Understanding the Impact of Microenterprise on Community Capacity Development

Abstract

In the summer of 2018 the non-profit, Just Like My Child Foundation (JLMC) contracted four graduate students to conduct a monitoring and evaluation project on the community level impact of a female empowerment program in Luwero, Uganda. During their time in country, the researchers conducted their own personal research on the impact of a dairy goat microenterprise program called the Livelihood Project. The purpose of this study is to understand how the Livelihood Project influenced community capacity development through the development of human, social, and financial capital. The Livelihood Project was completed in partnership with JLMC, Heifer International, and the local hospital. The Livelihood Project provided a loan of dairy goats and seeds, along with the relevant training to families infected/affected with HIV/AIDS. To understand the impact of the Livelihood Project, four participant’s homes were visited and a total of 26 semi-structured interviews were conducted. From the responses, the researchers concluded that human capital developed as participants increased their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Social capital increased as participants family’s incomes increased. Increased incomes increased family’s access to medicine and school. The researchers concluded that teaching agriculture can be used as a method to teach other intrapersonal skills such as commitment and time management. Because of this, NGOs and other development organizations should invest in an agricultural vocational school to help increase opportunities for individuals to learn technical agriculture skills and other life skills. Further, the increased social capital in the community created an environment conducive to starting cooperatives. The researcher suggests that companies invest in and partner with foreign cooperatives as a form of foreign aid. Finally, the researcher concluded that as financial capital increased, the quality of life of the participants improved as they had access to more resources. The researcher suggests the farmers create community lending programs to help reach the poorer community members who did not meet the qualifications to participate in the livelihood project.