In Indonesia, self-help is transforming the lives of rural women. Irfan Kortschak talks to one co-op member.
‘When the women first talked about setting up a group, the men in the village laughed. They told us we couldn’t even count. They said we didn’t know the difference between a 1,000 rupiah note and a 10,000 rupiah note ($1.25).
I didn’t believe we could do it myself. I remember when Ibu Reni, the PEKKA facilitator, first came to talk to a group of widows and divorcées in the village. By the time she finished talking, there were only about seven women left.
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