Honorable Bank Man

We finally had our meeting with the villagers and a representative from the bank today. The ladies had a lot of questions regarding the repayment periods and the risks associated with the weather and its impact on their crops. But, in general, there seemed to be support and enthusiasm for taking on the bank loan to finally buy the raw materials (cassava) they need to produce the gari that they can then sell in the market. My only concern is that I’m not sure if the ladies would actually follow through with the loans or if they were just feigning interest since we (the organization) was present. We were also able to meet with the Ministry of Farming and Agriculture (MOFA) and the Business Association to gain their support on the project. The MOFA promised to teach the ladies how to properly cultivate the cassava and also provide them with the right species of cassava to get started. This way eventually the ladies will not need to buy the cassava but can farm their own to produce the gari. The Business Association also promised to market the gari product to other businesses and at tradeshows once the ladies start producing it. All in all it seems like we got the ball rolling and that the ladies will start manufacturing soon!! I really hope this is the case, the staff promised to keep me updated seeing as how I won’t be here to actually see the start of manufacturing :(