeetings,togooutforshopping,fortrainingsor
workshopsandconferences.Butnowallofthem
comeoutfortheworkshops,seminarsandtrain-
ings.Theyevengooutofcountryforexhibitions
andtrainings.Lotsofsocialchangesarethere.”
ORG. C., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
58
Anotheraspectthatwaspointedoutbysev-
eralorganisationswastheperceptionthattheSHGs
helpedindecreasinggender-basedviolence.While
thisfindingisinthisreportanecdotalthroughthein-
terviews,itmeritsa morethoroughinvestigationin
thefuturewhether,andhowthesocio-economicin-
volvementinSHGschangesthesocialenvironmentin
householdstodecreaseviolenceagainstwomen.One
ofthelinkagesthatwasdrawnfromtheengagement
withinSHGsandthereductionofgender-basedvio-
lencewasthedevelopmentofassertivecommunica-
tionskillsandbeingabletodrawona supportnetwork
ofotherwomen:
“Itwasa women’seconomicempowermentpro-
gram,butthesocialimpactthatithadontheside
wasjustbeautiful.Itwassomethingwedidn’tin-
tend.Itwascalledwomen’sempowermentpro-
gram,andthenwesawthatithadsucha socialim-
pactthatweintroducedsomesocialmeasures
intothelogframe,too.Onethirdofthewomenre-
portedsomeformofdomesticviolencepriorto
theproject,andofthis¹/³rd,95%reporteda re-
ductioninviolence,whichisbrilliant.Ifyouhave
programsthatfocusonsocialempowerment,you
won’thavethiskindofoutcomeaswehaveseenin
thisproject.” ORG. L., INTERVIEW, KABUL
“Therearewomenthataresoshythattheycan’t
evengetupandsaytheirname.Itisimmensetosee
themaftera year.It’sa greatsuccesstoseethem
engaged,andtoevensharewitheachotherand
usthatthereareproblemswithgender-basedvio-
lence.Youneedtrusttovoicesomethinglikethat.It
givesthemcourage.” ORG. H.; KABUL, INTERVIEW
Womenarefurthermoreenabledtoengagein
incomegeneratingactivities.Asalreadynoted,most
womendidnothaveincomegeneratingjobsbefore
participatingintheSHGs.Whilethisgivesthemon
the one side an additional burden next to their house-
holdchores,theysometimesexperiencea changein
perceptionbytheirmalefamilymembersorcommu-
nityatlarge:
“TheCDCmembersstartedtoturntoourwomen
foradviceastheybecameknowledgeable,because
theyknewabouttechnicaltopics,savings,human
rights.Itflipped,theCDCmembersstartedtoap-
proachthesavinggroupmembersforadvice.The
mensawthattheirwivesknewsomethingandthis
changedtherelationshipsbetweenhusbandand
wife,aswellasfathersanddaughters.Becausesud-
denly they were not considered useless at home
anymore.Theystartedtoproducesomethingthat
wasvaluableathome,theystartedtosellorbar-
terit,therewassomeincomeandallofthesudden
theyknewthings.Inthelivestockarea,thesewere
thingsthatnoteventhehusbandsknew.Wegot
feedbackfromthewomen,forexamplewhena cow
gotill,andthewomancameandsaid,thecowhas
thesesymptomsandyouneedtogetthismedicine,
gotothedoctortogetthisvaccine.Themenwere
dumbfoundedthattheygainedthisknowledge.”
ORG. L., KABUL, INTERVIEW
Whiletheseexamplespointtoa developmentin
theirsocietalrole,thisstudyfoundthattheimpacton
thechangesindecisionmakingwasnotaspronounced
asexpectedonthebaseSHGlevel.Womenwereem-
poweredtobebreadwinnersaswellandtoengagewith
theotherwomenintheirgroups.Thismighthaveledto
a changeintheirassertivenesswithintheirfamilies:
“Theprogramhashadanimpactondecisionmak-
ing.Thewomeninourprojecthavereportedinour
last assessment that they can make decisions in
theirhouseholdsandthattheyfeelempowered.”
ORG. F., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
However,itgenerallydidnotleaddirectlyto
a differentpositionforwomenwithintheircommuni-
tiesatlarge.Womenreportthattheparticipationin
theSHGshasgiventhema heightenedsenseofpur-
poseand(group)identity,andfacilitatorsobserved
thatwomenhavebecomemoreself-assertiveover
timeastheyengageinSHGactivities.Thesedevelop-
mentscanbeseenasprecursorsofthedevelopment
thatisvisiblewithintheClusterandFederationstag-
es,inwhichwomenbecomecommunitychangersand
civil society aware due to their involvement in local and
regionalproblems.Whilethebaseisbeinglaidonthe
SHGlevel,wherewomenbecomeself-assertiveand
seethemselvesasactiveagents,theyseethecollective
impactthattheycanhaveontheircommunitiesonce
theystarttogetorganisedontheClusterLevel.
A developmentinsocialroleswasthenpercep-
tibleontheClusterandFederationLevel,wherewom-
enweremadeawaremoreabouttheimpactthatthey
59
canhaveconcerningtheircommunities’problems.At
thislevel,womensawthattheycaneffectchangeif
theygetorganisedwitheachotherandapproachgov-
ernmentofficesordecisionmakersinthepublicrealm.
Thisexpressesitselfinchangesofthewomen’sposition
withinthecommunity,wherewomenareempowered
toapproachlocalauthoritiestoaddresscommunity
problems.Manywomenwereproudtohaveachieved
changesintheircommunityinfrastructure(roads,pro-
tectivefloodwalls,mobileclinics,forexample)that
menwerenotabletobringbefore:
“IntheSHGswemainlyfocusonourownhouse-
holdsandonourbusinesses.Whenwecometo
theClustermeetingswetalkaboutproblemsthat
wefaceinourcommunities.Manyissueshave
beenresolvedthroughtheinitiativeofourCluster.
InDaste-eBarchiweorganiseda mobileclinicthat
iscomingtherenow.” FGD WITH CLA, KABUL
“Theassociationwithinthatdistrict/areahasa lotof
power.Mostofchangeshappenthroughtheassoci-
ation.Whenproblemscomeup,itisusuallyshared
withtherepresentativeofthearea.Therehasbeen
a problemwiththeirrigationattheriverwherewe
liveintheChillsetoonarea.Theproblemwasthat
theriverwastoobigandinwinterwhenitwasrain-
ing,itstartedflooding.Peoplewereaffectedbythe
floodandhadtorunawayfromit.Soourgroupde-
cidedtotalkwiththerepresentativeofthearea,
andwemanagedtogettotheofficialsandtoaffect
thattheybuilttwowallssothatwhenitisraining
andfloodcomes,everyonecanbesafe.Thisprob-
lemhadbeentherefora verylongtimeandmen
hadnotbeenabletodoit.Therewasfunds,money,
gatherings/jirgas,butnoonewasabletogetaction
topreventthisproblem.Itwasthroughuswomen
comingtogether,thatwebroughtchangetothis.”
FGD WITH CLA, KABUL
A changeinpositionintermsofleadership
mightonlybecomevisibleattheClusterorFedera-
tionlevel,however,thebasesforitneedstobelainon
theSHGlevel,wherewomenbecomeself-assertive
andseethemselvesasactiveagents.
Apartfromthisgenderedimpact,someorgan-
isationsalsodescribedthattheSHGswereengines
ofsocialcohesionina societyasdiverseasthatofAf-
ghanistan,inbringingtogetherdifferentethnicities
andbridgingsectariandivides:
“InAfghanistantherearetworeligioussects,
Shi’a andSunni,andwehavedifferentethnic
groups,likePashtun,Uzbek,Tajik,Hazara.Now
theycometogetherunderonerooftodiscusswith
eachotherinmeetingswithoutanydiscrimination.
That’shappeningintheSHGs”
ORG. C., MAZAR-E SHARIF, INTERVIEW
3.5.4. Negative Impact
Thereareonlya fewnegativeimpactsthatareper-
ceptibleconcerningtheSelf-HelpGroupapproach.
Onenegativeimpactcanbethechoicetoei-
thergothroughthelocalshuraorCDC. Whilea lotof
organisationsreportedpositiveexperiencesinutilis-
inglocalpowerstructurestoentercommunities,these
shuras/CDCscanfunctionasgatekeeperstoresources.
Anorganisationneedstobewellsetupintermsoftheir
socialfacilitatorsandtheircontacttothelocalcommu-
nitytonavigatethelayersofhierarchysuccessfully.It
liesoutsidethescopeofthisresearchtoassesswheth-
erthedealingwiththeshuras/CDCsisenablingthees-
tablishmentorentrenchmentofmonopoliesofpower
inthesecommunities,butitshouldbepointedoutthat
itisa possibility.Thefactthatmostorganisationsfindit
impossibletootherwiseaccesslocalcommunities,and
haveselectivelyfacedtheabuseofthispower,isindic-
ativeofanunderlyingtension.
A possibleshortfalloftheSHGapproachis
theamountoftimeandsupportitneedstogetup
runningandsustainitself.Whilethegeneralset-up
iscost-effectiveandprettystraightforward,theap-
proachreallyonlyunfoldsitsfullpotentialwhen
usedasa long-termdevelopmenttool.Someorgan-
isationshavetermedthisa ratherprocess-orient-
edapproach,orhavedescribedthechangethatthey
haveundergoneasonefromprojecttoprogram.
