Background

The Peramiho Homemakers league is an NGO aimed at improving shelter especially roof facing of most of the houses in that region. It is also aimed at eradicating poverty.
 

Achievements

• The roof tile making project has managed to make roof tiles at affordable prices enabling the villagers to live in better conditions.
• Through training and assistance in creating self-help groups, PEHOLE has successfully created self employment for 70 youth.
• A revving fund helps groups from the villages build houses on a credit system.
• Women have been able to engage in income generating activities.
• Improvement of social services through the construction of two classrooms in the village and the rehabilitation of a hospital.

Narrative

The Peramiho Homemakers League is an NGO based in Peramiho village, 24 km from Songea town in Ruvuma Region south of Tanzania.
The group was founded in early 1992 by a retired civil servant who mobilised a group of 10 youth to start a small project of the making.
Basically the group was formed to complement the peoples effort to alleviate the problem of roofing facing in most rural areas in the region.
PEHOLE's decided to start a pilot project in Peramiho village to assist the community acquire roofing tiles at affordable prices. To date the project has extended its services to other villages in the region.
 

Objectives

The policy of the project is to improve shelter and better living standards of communities in the region as well as in other parts of Tanzania.
The objectives are:

• to improve and provide shelter;
• eradicate poverty;
• to help members maintain harmonious relations amongst themselves and families.

The project has 4 working teams namely, tile making, carpentry, masonry and building rehabilitation. The group has 10 vibrator machines with the capacity of producing 2,500 tiles per day if all the machine work.
The group produces tiles by using locally available materials and simple technology i.e. using batteries to run machines instead of fuel or electricity.

PEHOLE enjoys minimal support from the government at regional and district levels. While local authorities provide technical expertise in tile production, the regional authorities invite PEHOLE to attend some of its development meetings.

Women are also fully involved in the project. Out of 34 members of the group, 15 are women. This constitutes a fair ration of 44% of women involved in the project. 6 women members of PEHOLE have been trained and have formed two groups together with 10 other youths to undertake various human shelter projects at their respective villages.
 

Impact on the living environment

Through training and assistance in creating self-help groups, PEHOLE has successfully created self-employment to 77 youth, It has also established a revolving fund for two groups from two villages to build 10 houses on a credit system. Under this scheme the groups are required to pay back the loan within a period of 3 years in cash or in kind.
Women engaged in petty trading have also benefited from the projects credit facility whereby four groups have received a total of œ400 to establish other small projects in the village.
 

Affordable housing services

Since the establishment of the tile making project, PEHOLE has roofed a total of 97 houses in the regions. It has also constructed two classrooms and rehabilitated a hospital in Songea rural.
Among its partners are international agencies like APROTECH, Poverty Africa and local NGOs like JET.
 

Sustainability

PEHOLE's policies focus on improvement and provision of shelter to the people and eradicating poverty. It has already established a credit facility to communities and the formation of a revolving fund to enable small groups of youth and the community as a whole to have access to human shelter. PEHOLE has further constructed inhouse training to enable members and non-members equip themselves with skills in the tile making and house building projects.
 

Problems

• lack of financial skills and accountability;
• poor management system;
• the constitution needs to be revisited to suit the present environment.

Impact

• 44% of the women in the village are involved in the project.
• PEHOLE has successfully created employment for 77 youth.
• 10 houses have been built on the credit system.
• 4 groups of women have received a total of $450 to establish small projects.
• A total of 97 houses have been roofed in different parts of the region.
• 2 classrooms have been built in the village.
• One rural hospital has undergone rehabilitation.
• In collaboration with other NGOs 12.400 tree species have been distributed to 150 families as well as the planting of 6 hectares of trees.

Sustainability

The project has been locally initiated and is a local NGO.
PEHOLE's policies focus on the improvement and provision of shelter to the people and the eradication of poverty.
The formation of a revolving fund and a credit facility, to the communities ensures its sustainability in that it enables small groups of youth and the community as a whole to have access to human shelter.. The project has further conducted in-house training to enable members and non-members equip themselves with skills in tile making and house-building projects.

Contact

Peramiho Homemakers League
Songea
Tanzania
P.O. Box 151
255 - 0635 - 2824/2815

Sponsor

Tanzania

Partners

District councils
Mr. Mbawalla

Songea
Tanzania
P.O. Box 151
255 - 0635 - 2824/2815

Regional Authorities

Community