In March 1998, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a United Nations specialized agency, undertook two rapid assessments of the Asian financial crisis and its impact on the rural poor. The assessments revealed that among the worst hit were the populations of the marginal areas, those living in the uplands, hills and mountains of the continent. IFAD concluded that their increasing exclusion and desperation was likely to impact heavily on the stability and continuing prosperity of the region. Sukanya Mohan Das, a consultant with IFAD, visited the Income Generating Project for Small Farmers and Landless in Indonesia and spoke to women who received credit from the Fund. Ibu Sahnun is one of these women. The testimonies of other women can be found in the current issue of the Chronicle.

Like other members of the Tiga Serangkai Association, I am a trader and sell cloth, cooking pots, plates and other household goods which I buy from the market. Each day, after I complete my other work, I walk around the village with my basket of things to sell. Before I joined the group and received loans, it was difficult for me to make ends meet. Even though I worked in other people's fields and grew rice on my grandmother's tiny paddy plot during the rainy season, my business selling household goods was not very successful, as there was never enough money to buy things from the market.

So when I received the 50,000 rupiah loan, I was really relieved. With it, I was able to buy more goods from the market, which I sold here in the village. There were no problems with food. I also joined in the activities carried out by the Association, like making telur asin (salted/preserved eggs) and working in the Association's store. I also took part in the literacy classes organized by the Association.

Now, the price of sembako (the nine basic necessities) such as rice and cooking oil have shot up. So it is difficult to feed myself, my mother and grandmother, and buy enough things for my business. The drought has made things worse. My grandmother's paddy plot could not even give us a tonne of paddy this harvest and there is also a shortage of eggs, as chickens and ducks have not been laying. Still, we have managed to get by; the people I work for often tell me to take home some of their vegetables and we try to share our rice with families that have none.

We can no longer afford voluntary savings. The monthly lottery we used to organize for Association members has also stopped, as no one can contribute 30,000 rupiah for the prize money. These days, all we discuss in our monthly meetings is ways to improve the sales of our products, for instance, by thoroughly cleaning the eggs, as well as packaging them in a wrapper with the Association's logo. Lately, with the reduced supply and high cost of eggs, we switched to re-selling rice instead. The Association has arranged to buy subsidized rice, which we re-sell here for a small profit of 100 rupiah per kilogramme.

We hope that our village can get assistance to improve basic things like the village water supply and sanitation. Our drinking water comes from the school well and although the water is alright, the rough footpath to the well does not make carrying water very easy. The water itself is often contaminated, spreading sickness and disease. If we could get help to improve the footpath to the well and for better sanitation, our lives would be much better.