Boththetimeframenecessarytoeffectbe-
haviouralandperspectivechangeinbeneficiar-
ies,aswellastheinputintermsoftraining,should
notbeunderestimated.TheSHGapproachcannot
bethoughtofasa short-termfix.Ifanorganisation
triestoestablishthesegroupswithshorttimeframe
inmindandwithoutthinkingthroughanembedding
intoa sustainableoverarchingstructure,theyrun
therisktoseetheireffortsfallapartuponpulling
out,andbecomingjustanotherwell-meantdevelop-
mentprojectlikeAfghanshaveseenmany.
60
Anothernegativeimpactcanbetheinconsist-
encybetweenorganisationsthatgivemoneyasseed
money,grants,ortopups,andotherorganisations
thatarenotgivingthiskindoffinancialsupport.
Thedefendersofa‘pure’SHGapproachallege
thatpayinganykindofmoneytothegroupswilllead
toincreaseddependenceandexpectationsfromthe
beneficiariestowardsorganisations.Theyadvocateto
playthelonggametime-wise,andtoworkwithwhat-
evercommunityresourcesareavailableinbuildingup
thefinancialbaseinthesavingbox.Ontheotherend
ofthespectrumaretheorganisationsthatdecidedto
givemoneyasanadditiontotheself-establishedre-
volvingfundofthegroup,whichenablesbeneficiaries
totakebiggerloansfasterthantheywouldhavebeen
abletodowithoutthefunding.However,thegivingof
moneywasunanimouslyreflectedinbeneficiaries’de-
mandsformoremoney—whichcontrastswiththe
FGDsconductedinSHGsthatdidnotreceiveaddi-
tionalfunding.Themiddlegroundbetweena‘pure’ap-
proachandthedecisiontogivemoney,istakenbyor-
ganisationsthatdonotpaymoneybutofferpackages
thatcontainthenecessarymaterialfortheskillsthat
theytaughtinthetrainings.
AstheSHGapproachisspreadinginAfghani-
stan,thisdifferentialinitsimplementationiscreating
differentexpectationsinbeneficiaries.Inothercoun-
tries,wheretheSHGapproachisalreadymoreformal-
ised,governmentshavetakena leadinmakingthose
decisionsuniform.ForexampleinSriLanka,organisa-
tionsthatimplementtheSHGapproacharenotallowed
togivemoney.96Theyareonlyallowedtooffertrainings
andtosupportthegroupswithmaterialssuchastool-
kitsthatmightbeneededtostartsmallbusinesses.
3.6. Summary of DAC Criteria
Relevance
— Theapproachwasofhighrelevancetomostcom-
munitiesthattherespectiveorganisationsin-
terfacedwith.Thecommunitiesthatwerecho-
senbythedifferentorganisationsweremostly
poorandhadnoassetswithwhichtobackthees-
tablishmentofnewbusinessesorgainingcredits
frombanks.TheSHGapproachthereforeoffered
a greatopportunityforthemtocreatea stable,fi-
nancial base.
— Duetothedifferentfocioforganisationsimple-
mentingtheapproach,relevancecouldmeandif-
ferentthings:relevanceineconomictermscould
beovershadowedbyrelevanceinsocio-politi-
calempowerment.Notallorganisationschoseto
workexclusivelywiththepoorestofthecommu-
nitiesthattheyentered,buttosupporttheones
whoweremostsusceptibletotheideaorthat
wereapproachablethroughtheirshura/CDC.
— Theapproachhada higherrelevanceforwomen
thanformen.Whilesomeorganisationsworked
withbothgenders,itwasfoundthattheamountof
supportprovidedbytheorganisationswasbetter
tailoredtotheneedsofwomenthanformen,to
empowerthemsociallyandeconomically.
96 InterviewUN-Habitat,Kabul,December2017.
— ThestudypointstowardstherelevanceofSHGs
inintegratingreturnees/IDPswithhostcommu-
nity.However,duetothefactthatonlyPINhad
a strongfocusonthisissue,andotherorganisa-
tionsjustservicedIDPs/returneesiftheyhap-
penedtobepartofa community,comparative
findingsarelacking.
Effectiveness
— TheeffectivenessoftheSelf-HelpGroupapproach
liespartlyinitsgrassrootsengagementwithlocal
communities. Only when the communities them-
selvesembracetheapproachashelpfulandac-
ceptablecanithaveanyviableeconomicorsocial
impact.Mostorganisationschoosetoenterlocal
communitiesthroughvillageelders,traditionalvil-
lageassemblies(shuras)ortheCommunityDevel-
opmentCouncil,whichtheysawasaneffective
waytogetintroducedtolocalcommunitiesinan
amiableway.However,ina considerablenumberof
instances,goingthroughtheshuras/CDCswasex-
periencedasproblematiceitherforbeneficiaryse-
lectionorforenteringthecommunityoverall.Al-
thoughaddressinga communitythroughtheshura/
CDCisportrayedthroughmostorganisationsas
thebestway,itisnottheonlyviableaccesspoint.
Asoneorganisationdemonstrated,goingdirectly
tothecommunityanditswomenispossibleaswell.
However,circumventingexistingpowerstructures
doesnotcomewithoutrisks.Bothstrategiesbring
theirowndifficultiesandneedcarefulconsidera-
tiontomaketheapproacheffective.
— Someintervieweespositedthatsecuritywasa de-
61
terminingfactorinhowwelltheywereabletosu-
pervisethegroups,andthatthelackofsuper-
visionduetosecuritydiminishedtheeffective
establishmentofwell-functioninggroups.Gener-
ally,however,organisationsseemedtoworkwith-
outseriousthreats,whichmightbeduetothe
factthattheychosetoworkinurbanareas,where
theyaregenerallymoreprotected,andtoengage
closelywiththecommunity,whichgiveslocalsup-
portinsecurityconcernsaswell.
— Timing:SHGsinthemselvescanbesetuprath-
erquickly,witha generaltimeframeof3yearsfor
a stable,matureSHG. However,toachievethe
neededbehaviouralchanges,toembedthesaving
structurewiththecommunitiesandtoofferthem
a viablefutureoutlookinregionalconnectivity
throughCLAsandFederationstakeslonger.This
comparativelylongtimeframe,6–10years,mir-
rorswhatoneintervieweediscussedasa general
shiftintheoutlookofhisorganisationfroma pro-
jecttoa program-basedperspectiveondevelop-
ment.
— FundingAddition:Theoverallflexibilityofthe
SHGapproach,intermsofguidingphilosophyand
beneficiaryprofiles,translatesintoa flexiblestrat-
egy.SomeSHGsadvocatedforseedgrantstohelp
speedupthecapitalaccumulationforbusiness-
es,whilesomearguedavoidingoutsidefunding
wasimportanttopreventdependencies.Those
whoreceivedgrantsweremorepronetoasking
formoregrantsbutintheabsenceofthese,their
SHGsdidnotcollapse.Itseemsmanagingexpec-
tationsprovedvaluableforthoseorganisations
offeringgrants:i.e.clearlystatingfromtheout-
setthatgrantwouldbelimitedtooneandperhaps
onemorefollow-up.
Efficiency
— Thecostofthephysicalinputsisrelativelysmallin
termsofset-up.
— Thesalariesforcommunityfacilitatorsvaried
markedly,dependingonwhethertheywereem-
ployedbya locally-basedNGOorpartofa govern-
mentorUN-facilitatedproject.
— Noneoftheinterviewedorganisationshadmade
anycostbenefitanalysisperSHG,usuallydueto
thefactthattheyreceivedanoverallbudgetfor
theprojectinwhichtheindividualprojectitems
(suchassalariesortrainings)werespecified,but
notbrokendowntothecostofeachSHG. Howev-
er,allorganisationsthatwerestillrunningSHGs
currentlywereoftheopinionthattheSHGswere
a cost-effectivechoicetoaffectsocialandeco-
nomicdevelopmentintheirpartnercommunities.
Sustainability
— SHGsthatwerevisitedespeciallyinMazar-eSha-
rifandKabul,whichdidnotreceivesupportfrom
anyorganisationanymore,werestillactiveand
runningbythemselves.Thewomenweremeet-
ing,puttingmoneyasideforsavingsandsupport-
ingeachother’sbusinessventures.Italsoappears
thatwhenthereisa certaingroupspiritestab-
lished,thattheeffectmightspread:notonlywere
groupsinMazar-eSharifstillactiveafterphase-
out,buttheyalsogavetheirknowledgefurtherto
otherwomenandsupportedneighboursinestab-
lishingtheirownSHGswithoutanyorganisation’s
input.
— Insomeorganisationstherelationshipbetween
facilitatorand(illiterate)SHGshowedtobedevel-
opingintoa dependencyinitself,especiallywhen
thefacilitatortakesontheroleofthecommuni-
ty’sbookkeeperintheabsenceofliterateSHG
members.Ontheonehand,trainingofkeypeo-
plewithinthegroupsuchascashier,grouplead-
er,etc.facilitatedthehandoveroftheskillstothe
groupthemselves.Ontheotherhand,developing
a clear-definedphasingouttime-frameandstrat-
egyforthefacilitatorsarekeytoenableboththe
facilitatorandthegrouptoretainmorewell-de-
finedroles.
