Adding to basket
The Benkadi group is made up of four married women, the majority of whom live in polygamous families. They are on average 46 years old, have 5 children each, and live in the rural commune of Sakoïba.
They met and are united through bonds of kinship, marriage, and are involved in the small business of selling ladles, mortars, and calabash gourds, both simple and engraved. In order to increase their business, the members of the group have decided to work with Soro Yiriwaso and have requested their 12th solidarity loan.
Aminata, second woman from the right in the photo, is known for the sale of calabash gourds engraved with beautiful motifs and patterns. She is planning to use her loan to buy 300 calabash gourds which will be engraved. Engraving is done by dipping needles in the fire for at least an hour. After the needles have become red, they are removed from the fire and used to make beautiful designs on the back of the gourds. Aminata buys her raw materials at the Katièna market. She sells from home, in nearby villages, and at the Grand Market in Ségou, for cash or on credit, to mostly women customers. With this loan, Aminata expects average monthly profits to reach 25,000 CFA francs, which will be reinvested in the activity and also used to take care of household expenses and children's healthcare costs.
In this group: Mamou, Maïmouna, Aminata, Maïmouna
Translated from French by Kiva volunteer Sophie Narayan. View original language description.
