Ngodiyo informal indigenous women-led group was selected as one of the first beneficiaries of the NAAPU Indigenous Women-Led Fund because of the work they were already doing to transform their households and community through merry-go-rounds, table banking and informal VSLA initiatives.
With their own small contributions, the women had been hiring farms to grow beans and wheat. However, limited resources continued to restrict their ambitions.
With support from NAAPU Indigenous Women Fund, the group received funding to implement their priority activities, including hiring farms for bean and wheat production. But when the rains failed, the women did not simply wait for the situation to change.
They came together, reassessed their plans and collectively decided to invest in bulls for fattening, hire farms ready for planting when the rains came, purchase certified bean seeds and open a formal bank account for the group.
This is the power of trust-based funding.
The women had the flexibility to respond to changing realities, make decisions collectively and protect their resources while advancing their mission.
NAAPU does not support indigenous women to tell them what to do. It supports them to strengthen the work they are already doing.
Trust women. Resource women. Let women lead.