— Mostorganisationspointedoutthata clearlyde-
finedexitstrategyisa majorcomponentofestab-
lishingSHGsassustainableentitiesafterphasing
outexternalinputsandassistance.Thisstrate-
gyshouldfurthermorebecommunicatedclear-
lywiththecommunityinwhichtheSHGsarebe-
ingimplementedsothatthecommunityisaware
ofthescopeandtimeframeandendingofthepro-
ject,aswellashowtocontinueaftertheorgani-
sationhasleft.A successfulexitstrategyincludes
theestablishmentofa viableaccesstoa market
toensurethattheproduceofthebeneficiaries
reachescustomers,thesecondvitalcomponentis
theestablishmentofoverarchingstructuressuch
asCLAsand/orFederationsthatcansupportthe
SHGsintheirweeklyfunctioningevenwhenthe
implementingorganisationhaspulledout.
63
4. CONCLUSION OF EVALUATION
ThereportanalysestheSelf-HelpGroupapproach
throughtheapplicationoftheDACcriteria(seepart
3).ThispartoffersanevaluationoftheSHGapproach
againstthethreethematicareasofinstitutionalsta-
bility,socialdevelopmentaswellaseconomicde-
velopment.Additionally,theconclusionsummarises
findingsinthecross-cuttingtopicsthatweread-
dressedwithinthereport,suchasgenderdynamics,
suitabilityfortargetgroup(s)includingIDPs,andthe
urbanaswellasspecificallylocal—i.eAfghan—con-
text.
4.1. Social development
ThefindingsofthisreportindicatethattheSHGap-
proachleadstothesocialempowermentofitsmem-
bersthroughbuildingcommunitiesofinterdepend-
enceandmutualtrust,whichdevelopa socialsafety
networkthatsupportstheeconomicventuresofits
members.
Usually,SHGmembersdidnotknoweachoth-
erbeforejoiningtheSelf-HelpGroups,eventhough
theyhadlivedinclosevicinitytoeachother.This
mightbeduetotheurbancontextinwhichneigh-
bourlytiesaremuchweakerthaninruralareas.The
developmentoftrustwasseenasa majorassetinad-
dressingpersonalproblemsthatthemembersfaced
intheirdailylives.Livinga lifeinpovertyatthebarefi-
nancialminimumalsomeansinAfghanistanthatfami-
liesfinditdifficulttoaddressproblemssuchashealth
care.Asthereisnoestablishedorwell-functioning
healthinsurancesysteminAfghanistan,familiesare
leftontheirowntofindthefinancialsupporttopay
formedicalexaminations.Here,Self-HelpGroups
oftenfunctionedasa kindofinsuranceplan,where
memberscouldimmediatelyreceivesupportandpay
backexpenseslater.
Thesafetynetworkdevelopedwithina Self-
HelpGroupoperatesontwodifferentlevels:group
membersgettoknoweachotherandbuildupknowl-
edgeofeachother’ssocialandeconomicsituationas
wellaseachother’sbehaviour.Thisknowledge,which
isgeneratedthroughinteractionandexchangeand
throughseeingeachotherbehavingresponsiblywith
everyone’sfinancialinputs,createstrust.Thiscom-
munityoftrustandinterconnectednesssupports
eachindividualperson’seconomicventuressocial-
lyandeconomically.Incasetheindividualexperienc-
esdifficultiesintheirbusiness,theyhavetheability
toaskforsupportfromthegroup—eitherinmone-
tarytermsthroughorinsocialtermsofknowledgeex-
changetosupporteachotherwithinsightsintohow
toaddressa specificdifficulty.
TheSHGgroupsfurthermorehavea gendered
impact.First,visitingtheSHGmeetingsextendsthe
movementradiusofmanywomen.Mostwomen
reachedwiththeSHGapproachdon’thavea jobfor
whichtheyleavetheirhomes,andinmoreconserva-
tivecommunities,womenmainlystayathometolook
afterthechildrenandthehousehold.Theassociation
withtheSelf-HelpGroupsandtheirregularmeetings
thereforealreadyexposethewomentoanextend-
ednetworkofotherwomenintheirvicinity.Women
arefurthermoreenabledtoengageinincomegener-
atingactivities.Apartfromtheeconomicimpactthat
thishasontheirfamilies,theysometimesexperience
a changeinperceptionbytheirmalefamilymembers
orcommunityatlarge,wheretheyareseenasa re-
source.However,thisstudyfoundthattheimpact
onthechangesindecisionmakingwasnotaspro-
nouncedasexpected.Womenwereempoweredtobe
additionalbreadwinnersbutitgenerallydidnotlead
toa differentpositionforwomenwithintheircom-
munities.A changewasonlyperceptiblewiththesuc-
cessfulintroductionofClustersandFederations.
Thegrouphasbecomeformanymembers
a knowledgehub,wheretheycanbringtheirques-
tionsandreceivesupportfromotherswhomight
havethenecessaryexpertisethattheyarestilllack-
ing.Thislevelofgroupnessfurtherextendstothe
perceptionofmembersoftheSHGasa placetogain
couragetomakechangesintheirsurroundings.How-
ever,actualchangesintheirrespectivecommunities
andproblemsolvingonthemoreextendedlocaland
regionallevelbeyondindividualincomegeneration
againonlystartedformostwomenwhentheybe-
cameengagedinClustersandFederations.
4.2. Economic development
TheSelf-HelpGroupapproachcanleadinthemedi-
umtolongtermtotheeconomicempowermentof
itsmembers.WhileithastobesaidthattheSHGap-
64
proachisnota quickfix(see 4.3ontimeframe),SHG
membersweregenerallysatisfiedwiththefinancial
supporttheyreceivedandthestabilitytheyexperi-
encedthroughparticipatingintheirrespectiveSelf-
HelpGroups.
Theeconomicprocessesofloans,savingsand
possibleinvestmentsweredecidedwithinthegroups
intheirregularmeetingsandwerefoundbytheSHG
memberstobefairandtransparent.Thegroupscol-
lectivelydecidedwhomtogiveloans,inwhichinter-
valstopaybackandwhethermemberswereableto
deferrepaymentifneeded.Generally,financialpro-
cessesseemedwellestablishedintheSHGsthatwere
visitedandinwhichtheFGDswereconducted.The
fewFGDsthatdidreportproblemsinloanrepayment
notedtheproblemwasusuallysolvedbygivingmore
timetotheborrower.Insomecases,especiallywhen
theeconomicbaseoftheloanrepaymenthadbeen
damaged(forexamplethroughthedeathofanani-
mal),thegroupdecidedtoextenda secondloantoen-
ablethegroupmembertorepaytheloanamount.The
establishedtrustinthegrouptherebyhelpedtoover-
comeadversitythatinothercases,forexamplewith
conventionalloans,mighthaveledintoa loanspiral
fromwhichitmightbedifficulttorecover.Loanre-
paymentproblemsseemstohaveonlyledinveryrare
casestotheremovalofparticipantsfromthegroup.
TheabilityofSelf-HelpGroupstoreachand
empowerpoorsegmentsofAfghansocietyisunique
inthatithelpsthemtostrengtheninterdependent
communitiesoftrustwhichcanalsobeconverted
intocollateral.Askedforalternativestothisapproach
inaccessingloans,participantsunilaterallyanswered
thatloansfrombankswouldtakeinterest,whichthey
judgedun-Islamic.Furthermore,banksusuallyre-
questsomesortofcollateral,whichthesepoorcom-
munitiessimplydidnothave.AlternativessuchasMi-
crofinanceloanswereeithernotwellknowninthe
communityorjudgedtobeequallyun-Islamicasoth-
erbankingoptions.
Onlysomeorganisationsthatwereinterviewed
forthisresearchhadexperienceswithMicrofinance
Institutionsandbanks,andhadlinkedtheirSHGsto
commercialMicrofinanceInstitutions.However,most
unequivocallysawMicrofinanceasnota viableoption.
SomehadcontemplatedlinkingtheirSHGswithMi-
crofinanceInstitutionsbutshiedawayfromitdueto
interest-bearingpracticeswithinMicrofinance.This
mightbealsoduetothefactthatMicrofinanceinAf-
ghanistanfunctionsinthesenseoftheinitialGrameen
bank’sapproachtopovertyalleviation,butsometimes
resemblesmorea standardloanapproachwithsmall-
erloans.However,recentdevelopmentswithinthe
MicrofinancesectorinAfghanistanandgloballyhave
seentheintroductionofIslamicfinancingtools,which
havecreateda sub-sectorofIslamicMicrofinance.This
sectorhasestablisheditselfinAfghanistan’surbanare-
asandoffers,especiallywiththeMurabahasalestrans-
action,a viableoptiontoextendsmallbuddingbusi-
nessesina Shariahcompliantway.
4.3. Institutional stability
OneofthemaincharacteristicsthatsetstheSHGap-
proachapartfromotherdevelopmentapproachesis
thetimeframenecessarytomakeSelf-HelpGroups
successfulandsustainable.Inadditiontoeffective
trainingcomponentsanda well-definedexitstrategy
linkedtoa viablefuturemarketforparticipants’prod-
ucts,timewasseenastheAchillesheeloftheSHGs,
whichcanmakeorbreaktheproject.
