Income Generation and Money Management: Training Women as Entrepreneurs (Peace Corps, 1994, 70 p.): Writing session plans: Session plan (Working as a team)

Income Generation and Money Management: Training Women as Entrepreneurs (Peace Corps, 1994, 70 p.)

(introduction...)

Information

Forward

Introduction

The role of the facilitator in adult learning.

(introduction...)

Presentation techniques

Making feedback useful

Logistical considerations

Special considerations for illiterate participants in a village environment

Evaluation and follow-up

Writing session plans

(introduction...)

Session plan (Working as a team)

Problems women face in controlling their finances

(introduction...)

Summary of panel presentation

Session plan (Problems women have in saving their money)

Session plan (Improving the financial situations of women)

Focusing on the intent of your project

Principles of marketing

(introduction...)

Market information needs checklist

Business plan summary

Session plan (Feasibility of marketing dried fruit)

Quality control

(introduction...)

Session plan (Factors involved in quality control)

Session plan (Quality control in marketing items of artistic creation)

Numeracy

(introduction...)

Session plan (Practical exercises in addition and subtraction)

Bookkeeping

(introduction...)

Session plan (Why is bookkeeping useful?)

Session plan (Making a simple bookkeeping ledger)

Appendix

Suggested references

Session plan (Working as a team)

TOPIC: Working as a Team

TARGET GROUP: Twelve illiterate women from Brikama NDing village who wish to start a cooperative vegetable patch as an income generating project.

DURATION OF SESSION: 75 minutes

OBJECTIVES: The participants will be able to :

1. Discuss some of the benefits of working in a group and relate it to the vegetable gardening project.

2. DISCUSS some of the problems of working in a group and suggest solutions to the problems.

PROCEDURES:

Step 1 Facilitator explains that working in a group is different than working by one's self and asks the participants to give reasons why. Two posters are displayed in front of the room: one with a drawing of a single woman gardening and one with many women working in a large garden plot. Some comparisons that should be brought out are:

	by yourself	in a group
1.	only your own opinion	many other opinions
2.	do all tasks	task sharing
3.	your own money	sharing the money
4.	if sick, business stops	others help you
5.	one market stand	many market stands
6.	buy own tools	tools can be shared

Step 2 The facilitator asks the women what they would consider advantageous about working in a group. Points to be brought out are:

1. The tools, tasks and responsibility are all shared.

2. The potential for production and marketing increases.

3. Women can support each other in the community.

4. It may be easier for groups to get loans for business.

Step 3 The facilitator asks what disadvantages there are to working in groups and how the group members might solve the problem. Possible problems ens solutions include:

1. The group members may disagree.
Solution: Vote on issues. Discuss problems together.

2. Some group members may do less work than others.
Solution: Discuss the problems at a meeting; the women who work less receive less income.

3. Who will manage the money for the group?
Solution: Elect a bookkeeper who reports to the group; All group members learn numeracy and bookkeeping and take turns with the books; each women takes a share of the vegetables and sells them individually, keeping some money and paying dues to the cooperative.

Step 4 Practical exercise: Building squares. The women divide into three groups. Each group member has to make a square from the pieces of paper put in the middle of the group. The rules of the game are:

1. There can be no verbal communication or non-verbal communication.

2. If you don't want a piece, put it back in the middle and look for another piece.

3. The exercise is over when each person has made a square.

The facilitator goes around and may help certain members.

Step 5 The facilitator asks the women to describe their feelings when they were trying to make the squares. Responses may include:

1. It was hard not to ask for a piece and hard not to tell someone what they were doing wrong.

2. It would have gone a lot faster if they could have discussed it.

3. Each person had to make her own but also had to be sure everyone else made a square.

The facilitator emphasizes that cooperation and communication are very important when working as a group.

PREPARATION AND SUPPLIES:

1. Two poster boards or newsprint with drawings

2. Cardboard or stiff paper cut into squares (total of twelve of the same size) and then cut into two or three pieces (Note: You may wish to have an uncut square in the middle of each group as an example.)

3. Squares will have to be properly organized before the exercise.

** Practical Exercise courtesy of Ted Hazard, MDI