Here are two reasons that some technical solutions that promote economic development for women in poverty do not succeed.
1) People in extreme poverty need to make money immediately.
2) People in extreme poverty do not have a large amount of investment funds.
The microloan industry has identified how women in extreme poverty hope to increase their income. AEAS needs to develop ideas that will help these women. For example, I particularly like the idea of AEAS preparing YouTube videos that provide vocational training for rural women living in poverty.
Here are examples of YouTube vocational training videos that might be needed by people who want to increase the income of extremely poor women who raise pigs in a tropical lowland or arid land environment.
What do successful pig farmers do differently that other farmers should do?
What is the best way for extremely poor women in a tropical lowland or arid land environment to provide food security and nutrition for pigs and chickens?
What is the best way to build a pigsty in an arid or lowland tropical environment?
Given commonly available food, what should extremely poor women be feeding their pigs so that they thrive?
Given common diseases of pigs in an arid lowland tropical environment, what preventive measures should be extremely poor women be taking for pigs?
Here are examples of YouTube vocational training videos that might be needed by a person who wants to increase the income of extremely poor women who raise chickens in a tropical lowland or arid land environment.
http://www.accessagriculture.org/making-business-home-raised-chicks
http://www.accessagriculture.org/working-together-healthy-chicks
http://www.accessagriculture.org/taking-care-local-chicken
http://www.accessagriculture.org/feeding-improved-chickens
Note that these videos show rural women in the process of increasing their income and providing better nutrition. The video scripts can be heard in a variety of languages. In particular, the videos are produced with poor women in mind. Without information of this type workers in the field will not have access to the technical knowledge they need to help extremely poor women.
Dr. Paul Rigterink