Learning Brief: Village Savings and Loans Associations Promote Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture

This is a learning brief developed by the USAID/Nutrition and Hygiene project (Projet Nutrition et Hygiène – PNH). Access to sustainable micro-credit was long considered impossible in the rural communities of Mali’s Sikasso Region. Yet, with the support of the USAID/PNH project, villagers are gaining access to such credit with acceptable terms. The integration of these self-managed savings-credit systems—village savings and loan associations (VSLA)—was well received in project communities. This technical brief describes the VSLA approach, results and lessons learned. This document is appropriate for internal and external audiences and can be used by new projects and proposal teams to design new projects.