Generally,mostorganisationsthoughtthat
3 yearswasa feasibletimeframeforestablishing
strong,independentSHGs,thoughtheypointedout
thata longertimeframeisnecessarytoestablish
broaderstructuresthatcansupportSHGsinthefu-
ture,suchasClustersandFederations,whichmake
theSHGssustainablethroughtheirembeddinginto
a widerregionalandstructuralnetwork.Mostinter-
vieweessuggestedthattheSHGapproachneeded
a long-termcommitmentoforganisationsanddonors
tofullysucceed,whichliesratherina 6to10-yearde-
velopmentframework.
Preconditionsforsuccessfullyestablishing
ClustersandFederationsaretheexistenceofstable
andmaturedSelf-HelpGroups,thatshowa willing-
nesstogetinvolvedinfurthervolunteerworkonthe
ClusterandFederationLevel.SimilarlytoSHGs,Clus-
terandFederationmembersneedtheirownspecif-
ictraininginadditiontotrainingprovidedattheSHG
stage.Inadditiontothetrainingsthataregearedto-
wardsbuildingtheunderstandingofthemembersas
totheirresponsibilityinparticipatinginClustersand
Federations,organisationsoftendecidetoofferad-
ditionalskills-buildingtrainingsandexposurevisits
forClusters.Thisdoesnotonlyenablethemembers
oftheClusterstolearnnewtechniques,butalsotore-
laythesebacktotheirownSHGsandtospreadinfor-
mationtoa wideraudience.Oneofthekeyaspectsof
65
buildingupsuccessfulClustersandFederationswas
establishinga groupidentityasmembersofthesedif-
ferentassociationallevels.Tofurtherthisaspect,or-
ganisationstooktheirClusterandFederationmem-
bersouttocelebrateimportantmilestonesandto
experienceeachotherina supportivegroupsetting.
Self-HelpGroupsweregenerallyfoundtobe
mainlyfocusedontheirowneconomicandsocialde-
velopment.Thedevelopmentofa groupconscious-
nessthattranscendsthelocalgroupandtakesaction
withintheirwidercommunitywas,understandably,
seenattheClusterandFederationlevel.Thosere-
gionalassociationsofferthepossibilityforactivepar-
ticipationwithincivilsociety.
However,Afghanistanhasatpresentnogov-
ernmentalstructuretoeffectivelydealorinterface
withSHGs.Unlikeothercountries,whichofferde-
partmentsthatdealwithSelf-HelpGroups,Afghan-
istanlacksanynationalpolicy,guidelineordepart-
mentwithcontactpersonstooversee,streamlineor
guidetheprocessofSHGestablishment.Organisa-
tionscomplainedaboutthislackasitwouldsupport
thesustainabilityofexistingSHGsafterthepull-out
ofanorganisation.
Mostorganisationsworkedselectivelywith
differentministries,dependingontheprogramcom-
ponentthatthesedepartmentswereresponsible
for.Thevocationaltrainingcomponentwasusually
alignedwiththeMinistryofLaborandorganisations
receivedsupportfromtheMinistryofWomen’sAf-
fairsandtheMinistryofAgriculture.Theseselective
collaborationsareencouragingintermsoffutureen-
gagementbetweengrass-rootslevelorganisations’
workandpossiblefuturelinkstogovernmentagen-
cies.Itcouldbeadvisabletolobbyfortheestablish-
mentofa responsibledepartmentdealingwithMicro-
financeorspecificallywithsavinggroupssuchasthe
Self-HelpGroups.ThiscouldbepossibleintheMin-
istryofFinance(whichmightoverseemicrofinance
inthefuture),MinistryofJustice(wherefederations
cangetregistered),MinistryofLabor(whichoversees
vocationaltrainings)orMinistryofEducation(which
wouldalignwithothergoalsoftheSHGs).
Itneedstobestressedthatanembeddingof
SHGsinthegovernmentalstructurebringsthepossi-
bleriskofa formalizationinbureaucraticstructures
thatcanmaketheimplementationinflexible.Instruc-
tively,governmentalsupportwasgenerallyrequest-
edbyorganisationseitherinthefunctionofgiving
initialguidanceandinformation,orforthefinalhand-
overofexistingSHGs,ClustersandFederations,to
offera counterpart.Governmentalsupportwasnot
thoughtofasrunning,regulating,orlimitingSHGs,
butratherasa pointofcontacttoprovideinformation
anda networkingpointforSHGimplementersand
SHGsthemselves.
4.4. Conclusions for Cross-Cutting Issues
4.4.1. Gender Dynamics
ExistinggenderrolesinAfghansocietyhada reciprocal
effectontheimplementationoftheSHGapproachin
Afghanistanbothintermsofchallengesandoutcomes.
Theimpactofexistinggenderrolesmanifests
inthedecisionofNGOstoaccesswomeninthere-
spectivecommunitiesthroughthe(mostlymale)
CDCsorthroughgainingapprovaltoworkwiththe
womenfirstfrommalefamilymembersandrelatives.
NGOsstatedthattheywerenotabletoworkwith
thewomenofa givencommunitywithouttheexplic-
itsupportofthemalemembersofthatcommunity,
a statementthatwasmirroredunanimouslybyFGD
participantsinthatallofthemhadtoobtainmalefam-
ilymemberapprovalbeforewomenwereabletoat-
tendtheregularSHGmeetings.
Once contact was established with the women
andtheSHGswererunning,however,theapproach
showeda directimpactinthefirstyearsofestablish-
ment,connectedwithmobilitywithintheircommu-
nities.Putquitesimply,visitingtheSHGmeetingsex-
tendstherangeofmobilityofmanywomen.Most
womenwhoarereachedwiththeSHGapproach
don’thavea jobforwhichtheyleavetheirhomes,and
inmoreconservativecommunities,womenmainly
stayathometolookafterthechildrenandthehouse-
hold.TheassociationwiththeSelf-HelpGroupsand
theirregularmeetingsthereforeexposethewomen
toanextendednetworkofotherwomenintheirvicin-
ity,whomtheynotonlyseeattheSHGsbutalsovis-
itforothersocialoccasions.Furthermore,starting
a businessventureoftenbringsthewomenincontact
withsellersinbazaarsorwithothermiddlemen,and
offersopportunitiestoacquaintthemselveswithoth-
erbusiness-relatedplaces,whichisa clearextension
oftheirspatialmobilityandsocialcapital.
Subsequently,manypositivesocialimpacts
develop,suchasthedevelopmentofgroupsolidari-
ty and social as well as economic networks that can
supportindividualsandfamilies.Formanymembers,
66
theirgroupshavebecomea knowledgehubwhere
theycanbringtheirquestionsandreceivesupport
fromotherswhomighthavethenecessaryexpertise
thattheyarestilllacking.Thispeer-to-peerknowl-
edgetransferenableslearningnotonlyfromoutside
actorssuchasNGOsbutalsowithintheirowngroups,
whichbecomesa resourceinitself.
Womenstatedthattheydeveloped“a sense
oftrust”amongeachotherthroughwhichtheycould
shareprivatemattersaswellaseconomicgrievanc-
es.Someorganisationsalsoreportedthattheempow-
ermentofwomeninthesegroupsenabledthemto
addressorevenminimizegender-basedviolence.How-
ever,thefindingsinthisreportareratheranecdotal
andrequirefurtherresearchtosubstantiatetheclaims.
Womenreportthattheparticipationinthe
SHGshasgiventhema heightenedsenseofpurpose
and(group)identity,andfacilitatorsobservedthat
womenhavebecomemoreself-assertiveovertimeas
theyengageinSHGactivities.Thesedevelopments
canbeseenasprecursorstothesocio-politicalde-
velopmentthatisvisiblewithintheClusterandFed-
erationstages,inwhichwomenbecomecommunity
changersandcivilsocietyawareduetotheirinvolve-
mentinlocalandregionalproblems.Whilethefoun-
dationisbeinglaidattheSHGlevel,wherewomen
becomeself-assertiveandseethemselvesasactive
agents,theyseethecollectiveimpactthattheycan
haveontheircommunitiesoncetheystarttogetor-
ganisedattheClusterLevel.Thishasalsoledinsome
casestochangesofthewomen’spositionwithinthe
community,wherewomenareempoweredtoap-
proachlocalauthoritiestoaddresscommunityprob-
lems.Manywomenwereproudtohaveachieved
changesintheircommunityinfrastructure(roads,
protectivefloodwalls,mobileclinics,forexample)
thatmenwerenotabletobringbefore.
Generally,differencesbetweenmaleandfe-
maleSHGsareperceptibleinexpectationsthatthe
genderedSHGshavetowardsthesupportcoming
fromNGOs.Whileformostwomentheparticipation
inSHGsleadsthemtotheirfirstincome-generating
enterprise,menhavemostlybeenpartofthejobmar-
ketpriortoparticipatinginSHGs.Thisexperienceand
theexpectationwithinAfghansocietytowardsmen
toprovidefortheirwholefamilymakestheSHGpar-
ticipationanadditionalincomesource,butmostoften
nottheonlyone.Menusuallyexpressedmorestrong-
lythattheyneededadditionalfundingforlargeren-
terprisesandthatthesupporttheyreceivedfromthe
NGOwasa goodstartingpoint,butultimatelynot
enough.Men’s(un)availabilityandtheirgeneralde-
mandsforhigherfinancialsupportfromtheorgani-
sationsshowsthatotherinputsareneededtoimple-
mentthesameprojectsformencomparedtowomen.
