The majority of Djabegou women engage in subsistence farming, with each having tomato and onion farms. Those who own larger farms grow beans and other leafy vegetables as well. The women are usually busy with farm work during the rainy season every year, and when the rains are gone, it is down time for them without any other work and, invariably, without income. The Transformational Community Development (TCD) worker, Sayi, and some of the women have been having discussions about engaging in other income-generating activities besides farming so that the dry season can be profitably utilized.

At a recent meeting with Sayi, the women discussed proposals for petty trading and raised the challenge of a lack of capital. When Sayi asked how much each of them was able to save from the proceeds of their farm produce last year, none of the 25 women present had any savings. This presented Sayi with an opportunity to talk about developing the practice of personal savings and how this can be a source of capital for their proposed businesses. He advised them to save this year so they could have some money to start up petty trading before they began to consider sourcing for external funds. All the women made commitments to develop the culture of saving money.