PELLITAL: a sustainable poverty-fighting method among rural women !
Agnam-Goly is a Sahelian village in north-eastern Senegal with a population of 3,143 inhabitants. The village is located in the Matam Region, approximately 630 kilometers (390 miles) to the northeast of Dakar, on the bank of the Senegal River.
The villagers of Agnam-Goly cultivate sorghum, corn, beans and watermelons in the walo following the seasonal flooding of the Sénégal River. During the wet season, millet, beans, bissap, melon, and sorghum are grown in the dieri.
Agriculture in the village is undergoing a crisis, because rainfall has decreased, irrigation is insufficient, the soil is depleted of nutrients, the price of fertilizer is high, and locusts and other pests attack crops. Nevertheless, horticulture gardening is expected to benefit the village over the coming years. In addition to agriculture, the villagers engage extensively in livestock herding, consisting mainly of cattle, sheep, and goats. Poultry raising is uncommon, as is commercial trading.
The village depends on migrant labor for its subsistence. These migrants support their families by sending monthly remittances, which are used to buy food and pay for school and health care.
The village of Agnam-Goly is traversed by the N2 national highway and possesses the following infrastructure and services:
- Two elementary schools with twenty classrooms, six of which were built by the village with locally raised funds, with partial connection to electricity;
- A health clinic equipped with an ambulance that is currently out of service;
- A borehole and six wells;
- A credit and savings mutual, managed by the women of Agnam-Goly (DGL MEC Felo Agnam);
- A soccer field;
- A central market and a weekly market.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pellital means "commitment" in Fulani, the language spoken in Agnam-Goly. Pellital links the women of Agnam-Goly with the users of Facebook. Here's how it works:
1. We post entrepreneur profiles and loan applications from Agnam-Goly as Posted Items on the Pellital group page.
2. You can lend any amount to an entrepreneur of your choice with the ChipIn application. Other than PayPal and MoneyGram transfer fees, 100% of your loan is disbursed in local currency to the entrepreneur you selected.
4. The loans are repaid in six monthly installments. Once a loan is fully repaid, the lender may withdraw 100% of the original dollar amount lent. For the current pilot group of loans, we will assume responsibility for repayment if the borrower defaults.
5. Borrowers pay a flat interest fee of 10% of the principal. We are an all-volunteer nonprofit group and interest income is used only for money transfer fees and other necessary operating expenses.
6. During the lending period we keep lenders informed of the impact of their loans by posting updates on each borrower's group page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
My name is Adama DIOP. I am a youth-led development from Agnam-Goly, a Sahelian village in north-eastern Senegal with a population of 3,143 inhabitants. I created and published definition of my village heritage, history, social organization, economy and statistics on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnam-Goly
- A sustainable development semester in Senegalese ecovillages with University of Massachusetts Amherst , Living Routes Program and Live and Learn Centre Eco Yoff brings me to conducted independent studies on following ways of life in the ecovillage of Palmarin: Solar ovens, Carbon Offset, Forestry, Waste Management
- I have a passion for the study of Economic Development and entrepreneurial opportunities for local residents of native home village, particularly among women and minorities.
Invited to join 2008 World Youth Congress Conference; chosen as a delegate to give presentation on Pellital Microfinancing Entrepreneurial Project, I conceived, organized and implemented an entrepreneurial small scale rural enterprise loan program through a social network called Facebook. Some of the entrepreneurs in the program are as follows: Fish sellers, clothing sellers, seamstress, buttermilk seller, vegetable seller, traditional hairstylist, etc.
The benefits from providing financial assistance will incur homegrown vitality and help these enterprises to succeed. In doing so, the Pellital Entrepreneurial Microfinancing Project is the embodiment of the Chinese proverb,” Give a person a fish and feed him for a day, teach him to fish and feed him for life.”

