Free microfinance brings boon for Bibiyana locals

None of the micro-credit borrowers is a defaulter in Bibiyana, unlike many who have gone far deeper in debt after taking such small loans elsewhere in Bangladesh.    
They happen to be fortunate ones, who are able to run successful, profitable businesses with small moneys and training on both on-farm and off-farm technologies.
On-farm training includes duck rearing, agro-farming, cattle fattening, poultry, pond fish culture etc. Repairing the mobile phone, air conditioner and refrigerator, and welding shops are among off-farm trades.
There is neither interest rate nor collateral charged with the loans that US oil company Chevron provides through its implementing partners after pre-assessment of needs of the loan-seekers.
People of the area were once jobless and depended only on remittances. They are now earning on average Tk 10,000 to Tk 20,000 per month.
The entrepreneurs have obtained training under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative of the American oil major.
Chevron has developed roads, infrastructures, schools, mosques, medical centres under the initiative for improving livelihoods in its operating area adjacent to Bibiyana gas field.
The company is working with some eight non-government organizations (NGOs) to implement its CSR programmes.
Mizarur Rahman Dabir of Radhapur village, one of the beneficiaries of Alternative Livelihood Programme (ALP) of Chevron, earned Tk 0.1 million last year as profit from his duck-rearing farm.
Mr Dabir, once a Madrasa teacher with Tk 1,500 monthly income, now has 1,000 ducks that he bought with Tk 25,000 borrowed through NGOs from Chevron.
"I am so happy that my investment turns to double in a year as I know the proper procedure of duck rearing," he said.
 "I am now able to meet my family expenditure and save money for expanding my duck farm," he said.
Mr Rahman now has a plan to open a cattle farm with the profit from duck rearing.
Another beneficiary, Shajon, has a welding shop with all necessary machinery in the Bibiyana area. He collects scrap from different places and prepare gates, grills etc. He also has employed two people to work as his assistant.
"I have come out from the financial crisis with the welding shop. Earlier, I used to run the shop without technical training but now I am confident about handling any welding work with the training assisted by Chevron," he adds.
 The Bibiyaba area under Nobiganj upazila of Habiganj district in greater Sylhet was mainly a single-crop belt. Here only Aman was the lone crop. Now soil of that area became fertile enough to produce two crops in a year.   
Irrigation support from Chevron helped farmers reap some 136 tonnes of boro rice from a 340-bigha area this year.
There is a crop-diversification project with a plan to produce triple crop in that area. The project generated employment for some 500 people of Bibiyana.
Jahangir Alam, once jobless, earned Tk 60,000 in the last four months from his poultry farm having around 1,000 chickens.
Village Development Organisation (VDO) leader Mr Boitullah said people of that area were completely dependent on foreign remittance, to some extent were unruly and unwilling to work for their own living.
People were almost habituated to foreign culture and sinking day by day for lack of skill to work for any better living, he adds.
"Voluntary effort of the company helped us to be self-reliant and think for a better future," he said.
Chevron Bangladesh President Kevin Lyon said, "At Chevron, corporate social responsibility forms an intrinsic part of our value system wherever we work.  By forging strong, collaborative partnerships with our communities and stakeholders, we take the opportunity to share in their success."  
He adds: "Our initiatives have one common thread running through them - they are all designed to empower our communities, and aim to instill in them a sense of self-confidence, hope and belief in a positive future."
Nazmul Haque, Executive Director of Institute of Development Affairs (IDEA), an implementing NGO, said one of the central aims of the ALP was to instill enough confidence and self-belief in their communities so that they are able to drive their own futures.
"We organized the villagers into groups, mobilised them, trained them on business acumen, financial literacy and provided start-up capital to enable them to efficiently run their own micro-enterprises."
From living hand to mouth to being owners and managers of their own funds - this gave the communities a tremendous sense of empowerment, purpose and drive.
"That is exactly what we set out to do through our economic development programs, although by taking a non-conventional microfinance route," he said.  
"We are extremely gratified at how enthusiastically our communities have embraced these initiatives, and how they have been able to transform their lives. That is the true indicator of our success,"
M Anisul Islam, Director of Center for Natural Resource Studies (CNRS), said the Alternative Livelihood Options program was an extension of first livelihood-development initiative.
Like its predecessor, the core premise was to build the capacity of communities to equip them to run financially viable micro-enterprises.
"Access to affordable energy has always been an issue for ultra-poor, marginalized groups, and it's this need that we wanted to address through an additional component," he further said to explain how a community could be lifted up.
"Providing our communities with improved stoves and renewable energy options, we opened their window of opportunity to save. For them, this was an entirely unfamiliar concept. This proved to be a tremendous catalyst for change, because they then invested these savings into micro-enterprises, which they themselves chose to be trained in.
"Even better, the alternative fuel and lighting options had multi-pronged positive effects, including conservation of precious forest resources and reduced incidence of respiratory diseases. It's a win-win situation for all," he said.
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