Chiapas, Mexico. March 2019. The Trickle Up Americas team facilitated the first ever field visit between project donors and project participants of the Women and Youth Empowerment Project. The project aims to adapt the Graduation approach in Chiapas and Yucatan, Mexico with a specific focus on building financial health and well-being among rural, indigenous peoples.
Alongside representatives of Trickle Up Americas and partner organizations in southern Mexico, Nalleli García, Social Responsibility Manager at MetLife Foundation, and Gabriela Zapata, Financial Health Consultant at MetLife Foundation Mexico, met with indigenous women of Las Caracolas (the Shells) and Jalab Antsetik (the Weavers) savings groups, in the rural communities of Poconichim and El Pozo in the municipalities of San Juan Cancuc and Chenalhó.
Over the course of the project, participants developed an array of social and financial skills, learning to regularly save, access credit, and share business advice to aid their journey out of extreme poverty and to establish long-term financial well-being. In addition to teaching financial skills, the project aims to assist families in generating steady incomes, reducing hunger, and becoming more engaged in the community. Participants are supported by coaches and technical staff who have adapted the Graduation Approach to be more culturally relevant for indigenous people through strategic alliances with local partners in the region.
Sharing reflections of their experiences with the MetLife representatives, participants expressed their hopes and ambitions as they strive to achieve economic resilience and graduate out of extreme poverty.
María Pérez Gómez, a project participant with Jalab Antsesis said: “I want to learn the principles of saving money well so I can invest in my business and move my family forward. After a [savings] cycle, I want to get more women to join so they can move their families forward, too. There are many women here who have children but not the support of men. I am an example of this, but if I do well, I believe I can motivate other women.”
During the visit, Trickle Up staff also presented a digital impact measurement system for the project that provides an efficient and accurate means to select participants and track their progress in real time. Access to live reports not only provides greater transparency, but also empowers staff to adapt to changing circumstances.
In San Juan Cancuc and Chenalhó, indigenous women live in extreme poverty under patriarchal systems in which men wield authority over their social and economic rights. The integration of savings groups under the Village Savings and Loans (VSL) methodology in the context of the Graduation and Financial Inclusion approaches encourages greater economic resiliency and social inclusion. Participants expressed their enthusiasm and optimism to achieve a savings plan that will allow them to invest in productive activities, as well as teach them of the importance of using money in a responsible manner.
