Muuwo Kalivu VSLA, From Small Savings to Shared Prosperity
In 2024, 20 community members came together to form the Muuwo Kalivu Group with a single-minded determination to save, access affordable loans and support one another financially. Today, they look back at the transformation the two years have brought to their lives with emotive gratitude.
The story of Mary Musau manifests this transformation: Zamani nilikuwa natafuta namna ya kujikimu bila kuwa na pesa ya kutosha. Kupitia hii kikundi, nimeweza kukopa na kuinvest kwa kuku, mbuzi na biashara yangu. Sasa nina mbuzi wanne ambao wamezaana, nauza maziwa na mayai na pesa hiyo inanisaidia kulipia karo ya watoto. (Before I struggled to support myself because I did not have enough capital. Through the group, I have been able to take loans and invest in poultry, goats and my shop. I now have four goats that have reproduced, and I sell milk and eggs, which helps me pay my children’s school fees.)
Muuwo Kalivu group was formed after the members were trained on Voluntary Savings and Loans Assocation (VSLA) by the NCCK through the Nature+ project. They began by contributing KShs 40 each every week, with the money being kept in a small metal box. They would loan each other the money which was paid back with interest. The weekly contribution rose to KShs 50 per week as the financial health of the members improved.
Quite impressively, the members accumulated a fund amounting to KShs 281,600 by the end of 2025, which comprised of their savings, interest from borrowings, and penalties paid members who break rules such as arriving late for the weekly meeting.
Inspired by the money accumulated, the members of the Muuwo Kalivu decided to invest in livestock, and purchased 15 goats at KSh 80,000. They later purchased another 13 goats to make a total of 28. Incredibly, the goats have reproduced leading to the herd growing to 50. The goats are distributed among the members.
As their confidence and financial resources grew, the members expanded into outside catering. They purchased tents, 50 chairs, two tables and catering utensils worth KSh 20,000. The tents and chairs are hired out to community members at KSh 2,000 when one has a need. This has created another source of income for the group.
Money generated through catering, equipment hire, goat sales and other activities is deposited into the group’s normal account for continued investment and day-to-day activities.
A third income generating project of the Muuwo Kalivu group beekeeping. This emerged after a training organized by the Nature+ project in which the members received skills in beehive management and honey production. The group members took KSh 50,000 from their kitty and purchased 34 beehives, of which 16 have already been colonized.
Further to these ventures, the group in 2025 placed KShs 100,000 in a fixed deposit account, which is expected to mature in December 2026 with interest.
It is in the context of these successes that the group members, in line with the VSLA principles, shared out the financial kitty that stood at KShs 36,500 in December 2025. The member who received the highest amount got KShs 4,500.
Looking forward, Muuwo Kalivu Group plans to continue strengthening its catering and equipment hire enterprise. One of its priorities is to purchase a public-address system that can be hired together with the tents and chairs. Members also want to expand their livestock, beekeeping and farming activities while continuing to save and reinvest their incomes.
The Nature+ is a climate-change project implemented in Kitui County by NCCK in partnership with the Canadian Food Grains Bank (CFGB) and the United Church of Canada.