4.4.2. Afghan Context
Theresearchshowsthattheconceptofsavingand
mutualsupportgroupsinAfghanistanpre-dates
theintroductionoftheformalsystemofSelf-Help
Groups.SavinggroupsexistinvariousAfghancom-
munities,thoughmainlyamongextendedfamilies.
TheconceptofSHGsasintroducedthroughNGOs
cangraftitselfontotheexistingunderstandingand
extendthereachthroughitsinclusionofnon-family
membersandadditionaltrainingsthatbuildcapacity.
AnotheraspectoftheimplementationofSHGs
intheAfghancontextistheworkthroughgatekeep-
erssuchasCDCsandshuras.Mostorganisations
choosetoenterlocalcommunitiesthroughvillageel-
ders,traditionalvillageassemblies(shuras)orthe
CommunityDevelopmentCouncil(CDC).Working
throughtheCDCsorlocalshuraswasmainlyseenas
amiableandsupportive,thoughsomeorganisations
reporteddifficultiesinestablishinginitialrapport
withtheCDCs/shurasandhadtocancelworkingwith
certaincommunitiesastheywerepreventedfromen-
gagingwiththecommunityundertheirownterms.
Oneorganisationdecidedtocircumventtheshuras/
CDCsaltogetherandwentdirectlytofamiliesina cer-
tainneighbourhood,askingthemwhetherthewomen
livingononestreetcouldgatherinoneofthehouses.
Thisresearchshowsthatalthoughaddressinga com-
munitythroughtheshura/CDCisportrayedthrough
mostorganisationsasthebestway,itisnottheonly
viableaccesspoint,anditcanalsoofferseriousdraw-
backs.Theotherwayofgoingdirectlytothecommu-
nityispossibleaswell.However,circumventingex-
istingpowerstructuresdoesnotcomewithoutrisks,
anditseemsmostfeasiblewhena community-inclu-
siveprocesscanleadtoanendresult.
Anotheraspectofpresent-dayAfghancon-
textistheexpectationbysomeAfghancommunities
ofmaterialandfinancialinputsfrominternationalor-
ganisations.Pastexperienceofsupportbyinterna-
tionalorganisationscanmakeworkingthroughlocal
CDCs,aswellasworkingmoregenerallywithlocal
communities,morecomplex.Managingexpectations
meanstheimplementingorganisationswillneedto
67
focusmorestronglyona goodmobilizationphasein
whichtheyexplaintheprojectanditsbenefitswell.
Someorganisationsexperiencedinitialresistancein
somecommunitiesastheydidnotbringwiththem
financialsupport(especiallyinthepureapproach
wheretheorganisationgivesneitherfinancialnorma-
terialinputs).Butlater,uponseeingthepositiveim-
pactinneighbouringcommunities,somecommunities
returnedtotheorganisationoftheirownvolition.
Oneofthemaindifferencesbetweentheim-
plementationoftheSHGapproachinAfghanistan
comparedtoothercountriesistheissueofinterest.
Whileinothercountriesinterestisoftenaddedto
theloanthatanSHGparticipantpaysback,inmost
Afghancommunitiesinterestisseenasun-Islamic.
Whilethereareexceptionstotherule,whereAfghan
SHGshavedecidedtolevya voluntary‘servicefee’
orallowforfinancialgiftstothegroup,mostSHGs
thatweresurveyedforthisreportrefuseda general,
pre-determinedinterestpayment.
4.4.3. Target Group
TheSHGapproachisusedbyvariousactorstoad-
dresseconomicdevelopmentandthesocialwell-be-
ingofcommunitiesthatstrengthensparticularlypoor
andvulnerablegroups.Theinterviewedorganisa-
tionsstatednearunanimouslythattheirfocuswas
thepoorestofpoorcommunitiesandthattheysaw
theapproachworkingwellforthistargetgroup.Some
ofthefindingsindicatethatespeciallypoorcommuni-
ties lack the collateral that would enable them to take
loansin“normal”bankingtransaction.TheSHGap-
proach,ontheotherhand,offersthemtheopportuni-
tytogeneratetrustascollateralwithwhichtheycan
buildupeconomicandsocialbackingfortheirbusi-
nessenterprises.
Whilepoorcommunitieswerea toppriority,
mostoftheorganisationsalsohadanintersectional
focusonworkingwithwomen,andfelttheapproach
waswellsuitedforwomeninAfghanistan.Rationales
forworkingwithwomenrangedfromeconomictoso-
cialorevenpoliticaljustifications.Economically,one
ofthemainargumentsforworkingwithwomenwas
thattheyareanuntappedworkforceanda morere-
liabletargetgroup.However,theSHGapproachwas
usedbymanyorganisationstotargetsocialempow-
ermentofwomen(see4.1. and4.4.1. formorede-
tailedresults).MeetingintheSHGgroupsshowedan
impactonwomen’smobility,ontheextensionoftheir
socialnetworksandthedevelopmentofmoreasser-
tivenessthroughtheacquisitionofskillsandmone-
taryresourcestohelpthemsupporttheirfamilies.Es-
peciallywomenwitha vulnerablebackground,such
asorphaned1woman,wereabletoaddresstheirin-
dividualneedsthatwerenotattendedtopreviously,
throughparticipationintheSHGgroups.
4.4.4. Urban Context
Theresearchfoundseveralaspectsinwhichtheur-
bancontextinfluencedtheimplementationofthe
SHGapproachinparticularways.
DependingonwhethertheSHGswereestab-
lishedinruralorurbanareas,thereweredifferenc-
esintheoccupationalfocusofparticipants’enter-
1 InAfghanistan,childrenwhohavelostoneoftheirparentsare
consideredorphaned.
prises.Mostimplementersinruralareas,predictably,
hadstrongercomponentsoflivestockandagriculture
thantheirurbancounterparts.
Moreimportantly,socialdifferencesinboth
settingsinfluencetheimplementationandimpact
oftheSHGapproach.Inmostinstances,SHGmem-
bers in urban contexts did not know each other be-
forejoiningtheSelf-HelpGroups,eventhough
theylivedinclosevicinitytoeachother.Thisislike-
lyduetotheurbancontextinwhichneighborlyties
aremuchweakerthaninruralareas.Whilethisas-
pectinfluencedthetimeneededtoestablisha func-
tioninggroupwhereindividualstrustoneanother,it
alsoresultedina strongerimpactindevelopingso-
cialcohesion.Thegroupsreportedbeingsurprised
byhowclosetheyhadbecomewitheachother,even
‘likea family’.Whilethiswasthecaseinmosturban
groups,NGOsworkinginruralsettingsreportedthat
pre-existingsocialriftsinfluencedthegroupdevel-
opmentinnegativewaysthatsometimeseveninhib-
itedgroupcohesion.Bringingthesegroupstogether
inurbanareasmighttherebysupportthecreationof
newsocialnetworksthatcanhelpparticipantstonav-
igatetheurbanenvironment,especiallyconsidering
Afghanistan’spaceofurbanization,withIDPsarriving
incitiesfromincreasinglyinsecureruralareasandre-
turneesfromabroad.
Thereseemstobegenerallymoremovement
withinurbansettings—i.e.peoplemovingdueto
housingcostsandavailability—whileinruralareas
peoplearemorefixedintheirlocalenvironment.This
hassometimesledtomorefluxinthecomposition
oftheSHGs.However,onceparticipantshadunder-
68
stoodandmadeuseoftheideaofSHGssufficiently,
theysometimes‘tooktheideawiththem’toestab-
lishnewgroups,ortheydecidedtostayintouchwith
theiroldgroups.
Structurally,workinginanurbanenvironment
offersopportunitiesforinstitutionalengagement,
suchaswithMicrofinanceInstitutions.InAfghanistan,
MicrofinanceInstitutionsmainlyoffertheirservic-
esinurbanareas.Thismeansthatafterorganisations
havephasedout,participantsofSHGscouldpoten-
tiallymakeuseofbiggerloansthroughaccessingMi-
crofinanceInstitutions.
4.4.5. Displacement and Uprooted People
Whilemostorganisationssurveyedinthisreportin-
cludedIDPsandreturnees,whoinmanycasesfitthe
standardizedselectioncriteria,thesewerenotspe-
cificallytargetedforrecruitment.Mostorganisations
thatarebasedinKabulshiedawayfromworkingwith
IDPcommunitiesbasedonnegativeexperienceswith
theKabulInformalSettlements(KIS)population.The
organisationsstatedthatattitudesofKISinhabitants
showedanaiddependencywhichresultedinunman-
ageabledemandsformaterialandfinancialsupport
fromimplementingorganisations.
Onlyoneorganisationinthisstudy,name-
lyPIN,hasusedtheSHGapproachtonotonlyad-
dressquestionsofpovertyandgender,butalsoofmi-
grationdirectly.Thefindingsfromthemixedgroups
consistingofIDP/returneepopulationsandperma-
nentresidentsareencouragingandshowhowtheap-
proachcanbeusedasanintegrativetool.Whilethe
establishmentofmixedIDP/hostcommunitygroups
sometimestookmoreeffortinitially,inpartbecause
ofstrongbiasesagainsttheminthehostcommunities,
theoutcomeshowsviablesocialandeconomicsup-
portnetworksandintegrationbetweenbothgroups.
