Kaya Kinondo Ecotourism Project

COMMUNITY LIVELIHOOD:

The income from ecotourism activity is managed by community conservation Group namely KAYA KINONDO CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT GROUP (KKCDG). The income is utilized for the following purposes:

·Support the two primary schools within the area
·Support women groups to start income generating activities
·Cultural activities and ceremonies
·Support the community to buy shares in a Kaya Kinondo village bank
·Project management

KAYA KINONDO VILLAGE BANK
Kinondo Village Bank is a community owned and managed Financial Services Association. The bank, located within Kinondo village, is very closely linked to Kaya Kinondo ecotourism project. The bank is set up using share capital invested by the community through buying of shares.

The bank came after realization that income from a controlled tourism activity like Kinondo are normally very modest, for impact to be felt by the large community.

Since the majority of the communities do not save money with any financial institutions, they are not able to save. Village bank offers saving service at village level thereby help, to trap most of this income and in turn community members are able to borrow loans to re-invest in other income generating activities.

Once fully established, the bank will provide a range of financial services such as deposit, loan, payment, services, money transfer and insurance to low-income households and micro-enterprise.

The main objective of the bank is to provide rural financial services to a wider proportion of the population through a viable institutional framework. The ability to contribute to sustainable livelihood is quite in focus.