Savings and credit cooperatives and sustainable livelihoods in Chivi District (1996-2013): a case of Chivi SACCO

Abstract

The purpose of the research was to examine the role played by Savings and Credit Cooperatives in sustaining the local communities in Chivi District. In conducting the study, the descriptive survey design was used and both the questionnaire and interviews were employed as the main research instruments. The purposive sampling technique was used in the study and the sample from which the data was collected was made up of ordinary as well as members of the management committee drawn from the Chivi SACCO. The Cooperative Development Officer from the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Cooperative Development was also part and parcel of the sample that participated in the study. Tables were used to show the responses and inferences which were drawn from the quantified data. Findings of the study revealed that rural communities in Chivi faced a number of socio-economic challenges in their day to day lives. Chivi SACCO was established as a way of trying to sustain the livelihoods of the rural populace in the face of the socio-economic challenges they faced. However, in trying to sustain the livelihoods of the rural populace, the SACCO also faced numerous challenges that inhibit them to fully maximize their capacity to sustain their local communities.