CasesinJalalabadandHeratshowedthatthe
integrationofIDPsandreturneesintothehostcom-
munitiesworkedwellandwassupportedbythees-
tablishmentofSHGs.Whilemovementmightfluctu-
ateinothercountriesmorestronglyamongIDPsand
migrants,themigrationflowwithinthecitiesseem
tosupporta morestablemigrationpatterninwhich,
afterinitialmovement,a familyremainsinthesame
placeforprolongedperiodsoftime.Thisenablestheir
participationinSHGsasnormalmembers,whocan
contributejustasanyothermember.Participationin
theSHGgroupsenabledtheIDPfamiliestoestablish
socialconnectionstotheirnewsurroundingcommu-
nity,offeringthemsocialandeconomicstabilityand
a supportnetwork,whichtheyotherwisewouldhave
lacked.
4.5. Lessons Learned and Good Practices
Unlikeotherreportsthatevaluateonespecificpro-
jectorprogram,theevaluationofanapproachwith
differingprojectimplementationsthatvaryconsid-
erably,bringsthedifficultyofoutlininglessonslearnt
andgoodpracticesfromprojectswhoseinsights
sometimescontradicteachother.Thissectionthere-
foredoesnotclaimuniversality,butattemptstogive
optionsthatcanbeimportanttoconsiderinthees-
tablishmentanddevelopmentofa viableSHGimple-
mentation.
Background
— WhiletheformalisationoftheSHGapproachcan
betracedtoinputsfromIndiaandBangladesh,
thegeneralideaofsavinggroupsandactivesocial
networksthatsupportfamilyandrelativesisan
indigenousconceptwellknowntomanyAfghans.
Thisoffersanideationalfoundationfortheimple-
mentationofSHGs
Start
— Basetheskilldevelopmentthatisofferedonan
actuallocalmarketassessmenttofindoutwhat
theneediswhichtheSHGscanfill
— Needs assessments can be conducted either
throughcost-effectiveandparticipatoryprocess-
esorthroughmultiplestageassessmentsinclud-
ingdata-sourcingfromthirdorganisationsand
rankingcommunitymembersaccordingtotheir
vulnerability and/or resilience
— ClearcommunicationwiththeSHGaboutthe
timeandsupportscopeoftheprojectaswellas
theexitstrategyiskeytoa clearunderstandingof
expectationsandlimitsofsupport
— Itcanbegoodtoleada thoroughdiscussionwith
thecommunityaboutanynegativeexperiences
thattheymighthavehadinthepast,bothinterms
ofotherNGOsimplementingSHGsorwithMi-
crofinanceInstitutionstodetermineexpectations
andexperiences
— SHGscanbetoolsforsuccessfulintegrationof
IDPsandreturneesintohostcommunities.This
oftennecessitatesa longer,plannedoutcommuni-
tymobilizationandengagement
69
— Organisationschosetogaintrustandapprov-
althroughmalefamilyandcommunitymembers
firsttobeabletoworkwiththewomenofa given
community
Facilitation
— FemaleFacilitatorsforfemalegroups,malefacili-
tatorsformalegroups
— EnteringcommunitythroughShura/CDCisoften
practiced,thoughitcanbedonedirectlyaswell
— ClearguidelinesforbothfacilitatorsandtheSHGs
arehelpfultoinformeachpartyoftheirroleinset-
tingupandrunningtheSHGs
— Uponvisitfromthefacilitatortothegroup,thefa-
cilitatorshouldasktheparticipantstonamethe
amountofmoneyinthesavingboxandtomake
sure that each member knows how much they
haveputinandhowmuchmoneyiscurrently
available.Thishelpsinkeepingtheaccountability
ofthescribeofthegroup
— Choosingandtrainingfacilitatorsfromthecom-
munitythemselvesenablestosupportthecom-
munitydirectlyandcanhelptoworkinmoreinse-
cure areas
— Organisationscanfindcost-sharingagreements
withcommunitiestograduallyletthecommunity
paya partofthesalariesforthecommunityfacili-
tatorsiftheywanttheircontinuedsupport
— Additionalfundingfortherevolvingfundinformof
a one-timegrantortop-upmoneycansupportthe
fastergrowthoftherevolvingfund.However,this
decisioncanfurthertheexpectationsofcommuni-
ties.Someorganisationschosetogivematerialtool
kitsinsteadtosupportthebusinessdevelopment.
Ifnoneofthesupportmechanismsaregiven(Fund-
ingormaterial),a longertimeframeneedstobeen-
visionedforestablishingviablebusinesses
Running the SHG
— ‘Passport’BooksforeachmemberofanSHGtore-
cordhowmuchtheyhavepaidin,howmuchthey
haveloanedandwhentheyrepaid
— SHGlogbookskeepoverviewsonhowmuchmon-
eyexistsinthecashboxandwhichparticipantof
thegrouphastakenoutwhatamountasloans
— Thereshouldbeanagreementwiththecommu-
nityatthebeginningthattheSHGbooksandlogs
area one-timedistributionandconsecutivebooks
needstobepurchasedbytheSHGthemselves
— Usingcommunityresourcestoovercomehurdles:
askingdaughtersorsonsofSHGmemberstohelp
withthefinancialledgersandrecordkeepingifall
membersoftheSHGareilliterate
— SettingupaSHGisdonequickly,witha gen-
eraltimeframeof3yearsfora stable,mature
SHG. However,toembedthesavingstructure
withthecommunitiesandtoofferthema viable
futureoutlookinregionalconnectivitythrough
CLAsandFederationstakeslongertime(5–8
yearsoverall)
Market Facilitation
— SHGscangetintroduceddirectlytotradersin
a bazaar.Conversely,anNGOmightdecidetosup-
portanSHGtoopenuptheirownshop,eitherin-
dividuallyorcollectivelywithotherSHGs
— Beneficiariesshouldbemadeawareofallpossible
marketsorNGOs,privatesectorbusinessesand
governmentdepartmentsthatcouldoffersupport
fortheirbusinessesevenwhentheestablishing
organisationhaspulledout
Registering/Government Interface
— Thereiscurrentlynoregistrationprocessfor
SHGsorassociations
— FederationscanberegisteredwiththeMinistryof
Justice.Theprocesstakesroughlythreemonths
— Thereiscurrentlynodepartmentthatisre-
sponsiblefortheoverallmanagementofSHGs
inAfghanistan.However,NGOshaveoptedto
selectivelyreceivesupportfromministries/de-
partmentsforpartsoftheSHGimplementation
(VocationalTrainings,LiteracyCourses,etc).
71
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Al-Daghistani,Sami.“TheMakingofIslamicEconomics/AnEpis-
temologicalInquiryintoIslam’sMoralEconomicTeachings,Legal
Discourse,andIslamizationProcess.”Ph.Ddissertation,Leiden
University,2017.
Azhar,RaufA. Economics of an Islamic Economy.Vol.ThemesinIs-
lamicStudies. 6vols.Leiden;Boston:Brill,2010.
Beath,Andrew,ChristiaFotini,andRubenEnikolopov.“TheNa-
tionalSolidarityProgram/AssessingtheEffectsofCommuni-
ty-DrivenDevelopmentinAfghanistan.”PolicyResearchWorking
Paper.WorldBankGroup,September2015.
Chianca,Tomaz.“TheOECD/DACCriteriaforInternationalDe-
velopmentEvaluations:AnAssessmentandIdeasforImprove-
ment,”n.d.http://evaluation.wmich.edu/jmde/.
“CountryCooperationStrategyata Glance—Afghanistan.”
WorldHealthOrganisation,2017. http://apps.who.int/iris/bit-
stream/10665/136852/1/ccsbrief_afg_en.pdf.
Cramer,Sarah,HervéNicolle,andNassimMajidi.“Self-Help
GroupProgrammeEvaluation.”Kabul,Afghanistan:SamuelHall,
2012.
“DACCriteriaforEvaluatingDevelopmentAssistance.”OECD—
BetterPoliciesForBetterLives,n.d.http://www.oecd.org/dac/eval-
uation/daccriteriaforevaluatingdevelopmentassistance.htm.
Fernandez,AloysiusP.“HistoryandSpreadoftheSelf-HelpAffin-
ityGroupMovementinIndia/TheRolePlayedbyIFAD.”IFAD—
InternationalFundforAgriculturalDevelopment,2007.
Mansuri,Ghazala/Rao,Vijayendra.2013.LocalizingDevelop-
ment:diesparticipationwork?TheWorldBank,WashingtonD.C.
Mowahed,Hasibullah.“NATIONALRISKANDVULNERABILITY
ASSESSMENT2011–2012,”2012.
Moyo,Dambisa.Dead Aid/Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is
Another Way for Africa.London:PenguinBooks,2009.
Murria,Priyanka,andSatishVerma.“MicrofinancethroughSelf-
HelpGroups:A ThematicPerspective.”Productivity54,no.3(De-
cember2013):302–10.
“ParticipatoryVulnerabilityAnalysis/A Step-by-StepGuideforField
Staff.”ActionAid,n.d.https://www.actionaid.org.uk/sites/default/files/
doc_lib/108_1_participatory_vulnerability_analysis_guide.pdf.
Patil,Sandeep,andKiranKokate.“IdentifyingFactorsGoverning
AttitudeofRuralWomentowardsSelf-HelpGroupsUsingPrincipal
ComponentAnalysis.”Journal of Rural Studies55(2017):157–67.
Riecke,Jeffrey.“SettoGrowin2015:IslamicMicrofinance.”
ACCION:CenterforFinancialInclusionBlog,January12,
2015. https://cfi-blog.org/2015/01/12/set-to-grow-in−2015-islam-
ic-microfinance/.
