Village Economic and Social Associations (VESA) Manual

Disaster Risk & Humanitarian Action

A Village Economic and Social Association (VESA) is an informal association of targeted PSNP clients established for the purpose of engaging in internal savings and lending, and accessing services delivered by the Livelihoods for Resilience Activity team. VESAs are based on principles of group transparency and accountability, and are established to create a strong savings culture in the community. The ingredients necessary for success include: strong implementing partners and community facilitators to lead the VESA, effective VESA leadership, member loyalty and dedication, strong aspirations to save and learn, and relevant and appropriate community facilitator-led discussions.

The Livelihoods for Resilience Activity, also known as GRAD 2 is a project in Ethiopia that seeks to help 97,900 households graduate from the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) with resilience, by achieving four purposes:

1. Members of PSNP households have increased capacities for undertaking resilient livelihoods.
2. PSNP households have economically viable and resilient livelihood portfolios.
3. An enabling environment supports resilient livelihoods for PSNP households.
4. Collaboration, learning and adaptive management processes enhance, scale-up, or facilitate replication of impact.