Sabi,Manijeh.“AwarenessandPerceptionsofIslamicMicrofi-
nanceamongMicrofinanceClientsinKyrgyzstanandTajikistan.”
Central Asian Survey35,no.1(2016):26–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.10
80/02634937.2016.1147214.
Shukla,O P.“ImpactofSelf-HelpGroupsandFlowofCredittoRu-
ralSectorinUttarPradesh.”Indian Journal of Agricultural Econom-
ics62,no.3(2007):384.
Seibel,HansDieter.“SHGBankinginIndia:TheEvolutionofa Ru-
ralFinancialInnovation.”Cologne,Germany:UniversityofCo-
logne,DevelopmentResearchCenter,2005.
“Self-HelpGroups(SHGs)inIndia,”2014. http://www.ipekpp.com/
kp/W%26G/Brief_Paper_SHG_Ethipian_Delegation_(3rd_Sept)%5B1_
new%5D.pdf.
Tripp,Charles.Islam and the Moral Economy/The Challenge of Capi-
talism.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2006.
Usmani,MohammadImranAshraf.Islamic Finance.Karachi:Mak-
tabaMa’arifulQuran(QuranicStudiesPublishers),2015.
Varman,Mahendra.“ImpactofSelf-HelpGroupsonFormalBank-
ingHabits.”Economic and Political Weekly40,no.17(April23,
2005):1705–13.
“WhyNon-MuslimNationsAreAdoptingIslamicMicrofinanceIn-
stitutions.”Technavio,October23,2014. https://www.technavio.
com/blog/why-non-muslim-nations-are-adopting-islamic-microfi-
nance-institutions.
72
MANUALS AND ANNUAL REPORTS
AnnualReport2016.Kabul,Afghanistan:Afghanistan
MicrofinanceAssociation,
HandinHandAfghanistan,AnnualReport.Kabul,Af-
ghanistan:HandinHandAfghanistan,2016.
SelfHelpApproachReport.Kabul,Afghanistan:
OP-Mercy,2017.
Self-HelpGroupApproachManual,SecondEdition.”
Kindernothilfe(KNH)
73
APPENDIX A – QUESTIONNAIRES AND FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS GUIDES
Interview Guide for key informant interview 1 (KII −1): Implementing OrganisationsCriteria / KII — Organisations
General
— Inception:Forhowlonghaveyoubeenusing
SHGs?Inhowmanycommunities?Howmany
SHGswereestablished(m/f),andhowmanyare
currentlystillrunning(inwhichstageofmaturity)?
— Definition:WhatisyourconceptofSHGs,asim-
plementedinyourprojects?Whatisyourprimary
aimwhenestablishingSHGs?
Cross-cutting Issues
— Target Group:Whatisyourtargetgroupforimple-
mentingtheSHGs?Haveyouworkedwiththese
communitiespreviously?Howhaveyouidentified
yourprimarybeneficiaries?Howhasthecommu-
nityunderstoodandacceptedthechoiceoftarget
beneficiaries?Areyoutargetinganymarginalized
groupsexplicitly(whichones?Howdoyouidentify
these communities and are there any assessments
donebeforehand?Howdoyouincludethem?)?
— Gender:Doyouseedifferencesbetweenmale
andfemaleSHGs?Ifso,whatarethey?Haveyou
heardofanyproblemsorsuccessstoriesconcern-
ingwomenmainlyrunningtheSHGs?Whatim-
pactdoesthegenderofbeneficiarieshaveontheir
participationintheSHGs?Whatisthepercentage
offemaletomaleSHGsthatarecurrentlyactive?
— Local Context:(How)haveyouadaptedtheSHG
approachtothelocalcontext?Ifso,canyougive
someexamplesofthecustomizationofthepro-
gram?
— Urban Context:Doyourunanequalnumberof
SHGsinurban,peri-urbanandruralsettings?If
not,inwhichsettingdoyouprimarilyfocus,and
why?IfyouhaveSHGsinmultipleplaces,doyou
seedifferences?Howdoestheurbancontextin-
fluencetheuseoftheSHGapproach?
— Displacement:Doyouworkwithinternallydis-
placedcommunities?Ifso,whatarethemainben-
efitsofSHGmembershipforthedisplacedand
uprootedpeoplelivinginurbanareas,ifany?Are
thereanynegativeimpacts?
Relevant
— Consistency/Relevance:Whatisyourobjective
whenusingSHGs?Whataretheintendedimpacts/
effects?Doyouseethemsuccessfullyreached?(if
yes,how?Ifno,wheredotheyfallshortandwhy?)
HowdoestheuseofSHGsfitintoyourorganisa-
tions’overallaims?Arethebeneficiariesawareof
theobjectivesoftheSHG?
— Needs Assessment:Whichneedshaveyouidenti-
fiedinthecommunitiesinwhichSHGsareimple-
mented?HowdotheSHGsaddresstheseneeds?
— AretheSHGsregularlymeeting/usedbymem-
bers?HavememberslefttheSHG,ifso,why?
Whatreasonsaregivenbymemberswhochoose
toleaveSHGs?Afterhowmanyyearshavethey
left?Whoaretheoneswholeft?(newcomers,
women,men,IDPs)?
— Comparison of Alternatives:Arethereothervia-
blealternativesourcesofcreditavailableinthese
communities,andhowdotheycomparetothe
SHGlevelloansystem?
— Inclusion:ArethereanyIDPsthatparticipatein
theSHG?Aretheoperationalrequirements,im-
pactsandeffectsofSHGsdifferentwhenworking
withIDPsvsnonIDPs?
— National Policies:Arethereanynationalpolicies
oreffortsthatyourSHGapproachfallsunderor
addresses?Ifso,which?
Effective
— Achievement:Whichobjectiveshaveyoureached
throughtheestablishmentoftheSHG?Which
otherobjectiveshavenotbeenachieved(yet),and
howdoyouplantoachievethem?Howmanyben-
eficiariesdidyouenvisionvs.howmanyreached?
— Influencing Factors:Whatwerethemajorfactors
influencingtheachievementornon-achievement
oftheobjectives?
— Financial Processes:Inwhichstageofmaturation
aretheSHGsyouarecurrentlyrunning?Howwell
establishedarefinancialprocesses(loans,savings,
investments,etc.)?Howmanyloansarebeinggiv-
en/repaidandforwhat?
— Outside Impact:Doyouseeanimpactofthelocal
74
context(security,groupdynamics,history,local
powerstructuressuchaseldersorCDCs)affect-
ingtheoutcome?
Efficient
— Cost Efficiency:Whatistheamount(perSHG/per
beneficiary)tosetup,trainandmaintaina SHG?
Howarethesecostsmonitored?
— Improvement:Howcouldtheapproachbeim-
proved?
Sustainable
— Structure and Impact:Whatdoyouseeaslong-
termpositiveimpactinthelivesofSHGmembers
andhowdoyoumeasurethis?
— Dependencies:DoestheSHGprogramcreateany
dependenciesamongmembers,ordoesitempow-
erthemtobeself-sufficient?
— Exit Plan:Iffundingisstillongoing,istherea clear
planforphasingoutexternalinputsandassis-
tance?
— Continuation:HaveSHGscontinuedtoexistafter
outsideassistancehasstopped?Towhatextent
didthebenefitsoftheprogramcontinueafterdo-
norfundingceased?
— Independence:Arethegroupsabletooperate
independentlywithoutthefacilitator’sinvolve-
ment?Arethereanybeneficiarieswhoyouwould
categorizeasdependentontheSHGforhelp,and
whowouldratherbenefitfromanothermoresus-
tained/substantialsupport?
— Link to Federation:Istherea plantolinkupthe
SHGsona clusterornationallevel?Ifyes,howfar
isthedevelopmentoftheseplans?Ifno,whynot?
— Link to Microfinance Institutions:Istherea plan
toincrease/decreasetheloanvolumeandlinkup
theSHGstomicrofinancebanksorinstitutions?Is
yes,howfaristhedevelopmentoftheseplans?If
no,whynot?
Impact
— Social Impact:Whatpositivesocialimpactdo
youseeonthelivesofthebeneficiaries(person-
al,household,community,regionallevel)?Canyou
giveexamples?
— Group Impact/Trust:Haveyouwitnessedanim-
pactongroupinteractionsinthecommunities
whereyouimplementedSHGs?Doyouseeanim-
pactonmutualresponsibilityandtrustbuildingat
a grouporcommunitylevel?
— Safety Network:DoestheSHGapproachcon-
tributetotheestablishmentofsocial/safetynet-
works?
— Decision Making:HaveSHGsimpactedhousehold
orcommunitydecision-makingandengagement?
— Problem Solving:DoestheSHGapproachef-
fectivelyhelpgroup/communitylevelmembers
tosolvetheproblemstheyface?Ifyes,inwhich
wayshasthishappened(meetings,linkuptoshu-
ra/jirgas)?
— Economic Impact:Howmanyoftheloanswere
usedtoestablisha business?Whattypesofbusi-
nesses are most commonly established with these
loans?[Sustainability:howmanyofthesebusi-
nesses can run or sustain themselves without the
ongoingsupportoftheSHGs?]
— Negative Impact:Havetherebeenanynegative
impactsona householdorcommunitylevelfor
membersofSHGs?
Interview Guide for key informant interview 2 (KII−2): Community Leaders and MembersCriteria / KII — Organisations
General
— Inception:Forhowlonghaveyoubeenusing
SHGs?Inhowmanycommunities?Howmany
SHGswereestablished(m/f),andhowmanyare
currentlystillrunning(inwhichstageofmaturity)?
— Definition:WhatisyourconceptofSHGs,asim-
plementedinyourprojects?Whatisthemainfo-
cusofestablishingSHGs?
Cross-cutting Issues
— Target Group:Whentheorganisationapproached
youforestablishingSHGs,hadyouheardabout
thisapproachbefore?Whatdidyoufirstthink
abouttheapproachandwhomtheychosetopar-
ticipate?Howhavepeoplereactedtotheimple-
mentationofSHGswithintheircommunity?
— Gender:Doyouseedifferencesbetweenmale
andfemaleSHGs?Ifso,whatarethey?Haveyou
heardofanyproblemsorsuccessstoriesconcern-
ingwomenmainlyrunningtheSHGs?Whatim-
pactdoesthegenderofbeneficiarieshaveontheir
participationintheSHGs?
— Local Context:DoyouthinkthattheSHGis
a goodprogramforAfghancommunities/your
community?Ifyes,why?Ifno,whynot?
75
— IDP:Ifyourcommunityhasbeendisplaced(addi-
tionalquestion):Haveyoufacedanydifficulties
concerningholdingSHGsandimplementingSHG
loansystems,duetopeople’suncertainstatusin
theirplaceofresidence?Arepeoplemovingor
droppingoutofthegroup?
Relevant
— Consistency/Relevance:Whatisyourreason/
goalforusingSHGs?Inyouropinion,doyouthink
thattheSHGsaresuccessfulinachievingthis?(if
yes,how?Ifno,hownotandwhy?)
— Needs Assessment:Whataretheneedsinyour
community?DotheSHGshelpinaddressingthese
needs?
— Participation/Drop Out:AretheSHGsregular-
lymeeting/regularlyusedbymembers?Have
memberslefttheSHG,isso,why/(What)arerea-
sonsformemberstoleaveSHGs?Afterhowmany
yearshavetheyleft?Whoaretheoneswholeft
(newcomers,women,men,IDPs)?
— Alternatives:Arethereotherviablesourcesof
creditavailableinthecommunities,andhowdo
theycomparetotheSHGlevelloansystem?Do
youusethem(ifyes,whoandforwhat,ifyoudon’t
usethem,whynot)?
— Inclusion:ArethereanyIDPsthatparticipatein
yourSHG(s)/Isyourcommunityinternallydis-
placed?Ifyes,doesthishaveanimpactontheuse
oftheSHG(peoplehavingtomove,stabilityofthe
SHG)?
Effective
— Achievement:Whatarethesuccessesthatyou
haveseenthroughtheSHGsworking?Where
doyouthinktheSHGdoesnotachieveitsgoals?
Whatcouldbedonebettertoachievethesegoals?
— Influencing Factors:Whatwerethemajorfactors
influencingtheachievementornon-achievement
oftheobjectives?
— Financial Process:Howwellwouldyousaythe
SHGsfunctionfinancially?Arefinancialprocesses
(loans,savings,investments,etc.)wellestablished
ordoyoufaceproblemsinthisregard?Howmany
loansarebeinggiven/repaid?
— Outside Impact:Doyouseeanimpactofthelocal
context(security,groupdynamics,history,local
powerstructuressuchaseldersorCDCs)affect-
ingtheoutcome?Howistherelationshipbetween
SHGs,elders,CDCsandothercommunitymem-
bers?
Efficient
— Time satisfaction:Areparticipantsandcommu-
nitymemberssatisfiedwiththetimeofestablish-
ment,disbursement,identificationofprojectsand
supporttohandlethem?
— Improvement:Howcouldtheapproachbeim-
proved?
Sustainable
— Structure and Impact:Whatdoyouseeaslong-
termpositiveimpactinthelivesofSHGmembers,
andyourcommunity?Canyougiveexamples?
— Continuation/Dependencies:IsyourSHGre-
ceivinganysupportfromtheorganisationtosus-
tainSHGactivities?IstheSHGoperatinginde-
pendentlyfromfacilitatorsortheorganisationor
doyouneedsupport?Ifyouneedsupport,what
kindofsupportisnecessary?
— Collective Action/Link to Federation/Microfi-
nance:Hasthesocialnetworkandproblemsharing
inthegroupledtoanycollectiveactiontochange
a problemthatindividualsorthecommunityexpe-
riences?Arethereproblemsyoudiscussedwhich
wouldneedbiggerloansormoreoutsidehelp?
Impact
— Social Impact:Doyouseepositivesocialdevelop-
mentsconnectedtotheSHGsinthehouseholds,
communityorgenerally?Doestheexistenceand
workoftheSHGshaveanimpactontheoverall
community?Doesthecommunityoverallbene-
fitfromhavingtheSHGs?HowdoSHGmembers
interactwithothermembersofthecommunity?
Canyougiveexamples?
— Decision Making:HavetheSHGsinfluencedany
decisionmakinginindividualhouseholdsorinthe
communityatlarge?Ifso,canyougiveanexam-
ple?Ifnot,whynot?
— Problem Solving:DoestheSHGapproachhelp
tosolvegroup/communitylevelproblemsthatits
membersface?Ifyes,inwhichwayshasthishap-
pened(meetings,linkuptoshura/jirgas)?
— Economic Impact:Howweretheloansused?
Whatkindofinvestments/projectswereyouable
tosupport/enableduetogivingloansintheSHG?
76
Weretheyone-timeinvestmentsoraretheystill
ongoingprojects?Havetheloanshada positive
economicimpact?Howmanyoftheloanswere
usedtoestablisha business?
— Negative Impact:Havetherebeenanynegative
impactsonpersonalhouseholdorcommunitylev-
elformembersornon-membersofSHGs?
Overview Sheet to Fill out for each FGD
NameofOrganisationthatsetuptheFGD:
PlaceofCommunityCity:
PlaceofCommunity/AreaName:
GenderofFGD:
IDPCommunityYes/No:
DateofFGD:
Facilitator:
NoteTaker:
Questions for Focus Group DiscussionsCriteria / Category / FGD Questions
Relevant
Consistency/Relevance/ Needs Assessment/Com-
parison of Alternatives:
A)HowlonghaveyoubeenpracticingSHGs?(B)
Whatkindofoutcomes/effectsdoyouseeasa re-
sultofparticipatingintheSHGs(1)socially(2)eco-
nomically?(C)Whataretheneedsinyourcommuni-
ties?AreSHGsaddressingtheseneedsadequately?
Whichneedsdoesitaddressandwhichonesdoesit
notaddress?Arethereanyotheroptionstoaddress
theseneedsorareSHGthebestoption?
EXTRA FOR IDP COMMUNITY:
Inclusion and Target Population:
ForFGDsinIDP-communities:Doesyourcurrent
statusasanIDPaffectyourinvolvementintheSHG
(peoplehavingtomove;stabilityoftheSHG)?What
aresomeofthepositive/negativeaspectsthataffect
participationintheSHGs?
Effective
Financial Processes:
Aretheprocessesofloans/savings/investments/re-
paymentsworkingwell,orhaveyoufacedanyprob-
lemswiththem?Whatkindofinvestments/projects
wereyouabletosupport/enableduetogivingloans
intheSHG?Weretheyone-timeinvestmentsorare
theystillongoingprojects?
Outside Impact:
Whatareproblemsthatyouhavefacedinconvening
theSHGsandinimplementingtheregularproceed-
ings?Werethereanyproblemsintermsofsecurity?if
so,whatwerethey?Whatistherelationshipbetween
SHGsandcommunityelders,CDCsorothercommu-
nitymembers?Didyoufaceanyinterference/prob-
lemsinthisregard?
Sustainable
Structure and Impact:
Doyouseelong-termpositiveimpactoftheSHGs?
Whathaveyoulearntanddevelopedthroughpartici-
pationintheSHGs?
Continuation/ Independence:
IsyourSHGreceivinganysupportfromanoutsideor-
ganisationtosustainSHGactivities?IstheSHGoper-
atingindependentlyfromfacilitatorsandtheorgan-
isationordoyouneedsupport?Ifyouneedsupport,
whatkindofsupportisnecessary?
Link to Federation/Problem Solving/Possible link to
Microfinance Banks
Hasthesocialnetworkandproblemsharinginthe
groupledtoanycollectiveactions/solutionstoprob-
lemsthatindividualsorthecommunityexperiences?
Arethereproblemsyoudiscussedwhichwouldneed
biggerloansormoreoutsidehelp?
Impact
Social Impact/ Group Impact and Trust/ Safety Net-
work:
Hasthesocialnetworkandproblemsharinginthe
groupledtoanycollectiveactions/solutionstoprob-
lemsthatindividualsorthecommunityexperiences?
Arethereproblemsyoudiscussedwhichwouldneed
biggerloansormoreoutsidehelp?
Decision Making/ Problem Solving:
Whatareproblemsthatyouhavefacedasa group?
Howhaveyoudealtwiththem?Haveparticipants
droppedoutoftheprogram?Ifso,why?Andhowhas
thegroupdealtwiththis?
Phot
o Ja
n M
rkvičk
a
WWW.PEOPLEINNEED.CZ
FinancedbytheEuropeanUnion